Spain: Came for the Tapas, Stayed for the Crypto

Hey all, Samantha here.

Since joining the team as a research analyst and social media manager, I’ve become even more fascinated by all things fintech and crypto. I've always kinda watched it from the sidelines a bit, but it's so much fun to really dive in and meet more people in this space. Ironically, my recent trip to Spain involved a lot of fintech as well.

I might have missed out on the crypto conference in Lisbon, but over the border, I couldn’t manage to leave my hotel without encountering some sort of crypto/NFT presence. As any good tourist would, I snapped as many photos as possible to share with you all. Am I supposed to make NFTs of them now? Lmk.

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“Floki: The Number One Dog in the Crypto World”

While crypto is an undoubtedly worldwide passion, I was still surprised to see *so* many ads for Floki Inu—a meme coin cryptocurrency named after Elon Musk’s Shiba Inu—in Madrid. It only took me 20 mins after leaving the airport to see the crypto dog on a billboard, then a bus, then projected onto a building… It was then I realized that I was definitely going to have an awesome trip.

Interesting aside, Floki Inu advertisements are becoming a hot topic in the UK—the Advertising Standards Authority launched an investigation into the ads for potentially encouraging individuals to invest in unregulated financial products.

Moco Museum

In Barcelona, I visited the newly opened Moco Museum, home to the work of Banksy, Warhol, Dalí, and some pretty cool NFTs. In a dark room, viewers were surrounded by large screens displaying animated clips of the NFTs below.

Be sure to check out the full clips on our IG: @cryptottonight_

Bitcoin ATM

One of my favorite sightings was this crypto ATM; shame it was closed, but just seeing it made my morning stroll for churros and chocolate that much more exciting.

Aside from the general excitement of seeing anything crypto-related in the real world, it was refreshing to step out of my familiar circles here in the US and find the same enthusiasm abroad. The whole experience served as a reminder to a novice crypto-enthusiast of how it can be both the foundation for a revolutionary financial future and the foundation for a globalized community of creators and innovators. Have you come across similar scenes on recent travels? Would love to hear more about them!

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