New York bar owner and crypto enthusiast Patrick Hughes is offering to sell two of his popular restaurants in the Hell’s Kitchen district of Manhattan for cryptocurrency.
Hughes will accept crypto payments in the form of Ether (ETH) or Bitcoin (BTC) for the sale of Hellcat Annie’s and Scruffy Duffy on 10th Avenue in New York City, according to a report from the New York Post. A sign in front of the bars indicates that the price for both properties is 800 ETH or 25 BTC – roughly $ 1 million at the time of publication.
Photo courtesy Tamara Beckwith, NY Post
“I hope to catch one of those crypto guys who has always wanted to own a bar,” said Hughes, describing crypto as decentralized, global and “hot currency.”
The 56-year-old local owner from Queens cited the shutdowns caused by the global pandemic as one of the reasons for the sale. Hughes reported 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 what appeared to be an NYC bar’s first sale for crypto, some on social media criticized Hughes for the timing. Bitcoin price has soared to a new all-time high at the start of the new year while New York companies are still suffering from the effects of the pandemic.
“NYC is a rapidly degrading commodity right now as people are leaving the city,” said Redditor Chuyito. “Hard pass.”
“Seems like he’s cutting the number of buyers for himself,” said Crypto Twitter user Dladowitz. “Nobody will commit to a price in BTC with a 30-day lock-up period on the escrow account. Could double your price. “
Bars and restaurants have encouraged the adoption of crypto by offering bitcoin payments as a medium of exchange. Room 77, a bar and restaurant in Germany, was one of the first stationary companies to accept Bitcoin. A customer bought a pint of beer in May 2011. The company closed its doors in October in what has been speculated by customers linked to restrictions due to the pandemic.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is priced at $ 37,761 after falling 6% in the past 24 hours. The price of ETH is up 21% in the past week to $ 1,266.
Cointelegraph reached out to Patrick Hughes but received no response at the time of publication.
