Using cryptocurrencies is “very easy,” said the Republican presidential candidate
Donald Trump used Bitcoin to buy cheeseburgers and beer for his supporters at a New York City bar on National Cheeseburger Day.
This made Trump the first sitting or former US president to make a payment using the world’s most popular cryptocurrency, according to media reports.
The Republican presidential candidate visited PubKey, a Bitcoin-themed bar and restaurant in Manhattan, shortly before his campaign rally on Long Island on Wednesday.
Bar employees helped the 78-year-old man complete the transaction using his phone and a tablet belonging to PubKey.
“I just made my first Bitcoin transaction” Trump announced the announcement to applause from Bitcoin enthusiasts, who packed the establishment. Paying with cryptocurrencies was “very easy,” he added.
“They have been treated very badly by the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) and we are going to treat them very fairly,” He told the crowd.
“Go out and vote because if you vote we can’t lose” said the former president.
Trump’s purchase of hamburgers “it was one of the largest Bitcoin transactions of all time,” One of PubKey’s owners, Thomas Pacchia, told Bitcoin Magazine. “We are very excited that you have come to show your support for the Bitcoin community.”
The value of Bitcoin, which was introduced in 2009, has grown by more than 500% over the past five years. The current price of one Bitcoin is over $61,000.
On Monday, Trump and his sons unveiled their own cryptocurrency company, called World Liberty Financial. So far, there is little information available about the project, which is expected to be a lending and borrowing service for trading in cryptocurrencies. According to Donald Trump Jr., it aims to provide opportunities for entrepreneurs who cannot obtain financing from traditional banks.
Trump appears to have made a 180-degree turn on cryptocurrencies during the current presidential campaign. In 2021, he told Fox News that they were a “scam” and “Potentially a disaster waiting to happen.” The dollar should remain “the currency of the world”, and invest in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies “it hurts the US currency,” he argued at the time.
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