Jimmy Chambrade and Aurore Galves Orjol, co-founders of Bitcoin-lyon, first heard about Bitcoin (BTC) in 2014. Around that time, their close friend an
Jimmy Chambrade and Aurore Galves Orjol, co-founders of Bitcoin-lyon, first heard about Bitcoin (BTC) in 2014. Around that time, their close friend and now business partner, Bruce, mined Bitcoin using his laptop. However, it took three years and a face-melting bull run before the pair could set aside the time to engage with the technology.
Fast forward to 2017, and Chambrade and Galves Orjol had just returned from an around-the-world trip. Although ready to return to the world of work, they would rather avoid the traditional “nine-to-five” fiat lifestyle, or the “métro, boulot, dodo” (subway, work, sleep) routine as it’s known in France.
They began investigating Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency space, attending crypto meetups and testing out the tech. Their research and curiosity led to the creation of Crypto Lyon. As their first foray into the world of crypto, Crypto Lyon is a catch-all community for crypto enthusiasts in France’s third-most populous city.
They’re not “Lyon” about Bitcoin
On a deeper level, though, something about Bitcoin twigged during their encounters with fellow crypto enthusiasts — the pair was hooked. It could have been the philosophy behind Bitcoin, but the privacy, self-sovereignty and pseudonymous elements were also compelling, particularly for Chambrade. Either way, it soon became clear that working in Bitcoin was a fait accompli.
Galves Orjol noted that before committing to Bitcoin:
“It’s important to get to grips with the entire crypto ecosystem. We examined the world of crypto through the eyes of individuals and later an association. We developed and deployed smart contracts, hosted events for traders, and mixed with developers and analysts. Ultimately, though, the path led to Bitcoin.”
They met and engaged with a host of crypto-curious and crypto-obsessed individuals in France before opening the bureau for Bitcoin-lyon in 2019.
Initially, Bitcoin-lyon was a space for customers in Lyon to buy over-the-counter Bitcoin. However, “being profitable purely through the sale of Bitcoin on margin was tricky. Competing with the likes of Coinbase, Kraken and Binance was not enough,” Galves Orjol explained. The business soon developed a budding consulting operation, particularly useful for francophones new to Bitcoin.
Galves Orjol details that a lot of their dealings with the consultancy space revolve around the “blockchain not Bitcoin” confusion, a term and trend first coined by OG Bitcoiner Parker Lewis. In essence, entrepreneurs are often drawn to “blockchain,” the technology that’s now ironically world-renowned thanks to Bitcoin. But because Bitcoin receives bad press, entrepreneurs are put off building on Bitcoin and are thus pulled away from the real revolution.
“The lion’s share of our working day is speaking to clients about blockchain technologies, and more often than not, they realize that the killer app is the Bitcoin blockchain. Often, their big project doesn’t need a blockchain, it needs Bitcoin!”
The Crypto Lyon association lives on as Bitcoin-lyon grows into a one-stop shop for all things Bitcoin. Whether Lyonnais wish to buy, sell, learn about or integrate Bitcoin payments into their businesses, the team working at Bitcoin-lyon is on hand to provide Bitcoin educational and consultative tools.
Bitcoin-lyon also takes advantage of a considerable unique selling point: It is the only Bitcoin vendor in France that accepts cash for crypto.
Regulation, regulation, regulation
An exceptional case among the Bitcoin vendors in France, customers of Bitcoin-lyon can swap their euro bills for Bitcoin. Galves Orjol and Chambrade were granted the license “by jumping through each and every hoop established by the AMF [L’autorité des marchés financiers],” France’s Anti-Money Laundering (AML) organization.
Indeed, French regulatory laws concerning Bitcoin are harsher than Zinedine Zidane when he’s all riled up. Know Your Customer (KYC) is required from amounts of just 1 euro. In practice, it means that an 18-year-old with 50 euros in their pocket thanks to a generous birthday gift must disclose their name, address and contact details to buy a petite amount of Bitcoin.
A mere 100 miles away, in neighboring Switzerland, customers can buy 900 euros of Bitcoin a day — no questions asked. Chambrade laments France’s overbearing rules for crypto, “Regulations are killing us. In 10 years’ time, there will not be a Bitcoin vendor left in the country.”
To make matters worse, compliance and AML requirements dictate that transactions must be traced. The combination of traceability and regulation stymies the ease of doing Bitcoin business:
“Compliance is expensive for Bitcoiner companies in France, whereas nearby in Switzerland, the rules are far more relaxed. Sometimes, we are not able to accept customers’ money here in France because we are very careful with AML and KYC laws. Yet we know that when we finish speaking with what could have…
cointelegraph.com