The Protocol: When Trump Bought Red-Meat Bitcoin Burgers, He Called It 'Crypto'

Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump won chits from the Bitcoin community for reportedly purchasing smash burgers at a Bitcoin-friendly New York pub.

Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump, who has faced criticism from Bitcoin enthusiasts for his family's involvement in a decentralized-finance project, attempted to regain some credibility by purchasing smash burgers at a Bitcoin-friendly New York pub.

According to the official X account of PubKey, Trump bought 50 smash burgers and Diet Cokes for people at the bar, at a total cost of $998.77 including tax and tip, which he then paid for in bitcoin.

A video of the scene, posted by Fox News, shows Trump's handlers performing the transaction on their phones while he stands nearby at the counter.

As much as it was a second chance for Trump to prove his Bitcoin bona fides, the choreographed transaction also served as a sort of benchmark for the blockchain's evolution as a viable payments option for a retail-facing business in the U.S.

PubKey, which is running a node on Bitcoin's Lightning Network on Voltage Cloud, used the Bitcoin payments app Zaprite to provide an invoice for the purchase, and Trump paid using a Strike wallet.

When asked whether the episode might have helped erase any lingering disgust among Bitcoiners over the World Liberty Financial rollout, PubKey founder Thomas Pacchia didn't exactly dispute the premise of the question.

“The other stuff that the family has going on is sort of outside our purview and scope,” he said in an interview. “Everybody is on a journey toward understanding the difference between Bitcoin and crypto. I like to meet people where they are.”