Donald Trump makes a campaign stop at New York Bitcoin bar, reacts to Fed rate cut

Former US president Donald Trump just made an unscheduled stop at Pubkey, a Bitcoin-themed bar in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village, right next to New York University where his son, Barron Trump, just started going to.

It was part of his busy campaign schedule before a rally on Long Island. Pubkey’s CEO, Thomas Pacchia, called the experience of hosting Trump “amazing.”

Quite a lot of supporters and protesters gathered outside the bar. Local residents, clearly not fans, blasted Taylor Swift’s music from their windows as Trump drove by.

That was a jab at Trump’s failed attempts to win Taylor’s endorsement. She backed Kamala Harris instead, which, as you can imagine, didn’t quite sit well with him.

While he was at the bar, Trump also reacted to the Federal Reserve’s decision to cut interest rates by 50 basis points earlier today.

The rate now sits between 4.75% and 5%, the first cut since the Fed started aggressively raising them to fight inflation post-pandemic.

Trump said the cut either shows “the economy is very bad,” or that the Fed is “playing politics.” The cut, according to him, means there are deeper issues with the economy than the Fed is admitting.

He recently announced the launch of his new venture in World Liberty Financial, a crypto-centered business that’s still vague but already raising ethical concerns.

On Monday, he made it official, saying, “crypto is something we have to do,” during a livestream with his two sons and billionaire Steve Witkoff.

Trump wants to cut down on the rules around crypto. He’s been pretty open about it, calling out the SEC for being “hostile” toward the industry.

World Liberty Financial is getting ready to launch its own crypto token, WL, with big promises of financial freedom and as little government oversight as possible.

Meanwhile, the FBI has released some worrying numbers about crypto fraud. In 2023 alone, Americans lost $5.6 billion to crypto scams—a huge jump, 45% higher than the year before.

Criminals are taking advantage of how crypto works to commit theft, fraud, and money laundering. According to the report, most victims were investors, making up 71% of the losses.

His company’s website shows him speaking at a podium, promising financial freedom without government interference. Critics, though, aren’t sold.

They think fewer regulations could just lead to more crime, not less. And if Trump is back in power, it’ll be interesting to see how he deals with these issues.