When Thomas Pacchia first suggested Donald Trump's campaign visit to Pubkey as a campaign hub, their reaction was exactly what he expected: “What's a Bitcoin Bar?” On Wednesday, the whole world, or at least the Twitter-addicted demographic, got a chance to find out. Trump stopped by Pubkey on his way to a rally in Long Island and bought himself a burger at the bar, reportedly the first transaction made with Bitcoin by a sitting or former president.
Pacchia opened Pub Key two years ago, hoping to turn the West Village dive bar, just a few blocks from Washington Square Park, into a kind of folks' watering hole: a place where people could stop in, have a beer, and debate monetary policy and political ethics, just like the Founding Fathers did 250 years ago. (It also helps that Pub Key's menu was designed by a chef who trained at Eleven Madison Park.)
So he wasn't surprised when a former presidential candidate suddenly showed up: Pubkey has invited politicians like Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in the past, and Pacchia has invited every candidate, including Kamala Harris.
But the practical details of the president's visit were even more shocking: Pacchia found out about it just a week before, and worked four-hour days with the Secret Service to plan it, including darkening skylights and posting snipers nearby. “It was madness,” Pacchia said. luck On Thursday, bar staff were struggling to resume business as usual. “It's been a hectic time,” he said.
One of the most historic deals #Bitcoin History was made.
president Donald Trump Buy a burger Translator and Translator.
Block height: 861871
I first saw it here. pic.twitter.com/moHUIKDxej
— PubKey (@PubKey_NYC) September 18, 2024
From the Fidelity Mafia to the Bitcoin Burger
Pacchia is not your typical Manhattan bar owner. The former lawyer was hired by financial services giant Fidelity in 2015 as its first external hire with Bitcoin expertise. As Fidelity, led by CEO Abigail Johnson, furthered its cryptocurrency efforts, Pacchia helped lay the foundations for the company's digital assets business, including a custody and exchange platform and the early stages of a mining operation.
While PubKey is now Pacchia's main focus, which includes its upcoming expansion to D.C. and other cities with funding backed by the Winklevoss twins, he remains active in the cryptocurrency industry, including serving on the board of Stronghold Digital Mining and advising another bitcoin mining company, Luxor.
Pacchia used to live a few blocks away from Pubkey, which was then a bar called Four Merry Crows, which he described as a “quintessential New York epic dive bar.” He hosted happy hours with friends to talk bitcoin, which he affectionately called “crypto at the Crows.” When Four Merry Crows closed during the pandemic, Pacchia, inspired by the vision of Paul Revere and Thomas Paine, decided on Pubkey.
“Bitcoin needs taverns and meeting places to foster revolutionary, cultural, economic and technological change,” Pacchia said. luck.
He teamed up with two experienced restaurateurs and a former Eleven Madison Park chef to come up with an eclectic menu of gourmet burgers, hot dogs and cocktails that will appeal to both Village residents and cryptocurrency devotees.
Despite its bitcoin-themed décor, PubKey attracts a diverse clientele. Last November, Pacchia noticed a couple at the far end of the bar who looked like they'd just finished a long shift. He quietly approached them and asked about the odd theme. When he mentioned PubKey's bitcoin ethos, they seemed surprised. “Are you kidding us?” they asked. Eventually, they New York PostAssigned to photograph Caroline Ellison, who happened to be staying nearby to testify at the trial of Sam Bankman-Freed, the couple stumbled upon the location by chance.
Presidential Visit
Trump's first exposure to cryptocurrencies came in 2022, when he launched his NFT collection and made a modest profit from it. However, his overall stance on crypto remained cautious, though that shifted in the 2024 election cycle as the crypto industry emerged as one of the biggest destinations for campaign spending. Now, Trump has enthusiastically embraced blockchain and has adopted some of his top priorities in the space, including freeing Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht and firing Gary Gensler from the Securities and Exchange Commission.
While Trump has toe the party line, he hasn't won over everyone, with some questioning his decision to call Bitcoin a “scam” a few years ago. Meanwhile, the recent announcement of World Liberty Financial, a so-called DeFi protocol run by the Trump family, has been slammed by critics as a money-making venture rather than a serious effort to create a decentralized product.
During Trump's visit to Pubkey, he hadn't yet mastered the arcane jargon and called his food a “crypto burger” even though one customer tried to correct him: it was Bitcoin. That's an important distinction for Bitcoin advocates, who consider other tokens “shit coins” in crypto jargon. Meanwhile, a video of the historic burger transaction initially suggested the transaction had failed, but Pacchia blamed it on QR scanning difficulties caused by camera flashes. (He added that about 5% of sales at Pubkey are in Bitcoin.)
Pacchia was quick to credit Trump: “It's a long learning curve to understand the difference between Trump and other presidents. [Bitcoin and crypto]” Pacchia said. luck“It's unrealistic to expect any of these politicians to be Bitcoin experts. The question is who they will listen to.”
Trump's appearance justified Pakia's decision to launch Pubkey. He gave the former president two gifts. The first was a replica of the famous “Buy Bitcoin” sign that a Pubkey founding partner held up behind then-Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen during a congressional hearing in 2017. The second was an American flag that had been held by another Pubkey patron. Consignment Senator Elizabeth Warren attempted to prank Bitcoin by flying it over the U.S. Capitol in honour of Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto.
Despite all the hype, Pakia stresses that Pubkey is not endorsing a presidential candidate. He hopes Harris will stop by. “Bitcoin shouldn't be a partisan issue,” he says. “It's everyone's issue.”
