365Crypto
Donald Trump Buys Burgers with Bitcoin at NYC Bar
On September 18, former U.S. president and 2024 Republican nominee Donald Trump made headlines when he used Bitcoin to buy burgers at Pubkey, a bar in New York City known for accepting cryptocurrency. This marks Trump as the first former U.S. president to complete a Bitcoin transaction.
Bitcoin Transaction at Pubkey
Pubkey, a Bitcoin-friendly bar, shared the news via an X (formerly Twitter) post, confirming that Trump purchased burgers using Bitcoin. Anthony Pompliano, a well-known Bitcoin advocate and CEO of Professional Capital Management, attended the event, which was also highlighted on Trump’s social media platform, Truth Social.
A video showed Trump buying and distributing a dozen burgers to attendees, humorously calling them “crypto burgers.” However, Pubkey’s staff did not confirm whether the transaction was processed using the Bitcoin Lightning Network, a faster and more efficient payment layer built on Bitcoin.
Trump’s Evolving Crypto Stance
Trump’s appearance at Pubkey comes shortly after launching a token through the World Liberty Financial platform, a family-run crypto initiative. Despite previously calling Bitcoin a “scam” and dismissing cryptocurrency as “thin air,” Trump has now included BTC miners in his 2024 campaign platform and spoke at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville, Tennessee.
Election Countdown and Polls
With just 48 days until the U.S. election, Trump expressed optimism about securing New York’s electoral votes, despite the state consistently favoring Democratic candidates since 1988. An August poll by ActiVote, however, showed Vice President Kamala Harris holding a 16-point lead over Trump in New York.
Crypto in the Campaigns
While Trump has publicly embraced cryptocurrency as part of his campaign, Vice President Kamala Harris has yet to do so. Though she hasn’t distanced herself from the Biden administration’s approach to crypto, one of her senior advisers recently stated that Harris would “support policies” fostering the growth of the crypto industry.
Footnotes:
- Bitcoin Lightning Network – A layer built on Bitcoin to enable faster and cheaper transactions.
- BTC Miners – Individuals or companies that use computing power to validate Bitcoin transactions and earn rewards.
