Why
@tim_niemeyer_ is a Bitcoin Legend
Six months ago, school teacher Tim Niemeyer founded the Illinois Bitcoin Council ... over his summer vacation. What IBC has built since is incredible:
Among other actions,
@ilbtccouncil work tirelessly to draft pro-Bitcoin legislation, educating state policymakers and building a research library on Bitcoin mining.
They supports some incredible community projects, including the Bitcoin Scholarship Foundation for underprivileged youth and the Altgeld Bitcoin Reserve, Chicago's first community BTC reserve in its highest poverty neighborhood.
In his spare time, Tim created a 16 week Bitcoin curriculum for homeschoolers and an 8 week course for small businesses to accept Lightning payments. IBC now also produces detailed Consumer Reports on Bitcoin products for the community.
On the ground, Tim is actively involved in organizing door to door merchant onboarding for Lightning, and IBC connects Illinois Chambers of Commerce with Bitcoin businesses.
Beyond this, Tim authored "History Echoes Bitcoin," which has just been accepted to be sold at the Bitcoin Vegas 2026 bookstore. He was invited to a book signing, an honor he can't practically accept without leaving his teaching job.
I have no regrets about not discovering Bitcoin 10 years earlier. Everything is in perfection. But if I had, I'd be liquidating a small portion to run the experiment: "If Tim can do this in his spare time, what could he do if unleashed?"
The Bitcoin community salutes you Tim Niemeyer