Donald Trump became the first former US president to use Bitcoin (BTC) for a business purchase when he made a cryptocurrency transaction to pay for a hamburger at a New York City bar before a campaign rally.
Trump uses bitcoin to pay for hamburgers
He was the 2024 Republican presidential candidate. Spotted At PubKey, a Manhattan bar that relies on cryptocurrency, he bought several hamburgers using Bitcoin. According to video Fox News posted a video showing Trump receiving help from PubKey employees to complete a Bitcoin transaction.
The video shows that the Strike app facilitated the transaction, powered by Bitcoin’s layer-2 solution, the Lightning Network. Notably, the transaction was worth $998.70 and was confirmed at block height 861871. It’s also worth noting that Trump He carries Over $1M in cryptocurrencies.
Trump attempted to complete the transaction by scanning a QR code on PubKey’s tablet POS device. However, when the initial transaction failed, a PubKey employee helped him by scanning the code again and successfully processing the payment in bitcoin.
Trump called the development “history in the making” and continued to network with other crypto enthusiasts at the bar. PubKey co-owner Thomas Pascia called Trump’s purchase a “coming of age moment” for bitcoin. Trump told the crowd:
Everybody who cares about crypto, or crypto freaks as I call them, whether it’s Bitcoin or crypto, get out there and vote, because if you vote, we won’t lose. We want to vote for everybody who agrees with you and what you’re doing, and there are a lot of people who treat you very badly with the SEC, but we’re going to treat you very fairly.
Trump’s remarks were directed at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), highlighting what he sees as regulatory overreach against the crypto industry. Trump has publicly declared Stated He expressed his intention to fire current SEC Chairman Gary Gensler on his first day back in the White House.
Trump’s Radical Change in Position on Cryptocurrencies
While the former US president was critical of Bitcoin’s volatility during his term, his approach during the 2024 campaign has changed dramatically. He now embraces digital assets and is even accepting crypto donations.
However, Democratic presidential candidate and current Vice President Kamala Harris seems intent on prying a hole in the crypto-friendly Trump voter base, as she reportedly Benefit Coinbase Commerce platform to accept cryptocurrency donations for its campaign.
Recently, Trump It was announced US President Donald Trump has announced the launch of a new decentralized finance (DeFi) project called World Liberty Financial as part of his grand promise to make the United States the “crypto capital of the world.” At the time of publication, Bitcoin is trading at $62,918, up 4.8% in the last 24 hours.
Featured image from Unsplash.com, chart from TradingView.com
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