Former US President Donald Trump isn't going to stop making headlines anytime soon. This time, he used Bitcoin to pay for hamburgers.
Former President Trump campaigned through New York City on Wednesday and stopped by the Pubkey, a bar that accepts crypto for payment. In total, he transferred more than $998.70 worth of Bitcoin for a dozen burgers that could be delivered to the viewers who would watch his show. He amusingly quipped and called them, "Crypto burgers."
The transaction was first reported on X, formerly Twitter, by Pubkey.
Bitcoin evangelist and CEO of Professional Capital Management, Anthony Pompliano, was also present at the event. Trump himself posted the moment on Truth Social.
While Donald Trump didn't exactly speak kindly about Bitcoin when he was in the White House, all of that has changed with World Liberty Financial, his new venture, and now, most recently, with his Bitcoin burger buy. He even spoke at the Bitcoin Conference 2024 in Nashville to further entrench himself into the crowd of crypto enthusiasts. A complete turnaround from the man who once famously branded Bitcoin a "scam".
The number of ex-presidents who are connected in one form or another to crypto is very small, including Bill Clinton, who was gifted Bitcoin for his winning speech in 2016. According to documents, Trump holds over a million in crypto assets.
Given 48 days until the US election, taking on cryptocurrency might just be the strategic play Donald Trump needs if he is to campaign in key battleground states. Said another way, Vice President Kamala Harris led Trump by 16 points in New York according to an August ActiVote poll.
Though Harris has yet to make emphasis on cryptocurrency a key campaign issue, she says she supports policies for growth in the area. Another sign of how digital currency has become an increasingly important part of modern politics comes from the political action committee Future Forward, which supports Harris, the group accepts cryptocurrency donations.
This was Trump's "crypto burger" moment as World Liberty Financial went on to launch an evolution of his stance on Bitcoin, bringing digital currencies into a substantive aspect of US elections. Time only will tell if this makes all undecided voters stop and listen; be that as it may, surely, this adds a new twist to the 2024 race.