Bitcoin Purchase: Trump Buys Burgers At NYC Bar As Elections Inch Closer

Donald Trump became the first former US President to use Bitcoin (BTC) for a commercial purchase when he completed a cryptocurrency transaction to pay for hamburgers at a New York City bar before a campaign rally.

The 2024 Republican presidential nominee was spotted at PubKey, a crypto-themed bar in Manhattan, where he purchased several hamburgers using BTC. According to a video released by Fox News, Trump can be seen receiving assistance from PubKey staff to complete a transaction on the Bitcoin network. 

The video shows that the Strike app facilitated the transaction, powered by the Bitcoin layer-2 solution, Lightning Network. Notably, the transaction was worth $998.70 and was confirmed at block height 861871. It’s also worth noting that Trump holds over $1 million in cryptocurrencies.

Trump attempted to complete the transaction by scanning a QR code on PubKey’s point-of-sale tablet. However, when the initial transaction failed, a PubKey employee assisted him by scanning the code again and successfully processing the payment with BTC.

Trump dubbed the development ‘history in the making’ and continued engaging with other cryptocurrency enthusiasts at the bar. Thomas Pachhia, co-owner at PubKey called Trump’s purchase a ‘coming of age’ moment for Bitcoin. Trump addressed the audience, saying:

Everybody that’s a crypto guy, a crypto maniac as I call them, whether it’s Bitcoin or crypto, get out and vote because if you vote, we cannot lose. We want to get everybody who agrees with you people and what you’re doing, and there’s a lot of people; they’ve been treating you very badly with the SEC, but we’re going to treat you very fairly.

Trump’s remarks were aimed at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), highlighting what he perceives as regulatory overreach against the crypto industry. Trump has publicly stated his intent to fire current SEC Chair Gary Gensler on his first day back in the White House.

While the former US President was previously critical of Bitcoin’s volatility during his term in office, his approach during the 2024 campaign has shifted significantly. He now embraces digital assets and even accepts cryptocurrency donations.

However, the Democratic presidential candidate and current Vice President, Kamala Harris, appears intent on putting a dent in Trump’s crypto-leaning voter base as she is reportedly leveraging the Coinbase Commerce platform to accept crypto donations for her campaign.

Most recently, Trump announced the launch of a new decentralized finance (DeFi) venture named World Liberty Financial as part of his grand promise to make the US the ‘crypto capital of the world.’ At press time, Bitcoin is trading at $62,918, up 4.8% in the last 24 hours.