Donald Trump became the first US President to use Bitcoin (BTC) for commercial purchases when he completed a cryptocurrency transaction to pay for hamburgers at a New York City bar before a campaign rally.
Trump Uses Bitcoin To Pay For Hamburgers
The 2024 Republican presidential nominee was in spots at PubKey, a crypto-themed bar in Manhattan, where he bought several hamburgers using BTC. According to a video released by Fox News, Trump can be seen getting help from PubKey employees to complete transactions on the Bitcoin network.
The video shows that the Strike app has advanced the operation, powered by the Bitcoin layer-2 solution, Lightning Network. Notably, the transaction was worth $998.70 and was confirmed at the height of block 861871. It is also worth noting that Trump he catches over $1 million in cryptocurrencies.
Trump attempted to complete the transaction by scanning a QR code on a PubKey point-of-sale tablet. However, when the first transaction failed, a PubKey employee helped him by scanning the code and successfully processing the payment in BTC.
Trump called the development ‘history in the making’ and continued to mingle with other cryptocurrency enthusiasts at the bar. Thomas Pachhia, co-owner at PubKey called Trump’s purchase the ‘moment of coming of age’ for Bitcoin. Trump addressed the audience, saying:
Every crypto guy, crypto maniac as I call them, whether it’s Bitcoin or crypto, get out and vote because if you vote, we won’t lose. We want to find everyone who agrees with you people and what you are doing, and there are many people; they treated you very badly with the SEC, but we will treat you very well.
Trump’s remarks were aimed at the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), highlighting what he sees as regulatory overreach against the crypto industry. Trump has gone public said his intention to fire current SEC Chairman Gary Gensler on his first day back in the White House.
A Dramatic Change in Trump’s Stance Towards Crypto
Although the former US President previously criticized Bitcoin’s volatility while in office, his approach to the 2024 campaign has changed dramatically. He now accepts digital goods and even accepts cryptocurrency donations.
However, the Democratic presidential nominee and current Vice President, Kamala Harris, seems determined to cast as much weight on Trump’s voter base as she is reported to be. to take advantage of Coinbase Commerce platform to accept crypto donations for his campaign.
Most recently, Trump announced the launch of a new financial (DeFi) business called 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.
Featured image from Unsplash.com, Chart from TradingView.com