Tuesday 13th May, 2014

Europe is set to get its first bitcoin centre this May, with the opening of the Maison du Bitcoin in Paris. Situated at the heart of the city the building with offer assistance for bitcoin companies, workshops, a bitcoin ATM and more.

La Maison du Bitcoin is the brainchild of entrepreneurs and bitcoin enthusiasts Thomas France (co-founder) and Eric Larchevêque (CEO and co-founder), who previously founded the price comparison and shopping app Prixing.

CEO of Bitcoin - Eric Larchevêque, who has been involved in Internet startups since 1996, told CoinDesk:

“La Maison du Bitcoin is mainly dedicated to entrepreneurs with a co-working space and an incubator for bitcoin-related projects. We want to make it the place to launch and work on bitcoin startups in Paris.”

While France has yet to really catch on to the potential of digital currencies, recent events indicate that change is afoot. In early April, major French retail chain Monoprix announced plans to start accepting bitcoin payments on its merchant website later this year.

In other news, CeX, a high street exchange store for tech and electronics in Glasgow, announced that it will offer its customer payment in bitcoins, for three days each week.

David Butler, commercial director of CeX, said: "Not only does bitcoin have a number of security and access benefits, but it is also gaining popularity amongst consumers the world over."