In a real signal of a vibe shift in Washington, a DC bar beloved by Republican staffers introduced that it was shuttering its doorways — and can reportedly get replaced by a bar that famously accepts Bitcoin as fee.
Native information website PoPville first reported on Thursday {that a} DC outpost of Pubkey, a bar situated in Greenwich Village that describes itself as a “vibrant bitcoin group,” had taken over the lease of Hill Nation, a well-liked barbecue restaurant and music venue. Hill Nation not too long ago introduced that it was closing its doorways in Penn Quarter after 14 years.
It’s a part of a development of crypto-centric social venues opening up throughout the nation up to now a number of years. Pubkey, which opened in 2022 close to New York College’s Manhattan campus, has a notably informal ambiance: a subterranean dive bar-slash-podcast recording studio, with a pub grub menu designed by an Eleven Madison Park alum, the place anybody may hang around and shut their tab with money, credit score or Bitcoin. (When Eater visited in 2022, they noticed “a wide range of regional types” of sizzling canine on the menu, in addition to a stuffed raccoon subsequent to “a tv that seemed to be enjoying A Christmas Story”.) However not like its rivals, Pubkey has a singular hyperlink to the White Home: Donald Trump made a high-profile go to throughout the 2024 marketing campaign and used $998.70 price of bitcoin to purchase smash burgers for the complete bar, changing into the primary president to conduct a bitcoin transaction – a symbolic embrace of the crypto group.
When reached for remark, Pubkey proprietor Thomas Pacchia confirmed that they’d be opening a DC location within the coming months, however declined to specify the situation. “The DC location could have podcast studios, occasion area, all that stuff,” he advised The Verge. Though he acknowledged the unfavourable publicity surrounding Trump’s go to, Pacchia added that Democrats similar to Rep. Ritchie Torres and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand had visited Pubkey as effectively and hoped the brand new location would draw a bipartisan crowd. “Anyone that wishes to come back and speak about Bitcoin is welcome. Actually, anybody.”
The bar it should reportedly exchange has diametrically opposed vibes. Positioned near DC’s energy lobbying corporations, Hill Nation, a bar whose decor couldn’t scream “TEXAS” any louder, has lengthy been often called a DC nightlife spot significantly beloved by Republican staffers searching for reside nation music, smoked brisket, and decently priced effectively liquor. It’s additionally a spot the place one may witness high-powered GOP lawmakers letting unfastened: Rep. George Santos was as soon as noticed singing “I Will Survive” on a Wednesday karaoke night time in 2023, whereas beneath a federal and Congressional investigation for fraud and mendacity about his background. (This reporter has personally attended a number of reside karaoke nights and not less than one firm vacation social gathering at Hill Nation over the previous a number of years.)
Pubkey’s arrival in Washington comes at a notable time in crypto’s historical past, whether or not it displaces the Republican bar or not. As soon as thought of an unserious group of libertarians by lawmakers, the cryptocurrency group now has large affect with the Trump administration, due to key crypto gamers similar to David Sacks and Elon Musk supporting Trump’s reelection. Trump himself has embraced cryptocurrency greater than earlier presidents, launching his personal memecoin, appointing Sacks as a “crypto czar” and saying a possible cryptocurrency strategic reserve. (The rise of crypto has inadvertently stoked competitors between the nativist MAGA proper and the worldwide economy-focused tech proper, a rigidity so palpable that Vice President J.D. Vance not too long ago needed to name for a truce between the 2.) With the upcoming opening of Pubkey, it seems that within the nation’s capital, the crypto faction is actually gaining floor.
Correction, March twenty first: Pubkey additionally accepts money and credit score, and it solely accepts Bitcoin for crypto funds; this story initially mentioned the bar was crypto-only.