New York City bar owner and crypto enthusiast Patrick Hughes is offering to sell two of his popular restaurants in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen for cryptocurrency.
According to a New York Post report, Hughes will accept cryptographic payments in the form of Ether (ETH) or Bitcoin (BTC) for the sale of Hellcat Annie’s and Scruffy Duffy located on 10th Avenue in New York. A sign in front of the bars states that the asking price is 800 ETH or 25 BTC for both properties – about $ 1 million at the time of publication.
“I hope to catch one of those crypto guys who always wanted a bar,” said Hughes, referring to cryptography as decentralized, global and a “hot currency”.
The 56-year-old native of Queens, cited closures caused by the global pandemic as one of the reasons for the sale. Hughes reported that he was forced to reduce the number of employees at Hellcat Annie’s and Scruffy Duffy by about 90%, from 50 people before the March outbreak to “five or six” today.
Despite the seemingly first sale of a bar in New York to encrypt, some people on social media have criticized Hughes for the moment. Bitcoin’s price rose to new highs at the beginning of the new year, while New York companies are still suffering the effects of the pandemic.
“NYC is an asset that is rapidly depreciating now, with the exodus of people leaving the city,” said Redditor Chuyito. “Spend it hard.”
“It looks like he’s decreasing the number of buyers,” said Cryptographic Twitter user dladowitz. “Nobody is going to commit to a price at BTC with a 30-day closing period for deposit. You can double your price. “
Bars and restaurants promoted the adoption of cryptography, offering Bitcoin payments as a medium of exchange. Room 77, a bar and restaurant in Germany, was one of the first physical companies to accept Bitcoin, with a customer buying a pint of beer in May 2011. The establishment closed its doors in October, which customers speculate may have related to restrictions due to the pandemic.
At the time of publication, Bitcoin’s price was $ 37,761, having dropped 6% in the last 24 hours. ETH’s price rose 21% in the last week to reach $ 1,266.
Cointelegraph contacted Patrick Hughes, but did not receive a response at the time of publication.