The news has broken out that the iconic Tooting Market situated in the south of London will now be accepting Bitcoin as a mode of payment.
The recent move is expected to make the market a hub for Bitcoin and cryptocurrency enthusiasts with the potential to transform it into a global cryptocurrency hotspot.
In this article, we will look at the details regarding the new development and what led to this change.
What Relevance Did The Tooting Market Have?
The Tooting Market, located in the South of London in the United Kingdom has been one of the most well-regarded places in the minds of the locals along with the ones who have visited and experienced the atmosphere around the place.
The Tooting Market, established in 1930 was one of the first food markets to be set up in the United Kingdom.
The Market has been on the receiving end of a number of awards and recognitions including the award for ‘The Best Small Indoor Market’ in 2017 at the Great British Market Awards ceremony.
The Tooting Market was featured in Lonely Planet’s feature as “Favourite Lesser-known Neighbourhoods in the World’s Greatest Cities” and is of great cultural and historical importance to the UK and its inhabitants.
In the next section, we will look at what events led to this drastic change in the Market and how the market actualized one of the dreams of many cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin enthusiasts.
What Led To This Change?
As of June 18, several merchants at the Tooting market have started accepting Bitcoin as a means of payment.
The list of merchants ranged from restaurant chains, bars, vinyl record stores, and so on.
The payment system is being facilitated by support from the blockchain bridge provider “Bridge 2 Bitcoin”.
The change took place in the backdrop of an event led by the popular Bitcoin miner known by his pseudonym Hashley Giles, who has been at the forefront of the move.
The event was attended by many of the notable names in the Bitcoin community such as Mercury Layer, Civkit, CommerceBlock, CoinShares, Pleb Underground, Bitcoin Core developers, Lightning Network developers, and so on.
The move is expected to have a huge impact on the popularity and economy of the market.
We will be discussing more on this in the section below.
What Will Be The Impact Of This New Change?
The move is looked at as a milestone by the Bitcoin and cryptocurrency community.
It is seen as the stepping stone moment for the wider Bitcoin adaptation in the UK.
With the development, the Tooting market has taken its place in the list of relevant marketplaces that have adopted Bitcoin for its financial needs.
One of the earliest marketplaces to adopt such a strategy was the El Zonte situated in El Salvador.
With the arrival of the Tooting market into the list we can expect more such initiatives to take place in other iconic destinations in the future.
Now that we have got an overview of the entire progression in the London’s Tooting market we will now look at what makes the move important for the entire Bitcoin community as well as for the adopted economy of the venue in the following section
What Makes The Move Important?
Apart from the move giving the Bitcoin adaptation movement its well-deserved attention, the change has also given the idea its well-needed affirmation in the form of response from many of the reputable organizations that have supported and commented on the new marketplace.
One of the notable ones was the statement from Nicholas Gregory of Mercury Layer and Civkit who commented that Local initiatives like this will be good for Bitcoin. It will help to push the wider state to recognize it as a legitimate form of payment and make it easier to use from a tax efficiency standpoint.
Final Thoughts
The recent development by the famous cultural and historical marketplace popularly known as the Tooting Market has been a breath of fresh air for the Cryptocurrency community especially the Bitcoin enthusiasts who have been faced with a number of events that have taken down the excitement that once used to be seen in them.
The new move is expected to revive this enthusiasm and further help in the journey of Bitcoin and other Cryptocurrencies in their wider acceptance and recognition in the future.
