In a bid to display low-cost funds with USDC, Coinbase confronted backlash from the Bitcoin neighborhood for not promoting pizzas for BTC throughout Bitcoin Pizza Day.
Cryptocurrency change Coinbase got here underneath fireplace from the Bitcoin neighborhood for its unconventional celebration of Bitcoin Pizza Day, opting to promote pizzas completely for USDC as an alternative of Bitcoin, triggering a wave of criticism.
On Might 22, Coinbase launched its celebration by rolling out the Coinbase Pizza Truck in New York, providing pizza slices for $1. Nevertheless, the one catch was that the change solely accepted USDC, a stablecoin issued by Circle, Coinbase’s long-time friend, as cost, sparking controversy amongst Bitcoin fanatics.
Whereas Coinbase’s transfer might have aimed to showcase the effectivity and transparency of stablecoin funds, the choice to exclude Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency being celebrated on the event, fueled furious outrage inside the crypto neighborhood.
Regardless of the backlash, neither Coinbase nor its founder Brian Armstrong issued any public statements relating to the matter on the time of reporting. Former TechCrunch reporter Jacquelyn Melinek noted in an X put up that she will get “the precept” of promoting pizzas for Bitcoin however tried to defend Coinbase’s give attention to USDC, citing decrease transaction prices for companies.
“Some folks complained about Coinbase promoting pizza with USDC as an alternative of bitcoin on Bitcoin Pizza Day. I get the precept, however there’s a much bigger message right here: shopping for pizza with USDC makes transaction prices for enterprise a couple of cents vs the standard 3% card charge.”
Jacquelyn Melinek
Nevertheless, critics argued that Coinbase may have additionally accepted funds in Bitcoin via the Lightning Community, a layer-2 resolution recognized for cheaper transaction charges, which the change has been promoting recently as a manner for “low-cost BTC transfers.”
Bitcoin Pizza Day celebrates the primary documented industrial transaction utilizing Bitcoin.
On Might 22, 2010, a programmer named Laszlo Hanyecz famously paid 10,000 BTC (at present valued at round $700 million) for 2 pizzas, making it one of many earliest real-world transactions involving the cryptocurrency. The occasion is now celebrated yearly as Bitcoin Pizza Day, symbolizing the start of Bitcoin’s journey in direction of mainstream acceptance as a type of foreign money.