{"id":3345,"date":"2024-10-17T10:36:06","date_gmt":"2024-10-17T10:36:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bitcoin-zukan.com\/?p=3345"},"modified":"2024-11-13T01:38:38","modified_gmt":"2024-11-13T01:38:38","slug":"history-lightning-marche","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bitcoin-zukan.com\/en\/interview-en\/history-lightning-marche\/","title":{"rendered":"The History of Lightning Marche \u2013 An Interview with bcats"},"content":{"rendered":"
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I want to learn more about the Lightning Marche, where you can pay with Bitcoin!<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The Lightning Marche aims to increase opportunities to use Bitcoin and promote its mass adoption.
While the Marche has steadily progressed with each event, it has also faced various challenges since its early days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This article is a summary of my conversation with bcats, who plays an active role in the Lightning Marche.
We talked about the history of the Marche, the event itself, and bcats\u2019s passion for Bitcoin, so be sure to read until the end!<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n\t

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You can listen to the conversation between Sato-san from Mepicabari, bcats, and the author (Minami) in the following podcast.
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This article was written in Japanese and converted to English using a translation tool.
Date of writing (Japanese version): October 2024<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What kind of person is bcats?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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The Site Created by bcats for Anonymous Delivery & Lightning Payments
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What kind of things does bcats do?<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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I don\u2019t work in the Bitcoin field; my main job is different.
I enjoy doing things like building websites for the Marche, anonymous delivery, and other projects as a kind of social experiment\u2014I\u2019m just a Bitcoiner having fun.<\/p>

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bcats\uff1aI started studying Bitcoin about 4-5 years ago and thought, “This will change the world.” The more I studied, the more I got hooked.
When Diamond Hands started about 2-3 years ago, I wanted to set up a Lightning Network node, but I couldn\u2019t figure it out on my own. So I got together with the Diamond Hands team, connected via Zoom, set up a node, and started participating in routing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I wanted to collaborate and do fun things, so I built websites, bought bento from Chomeji-san\u2019s (Cocorotus) food truck, and wrote articles for Spotlight.
I\u2019m also the one who suggested to Mepicabari, “Why not try Bitcoin payments?” which is how it became a reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u203bDiamond Hands: A community founded in 2021 to study full node operations and Lightning routing. Now it\u2019s a Bitcoin-specialized company leading the Japanese market and providing comprehensive support for Bitcoin and Lightning adoption.<\/span>
\u203bCocolotus: A food truck that accepts Lightning payments.<\/span>
\u203bSpotlight: A platform for distributing digital content using Bitcoin.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Early Days of Lightning Marche<\/h2>\n\n\n
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How did the Lightning Marche get started?
Did you organize the event, bcats?<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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I\u2019m not the one running it, but as things developed, I ended up creating websites, coordinating tasks, and assigning roles to everyone. I\u2019m definitely not the organizer.<\/p>

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Originally, it all began with a project called “Sacred Ground Development,” where Koji Higashi mentioned on the “bitcoiner Hanseikai” (YouTube video) that Bitcoin houses and community hubs were popping up all over the world. He talked about how it would be great to have such a place in Japan as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The very first Lightning Marche was centered around Koenji.
Koji took a walk around the town to get a feel for it.
At that time, someone suggested, “How about a flea market?” and that\u2019s where the idea started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think Koji\u2019s ultimate dream is to open a caf\u00e9.
It\u2019s hard to suddenly rent a place and cover fixed costs, but everyone wanted to create a kind of sacred space.
While we were researching, we found a flea market in Koenji, and that was the first spark of the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I didn\u2019t know anything about Koenji at first, so I wasn\u2019t involved initially.
Since I was making stickers and handling anonymous deliveries, I said, “I can help with stickers.<\/p>

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Memories of the Koenji Lightning Flea Market<\/h2>\n\n\n
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I heard there was an incident called “oshikomare” (being forced out) during the early days of the Lightning Flea Market.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Right from the start, some members of the shopping street were suspicious of the word “Bitcoin.”<\/p>

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There were only about five or six vendors at first, selling things like Badger-kun plush dolls, cookies with the \u20bf logo, coffee, and various other items.
But then too many people gathered, and it became a huge crowd.
The shopping street was narrow, so we were told several times, “Please clear the way.”
We tried to be mindful, and some people even helped guide the crowd, but I think about 100 people showed up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Everyone there usually does their own thing, but when we started chatting and having fun, the crowd didn\u2019t clear up.
Eventually, a local person came and said, “I\u2019ll refund your vendor fees, but leave immediately.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We were supposed to stay until 8:00 p.m., but around 6:00 p.m. we were told to leave, so we quickly packed up and dispersed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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When Koji went to speak with some of the local organizers, one of them said, “I know exactly what you\u2019re doing, I\u2019m familiar with this kind of stuff. Go do that in a Renoir Caf\u00e9.”
Everyone around overheard it, and that\u2019s the story behind the legendary “oshikomare” incident, which happened about a year ago.<\/p>

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That happened? That must have been tough\u2026<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Afterward, we had dinner and a reflection meeting to figure out what to do next.
Everyone was a bit down, but Bitcoiners have this resilience, and they seemed to find some joy in the situation. It\u2019s funny, isn\u2019t it?<\/p>

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Bitcoiners are tough! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s interesting how they seemed happy even after something like that.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Jiyugaoka Lightning Marche<\/h2>\n\n\n
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Vendor Proposal for Jiyugaoka Lightning Marche
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What did you do after getting kicked out of the first Koenji Lightning Flea Market?<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n\t

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When we were thinking, “We can\u2019t do it in Koenji anymore, so what should we do next?” we considered Hikari Street Shopping Arcade.<\/p>

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It has this old Showa-era vibe, with many tenant shops lined up, though quite a few were vacant. We knew they rented spaces for 10,000 or 20,000 yen per day, so we discussed it with Koji, thinking we could host another flea market there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We had to submit a proposal to rent the space. To avoid another “oshikomare” situation, we brought the proposal to the local shop owners and explained in advance, saying, “We\u2019re not doing anything suspicious.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We got approval, reached out, and secured sponsorship from Satoshi Coin, Mr. Uchida of Burry Market Research, and Fulgur Ventures. They covered the vendor fees.
We decided that everyone would sell things they made themselves at the market.<\/p>\n\n\n

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I see, so you took the lessons from the first “oshikomare” experience and worked to avoid a similar situation.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Yes, the first event in Jiyugaoka went fine, but the second one\u2026 This isn\u2019t widely known, but we actually received a complaint saying, “You guys are too noisy.” We were almost on the verge of being kicked out again.<\/p>

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However, right after the complaint, it just so happened that the Marche got featured in Asahi Shimbun and Nikkei Shimbun. We sent those articles to the tenant management, saying, “We\u2019re conducting this as a social experiment.”
Of course, part of our goal was to revitalize the entire shopping street. We encouraged Bitcoiners to shop at the surrounding stores, and we did the same ourselves. So, we were mindful of that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It’s tough when complaints come from a few people\u2026<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n\t

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Most of the people and local shop owners were supportive, saying things like, “It\u2019s lively, and that\u2019s nice.”<\/p>

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When we first planned the event, we considered renting a conference room or a gym instead of doing it in a shopping street. That way, there wouldn\u2019t be any risk of getting kicked out.
But if we did that, it would just be an internal gathering. We wanted more people, like those walking through the shopping street, to notice and wonder, “What\u2019s this?” We felt that was important for spreading Bitcoin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, we had this hope\u2014maybe a bit of a fantasy\u2014that the idea would catch on with the local shop owners, and they might eventually say, “Why don\u2019t we try Bitcoin payments too?” But that part is still quite challenging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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That\u2019s incredible!
It\u2019s true that renting out a gym could create a Bitcoiners-only Marche, but by holding it in a shopping street, you\u2019re actively trying to promote Bitcoin payments to a broader audience!<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The goal is to spread Bitcoin and make it a world where everyone can use it naturally. It\u2019s a social experiment in that sense.<\/p>

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About the Shibuya Lightning Marche<\/h2>\n\n\n
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How was the Shibuya Lightning Marche at BitcoinTokyo2024?<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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I think it was a huge success. First of all, I\u2019d like to express my gratitude to the organizers who made it such a wonderful event.
Everyone got creative and made original items to sell. I personally sold framed copies of the Bitcoin whitepaper.<\/p>

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Image credit\uff1aBitcoin Conference Tokyo 2024\u3001\u30db\u30f3\u30ce\u30c1\u30e7\u30c3\u30c8\u30aa\u30e2\u30a4\u30c7<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

What stood out the most was gaining recognition from the international community.
This Marche originally started with the idea of doing something similar to the Saturday Marche initiative in Canada.
After discussing it with Koji, we decided to name it independently and spread it internationally, which led to the name “Lightning Marche.”
This time, many teams from around the world gathered, and Wallet of Satoshi even sponsored the event.
Seeing everyone use Lightning payments was amazing, and I think the activity of the Marche has now spread overseas, which was probably the best part.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tweet from Wallet of Satoshi<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Exciting to see products priced in sats at the Lightning Market during @BTCTokyo2024<\/a>! A glimpse into the future of payments. Come check it out! ⚡ pic.twitter.com\/tp98FNc7kf<\/a><\/p>— Wallet of Satoshi (@walletofsatoshi) September 22, 2024<\/a><\/blockquote>