Bitcoin education at an escape room in Lebanon

Bitcoin (BTC) sets people free. At least, that was the story at Lebanon’s first Bitcoin-themed escape room in Beirut. 

Lebanese Bitcoiners from the group Bitcoin du Liban took on the latest Bitcoin education challenge — Bitcoin Escape the System. The best part? The team of four snuck out of the escape room in the fastest time to date.

Can’t wait to try this… tomorrow.#Bitcoin is growing in #Lebanon .@BitcoinduLiban @marco_bdl @Thomssmn @Rothmus https://t.co/v9tminHAy3

— Sooly⚡️سولي (@Sooly_Kobayashi) July 5, 2022

For the uninitiated, an “escape game” or “escape room” is a team game where players work together to solve puzzles, clues and conundrums usually based on a theme such as spies, zombies, and now, Bitcoin. As per the name, the mission is to “escape” the site of the game within a certain time.

Sooly Kobayashi, MENA advisor for Swan Bitcoin and a moderator at Bitcoin du Liban, told Cointelegraph that “All of us (except one) had never played escape rooms before. We entered the room without relying on our Bitcoin knowledge.”

However, they likely had a slight advantage over those new to Bitcoin. The escape game’s themes revolve around fiat money, time-chain technologies (commonly referred to as blockchain), SHA-256 (the Bitcoin hashing algorithm), and self-custody.

While the escape game is a bit of fun, according to Kobayashi, it’s another example of the Lebanese Bitcoin community’s creative approach to onboarding more Bitcoiners. Kobayashi, who is also a Moderator at Bitcoin du Liban, told Cointelegraph that “education is challenging in a country that hasn’t invested much in this sector.”

“And with a history filled with instability, the Lebanese population has been busy surviving in economic restlessness. Hence, Bitcoin education needed a creative modern approach.”

As shown in the following graph, government education expenditure in Lebanon pales in comparison to that of Argentina; a country that also sufferers from critical problems relating to inflation and instability. It’s therefore on the people to take financial education, and creative orange-pilling techniques, into their own hands with grassroots activities.

Indeed, Bitcoiners from Lebanon to Slovakia are taking Bitcoin education by the scruff of the neck, seeking to spread the word of sound money. Bitcoin books, games…