Altcoins to take centre stage at Feathercoin meetup in Oxford

A Feathercoin meetup is being held in a pub in Oxford, England, this weekend, giving those interested in the digital currency the chance to meet the team behind it.

The event is taking place at The Oxford Blue on 20th July from 3:00pm. Among the attendees will be founder of Feathercoin Peter Bushnell, who worked as head of IT at Oxford University’s Brasenose College for 10 years. He will lead an open discussion about digital currency and how it can benefit both consumers and merchants.

Chris Murray, owner of the Oxford Blue, said he's been "fascinated" with altcoins since he first learned about bitcoin back in 2010.

"I'm really looking forward to having a chance to meet with some of the people actually working on the framework of one of these currencies, and discussing the requirements of a small business end-user like myself in terms of being able to seamlessly take payments in altcoins," he added.

Members of the Feathercoin forum have put a web-based payment system together for the event so attendees will be able to pay for their drinks using the cryptocurrency. To use the web app, staff members have to type in the amount of the bill and this will generate a QR code on the till.

"We have an open source point of sale system, which is a Java-based platform, so the Feathercoin team are going to look at giving us an option on the till that means you just hit a button and it will print out a bill with a QR code on it," said Murray.

He went on to say that one of the things he would like to discuss at the meeting is the possibility of generating a label or ID for each transaction:

Murray said one of the reasons he's interested in accepting digital currency is because he's fed up of the "ridiculous" amount he is charged each month to accept payment by card.

"Payment process fees are up to 2% on some transactions and the card terminals cost about £20-£30 per month too. On top of this, it takes three days for the payment processors to actually send us the money, so not only do they charge you a large fee, they then just sit on your money."

The owner said his pub has a mixed clientele, including some regular locals and students as well as those just visiting the city. He believes there could be quite a few students in the city who are involved in digital currency and mining – especially those who live in halls and do not have to pay their own electricity bills.

"I was trying to work out the figures the other day and I think, with a normal graphics card, you can currently mine the equivalent of two pints a week. Which is obviously quite appealing to students!" He added.

Those intending to attend the event are encouraged to RSVP on the Feathercoin events page.