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\n\tShould an economic collapse ever ruin the U.S. dollar, you could still shop for your cataclysmic needs at the Zombie Apocalypse Store.<\/p>\n
\tBehind the door protected by wrought-iron bars and near a couple of machetes, black and orange signs read: \u201cBitcoin accepted here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tMonko decided to start dealing in Bitcoin about six months ago. He said he\u2019s constantly mixing things up at the store.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cI thought it might open us up to a new market,\u201d he said. \u201cIt fits with that we\u2019re not afraid to take on new things.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tSince then, only four purchases have been made with Bitcoin, mostly from customers in their 30s, and Monko has held onto the currency instead of converting it to cash, but he\u2019s seen rising interest from customers.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWe haven\u2019t had enough sales to determine a trend, but it seems like it might be picking up,\u201d Monko said. \u201cPeople are certainly getting aware of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tGETTING TO KNOW BITCOIN<\/p>\n
\tA driving force behind the enthusiasm for digital currency in Las Vegas: Julian Tosh, a senior systems engineer at an office building near McCarran International Airport, who runs a Bitcoin consulting business on the side.<\/p>\n
\tJust about every week for the past year and a half, Tosh has gathered a group for lunch to talk Bitcoin and hopefully persuade restaurant owners to start accepting the digital currency, if he hasn\u2019t already done so.<\/p>\n
\tHe recently launched bitcoinsinvegas.com, which lists about three dozen valley businesses that accept the virtual currency. The directory\u2019s Facebook page has grown to 141 members and its Twitter page has more than 530 followers.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cOur goal is to help people understand Bitcoin and learn how to use it. Share what we know,\u201d Tosh said. \u201cIt\u2019s getting easier because people have heard the word before, and there\u2019s more curiosity about it. If they haven\u2019t accepted the idea, we\u2019ll engage them, give them a way to see that people are interacting with the currency.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tTosh owns a dozen black Bitcoin T-shirts emblazoned with an orange B and the words \u201cAsk me about Bitcoin.org a digital currency.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tHe wears that shirt every day, even at his day job, and he can talk for hours about Bitcoin if you let him. On his right arm, he wears a white Bitcoin wristband with the words \u201cIn crypto we trust.\u201d He carries cash and credit cards in a Bitcoin-themed wallet, and the change jingling in his pocket is a collection of 1-ounce silver commemorative Bitcoins, not quarters and dimes.<\/p>\n
\tAt home, he keeps a silver aluminum Bitcoin briefcase, which converts pocket change to the digital currency for demonstrations. He had a B cut out of the steel luggage rack on his Honda Goldwing motorcycle.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cAnything that has Bitcoin on it, I\u2019m collecting it,\u201d he said. \u201cCryptocurrencies are here to stay.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tBRINGING IN NEW CUSTOMERS<\/p>\n
\tAnd the big players are taking notice. The D and Golden Gate made national headlines in January after owner Derek Stevens announced he would start accepting Bitcoin for nongaming transactions.<\/p>\n
\tSlotzilla, the Fremont Street zip line that opened at the end of April and zooms past Stevens\u2019 casinos, also is expected to take Bitcoin.<\/p>\n
\tAlthough the virtual currency remains a small percentage of his business, Stevens said transactions bring in new customers every day, and he\u2019s \u201centhusiastic\u201d about the future of the alternative payment option.<\/p>\n
\tHe uses a payment processor called BitPay, which immediately converts the currency to U.S. dollars.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cI\u2019m pretty excited how it\u2019s played out,\u201d Stevens said. \u201cIt\u2019s not a technology that can be dismissed that easily.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tIT PAYS THE RENT<\/p>\n
\tNo one has yet purchased a house or condo through Haeran Dempsy Real Estate with Bitcoin, but a few folks have made partial mortgage and rental payments, said Martin Dempsey, who manages the company named for his wife.<\/p>\n
\tHe said accepting the digital currency helped attract a few new tenants in the past couple years.<\/p>\n
\tOccasionally, he will sit down with clients and help them through the process of setting up an online wallet.<\/p>\n
\tTenants without bank accounts prefer to make rent payments in cash, he said, but earlier this year, Chase Bank stopped accepting cash deposits from anyone not listed on the account. He doesn\u2019t want to accept credit card payments because of the fees.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cBitcoin. Problem solved,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019d be no market for Bitcoin if the rest of the market ran smoothly. Dealing with banks and dealing with credit cards has been painful for me. So Bitcoin was a breath of fresh air.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tMARKETING OPPORTUNITY<\/p>\n
\tRocket Fizz Soda Pop and Candy Shop owner Damian Barton offers 20 percent off a purchase to anyone who uses Bitcoin.<\/p>\n
\tHe saw the first Bitcoin transaction at his Summerlin store in 2011, but most of the virtual currency business has occurred within the past six months, from one customer a month who wanted to use Bitcoin to about one a week.<\/p>\n
\tNow, he plans to start accepting the virtual currency at his Henderson shop.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cThe more businesses that accept it, the better off we all would be,\u201d Barton said. \u201cThe more people use it, the more businesses will accept it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tBitcoin appeals to his younger clientele \u2014 \u201cthe cutting-edge-idea people, the tech-nerdy crowd\u201d \u2014 of which he considers himself a part. He likes the simplicity of Bitcoin transactions and that there are little to no fees.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cI\u2019m hoping that Bitcoin is something that can perhaps change the way we do business,\u201d Barton said. \u201cThat\u2019s a big step but it definitely has the potential.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tBITCOIN\u2019S VOLATILITY<\/p>\n
\tLate last month, the Nevada Business and Industry Department recognized the increased popularity of Bitcoin and other digital currency, offering guidance for consumers and investors, and explaining \u201crisk factors associated with transacting or investing in virtual currency.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tA news release from the Financial Institutions Division pointed out that virtual currencies are neither legal tender nor backed by a central bank.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cVirtual currencies have legitimate purposes and can be purchased, sold and exchanged with other types of virtual currencies or real currencies, like the U.S. dollar,\u201d the Business and Industry Department\u2019s release stated.<\/p>\n
\tBut, the release said, virtual currencies are volatile, \u201ccan be stolen or otherwise subject to loss \u2026 have been connected to criminal activities.\u201d Also: \u201cvirtual currencies and companies dealing in virtual currencies may or may not be regulated.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tThe Internal Revenue Service announced in March that virtual currency should be treated as a capital asset.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cDo your homework,\u201d the state\u2019s release said. \u201cConsumers considering the use of virtual currencies should research any company offering services related to virtual currencies.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tMAKING TRANSACTIONS EASIER<\/p>\n
\tIn January, just after taking over Sunset Pizzeria on West Tropicana, Sven Oberlaender created a Bitcoin processing machine to simplify digital currency transactions for staff and customers.<\/p>\n
\tIt works similar to a credit card terminal. The cashier punches in the total, and the machine spits out a receipt with a QR code for the customer to scan.<\/p>\n
\tOberlaender is still tweaking the software, but his site btcpos.org calls it \u201cthe ideal and professional solution to accept Bitcoin payments in a restaurant or retail environment.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tHe said the software may be licensed within a few weeks.<\/p>\n
\tAnywhere from 15 to 20 tickets are printed each month at the pizzeria, and Oberlaender said accepting the digital currency makes for good publicity.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cAnd it\u2019s real money,\u201d he said. \u201cThere are some people who have a lot of Bitcoins from the early days, and they don\u2019t know what to do with them. You can buy a real pizza with it. That gives people real confidence. That brings it out of the realm of being an online hacker currency.\u201d<\/p>\n
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