Trump Buys Burgers With Bitcoin at NYC Crypto Hangout PubKey
The former president and Republican nominee sent the transaction with the help of PubKey staff.
Updated Sep 19, 2024, 5:01 p.m. Published Sep 18, 2024, 9:44 p.m.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump continued his overtures to the cryptocurrency industry Wednesday when he sent a Bitcoin transaction during a stop at PubKey, a crypto-themed bar in New York.
Read more:How PubKey Revived Bitcoin Culture in New York City
Trump made the stop at the Manhattan bar ahead of his rally in Long Island on Wednesday. A Fox News video shows the Republican nominee entering the pub and then, with PubKey staff's assistance, completing a transaction, becoming the first U.S. president, sitting or former, to publicly use the Bitcoin network. Trump bought burgers at the bar, according to a PubKey social media post.
One of the most historic transactions in #bitcoin history was just made.
— PUBKEY (@PubKey_NYC) September 18, 2024
President @realDonaldTrump buying burgers at @PubKey_NYC with @tpacchia.
Block height: 861871
You saw it here first. pic.twitter.com/moHUIKDxej
The PubKey appearance comes two days after Trump spoke in support of World Liberty Financial, a crypto project he and several of his children are involved in. World Liberty formally launched Monday, and confirmed it will issue a governance token called WLFI.
Read more:Inside the Trump Crypto Project Linked to a $2M DeFi Hack and Former Pick-Up Artist
Trump, who is running for president a third time, has sought the crypto industry's support over the past few months, speaking at an industry conference and promising to make the U.S. the "crypto capital of the planet."
CORRECTION (Sept. 18, 22:03 UTC): Corrects subheadline and second paragraph to say PubKey staff, not a Trump aide, assisted the former president with the transaction.
Nikhilesh De
Nikhilesh De is CoinDesk's managing editor for global policy and regulation, covering regulators, lawmakers and institutions. When he's not reporting on digital assets and policy, he can be found admiring Amtrak or building LEGO trains. He owns < $50 in BTC and < $20 in ETH. He was named the Association of Cryptocurrency Journalists and Researchers' Journalist of the Year in 2020.
Aoyon Ashraf
Aoyon Ashraf is CoinDesk's managing editor for Breaking News. He spent almost a decade at Bloomberg covering equities, commodities and tech. Prior to that, he spent several years on the sellside, financing small-cap companies. Aoyon graduated from University of Toronto with a degree in mining engineering. He holds ETH and BTC, as well as ALGO, ADA, SOL, OP and some other altcoins which are below CoinDesk's disclosure threshold of $1,000.
