Community angry after Coinbase taps USDC to celebrate Bitcoin Pizza Day
In a bid to exhibit low-cost funds with USDC, Coinbase confronted backlash from the Bitcoin group for not promoting pizzas for BTC throughout Bitcoin Pizza Day.
Cryptocurrency change Coinbase got here below hearth from the Bitcoin group for its unconventional celebration of Bitcoin Pizza Day, opting to promote pizzas solely for USDC as a substitute 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. Nonetheless, the one catch was that the change solely accepted USDC, a stablecoin issued by Circle, Coinbase’s long-time good friend, as fee, sparking controversy amongst Bitcoin lovers.
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 livid outrage throughout the crypto group.
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 famous in an X publish that she will get “the precept” of promoting pizzas for Bitcoin however tried to defend Coinbase’s deal with USDC, citing decrease transaction prices for companies.
“Some individuals complained about Coinbase promoting pizza with USDC as a substitute of bitcoin on Bitcoin Pizza Day. I get the precept, however there’s an even bigger message right here: shopping for pizza with USDC makes transaction prices for enterprise a number of cents vs the same old 3% card charge.”
Jacquelyn Melinek
Nonetheless, critics argued that Coinbase may have additionally accepted funds in Bitcoin by way of the Lightning Community, a layer-2 answer recognized for cheaper transaction charges, which the change has been selling not too long ago as a means for “low-cost BTC transfers.”
Bitcoin Pizza Day celebrates the primary documented business transaction utilizing Bitcoin.
On Might 22, 2010, a programmer named Laszlo Hanyecz famously paid 10,000 BTC (at the moment 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.
