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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.
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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

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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.

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.

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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."

Read more |Trump Backs U.S. Bitcoin Reserve and Says Democrat Win Will Be Disaster for Crypto: 'Every One of You Will Be Gone'

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.

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