Restaurateur Patrick Hughes sees the US dollar as „toilet paper“ in the future, which is why he wants to give away his bars for crypto.

New York bar owner Patrick Hughes is offering his two adjacent bars in Manhattan for sale exclusively for cryptocurrencies.

According to a report in the New York Post, Hughes wants to get paid the purchase price for his bars called „Hellcat Annie’s“ and „Scruffy Duffy’s“ in the form of Ether (ETH) or Bitcoin (BTC). The two eateries are located in the notorious Clinton neighbourhood, also known as „Hell’s Kitchen“. As can be seen on the accompanying billboard (see below), the two establishments can only be purchased together. The joint purchase price amounts to an impressive 800 ETH or 25 BTC, which corresponds to an equivalent value of 1 million US dollars at the current exchange rate.

Billboard by Patrick Hughes. Source: NY Post
„I’m hoping to inspire one of those crypto guys who’s always wanted to own a bar,“ as Hughes explains the particular form of sale. While he sees cryptocurrencies „all the rage“, the US dollar would be „useless as anything but toilet paper in the next crisis“.

The 56-year-old bar owner states that the Corona crisis prompted him to take this step in the first place. For example, he had to reduce the staff in both bars by almost 90 % because of the lockdown. While he had 50 employees before the outbreak of the pandemic, there are now only „five or six“, as Hughes calculates.

Although selling a bar (or two bars) for cryptocurrencies alone is arguably a first, and provides further evidence of their adoption, the restaurateur is also earning scorn from the crypto community, however, mixed with substantial criticism.

„New York as a product is losing a lot of value right now as people are leaving the city en masse,“ as Reddit user Chuyito notes in light of the impact of the crisis on the metropolis. Accordingly, his interest in the sale offer is limited: „I’m totally out of that.“

„Seems like he wants to limit the number of bidders,“ as crypto user dladowitz in turn writes. His logic: „No one will pay a price in bitcoin if crypto funds go into escrow for settlement for 30 days. The price could double in that time.“

Many bars and restaurants have been advertising that they accept Bitcoin as payment for some time. Berlin bar Room 77 was one of the first eateries in the world to accept the cryptocurrency back in 2011. Last October, however, the establishment located in Kreuzberg had to close, which is probably also a consequence of the pandemic.

At the time of going to press, the Bitcoin price stands at 37,761 US dollars, which corresponds to a drop of 6 % in the last 24 hours. The ETH price, meanwhile, has gained 21% over the week, now reaching US$1,266.