Bitcoin Maxis Brand Coinbase an ‘Enemy of Bitcoin’ After It Sells Pizza With USDC on Bitcoin Pizza Day

On May 22, Coinbase set up a pizza truck selling slices for $1 worth of USDC. Coinbase said it was “celebrating how far crypto has come since 2010 in helping to create a cheaper, faster system.”

Crypto exchange Coinbase celebrated Bitcoin Pizza Day on Monday by setting up a pizza truck in New York City’s Flatiron District and selling slices for $1 worth of USD Coin (USDC).

The event was meant to commemorate the first-ever ‘real-world’ bitcoin transaction, which occurred in 2010 when Laszlo Hanyecz paid someone 10,000 BTC to order two Papa John’s pizzas. That figure would be valued at nearly $700 million today.

However, some crypto enthusiasts were not impressed by the USDC pricing. Several users on X (formerly Twitter) claimed the crypto exchange should be “ashamed,” asked why the truck would not accept bitcoin and stated that Coinbase was behaving like a “bad actor.”

“Coinbase should be ashamed for making people pay with USDC for a slice of pizza on Bitcoin Pizza Day,” wrote one user.

“Why doesn't the Coinbase pizza truck accept bitcoin? They're literally behaving like a bad actor.”

Others, however, were skeptical of the protests.

“Bro it’s such a good marketing ploy,” wrote one user. “No one is organically counter-protesting a Coinbase pizza truck. I’m like 99.9% that this is a publicity stunt.”

“Bro said cultural misappropriation lmao bitcoiners are down SO BAD.”

One attendee filmed themselves next to the Coinbase truck claiming, “The Bitcoin pizza guys are trying to beef with Coinbase.” In the video, a man can be seen walking by with a sign that reads “It’s Bitcoin Pizza Day not Shitcoin Pizza Day.”

Another passerby can be seen holding the same “Shitcoin Pizza Day” sign behind the Coinbase truck in a separate video. The individual is also seen briefly covering the Coinbase logo on the truck with the sign.

According to the description on the video, the person protesting is a core contributor to BTCPay Server.

Coinbase did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Blockware.

Papa John’s frequently celebrates Bitcoin Pizza Day, but the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) criticized the pizza chain in 2021 for trivializing crypto investing in one of its ads.

The ASA ultimately banned the ad, which featured a customer paying for a pizza delivery with bitcoin, from being rebroadcast.

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