Donald Trump makes historic purchase with Bitcoin, first by a US president

Donald Trump walked into a Bitcoin-themed bar in Manhattan and bought burgers with Bitcoin. That sentence would have sounded like a fever dream five years ago. It happened at PubKey, a bar in New York City dedicated to Bitcoin culture, where Trump scanned a QR code, completed the transaction, and reportedly bought burgers and beers for patrons at the establishment.

The purchase was recorded on the blockchain at block height 861871. It marks the first publicly documented Bitcoin transaction by a US president, sitting or former, turning what could have been a forgettable campaign stop into a genuinely novel moment in both political and crypto history.

What actually happened at PubKey

The transaction took place on September 18, 2024, at PubKey bar in New York City, ahead of a campaign rally Trump was holding in Long Island. With assistance from bar staff, Trump scanned a QR code to complete the Bitcoin payment for the food and drinks.

His review of the experience was characteristically brief. “Very easy,” Trump said after completing the purchase.

PubKey’s social media accounts highlighted the moment as historic, and the crypto community largely agreed.

No other digital assets or protocols were involved in the transaction.

What this means for Bitcoin adoption and markets

Every time a major public figure engages positively with Bitcoin, it chips away at the perception that crypto is exclusively the domain of tech enthusiasts and speculators. Trump’s transaction at PubKey joins a lineage that includes the famous Bitcoin Pizza Day in 2010, when programmer Laszlo Hanyecz paid 10,000 BTC for two pizzas, a purchase that now represents one of the most expensive meals in human history.

The difference is context. Hanyecz was a developer experimenting with a nascent technology. Trump is a former president running for re-election, using Bitcoin as a deliberate political statement in one of the most watched elections on the planet.

Still, the transaction at block height 861871 is now permanently part of Bitcoin’s ledger. No policy reversal can undo that.

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