Patrick Hughes, an owner of two bars in Hell’s Kitchen has put both setups for sale in exchange for cryptocurrencies
The crypto enthusiast offered to sell two of his restaurants i.e. Hellcat Annie’s and Scruffy Duffy’s in the Manhattan neighbourhood for Bitcoin. The businesses have been managed by his family for over 5 decades now.
The bars are going for a total of 25 bitcoins (the equivalent of $882,500 at the current price of $35,300 per BTC). Hughes also offered the interested buyers an option to pay 800 Ether (ETH), translating to about $896,000 for $1120 per ETH. According to a Saturday report from the New York Post, he is only willing to sell if the potential buyer is buying both setups located on Tenth Avenue
“I’m hoping to catch one of these crypto dudes who always wanted to own a bar“, he said.
Even though Bitcoin has had a rough journey trying to establish itself as a universal payment form, the owner is ready to part ways with the businesses for the crypto asset. Speaking to the New York Post, the 56-year old Queens native said, “Crypto is on fire, it’s a hot currency… It’s decentralised. It’s global“.
Hughes currently lives in Ho-ho-Kus Township in Bergen County, New Jersey. If successful, this will be the first sale of a pub involving cryptocurrencies exclusively. Charles Cascarilla of the crypto firm Paxos Trust said, “I’m not aware of any other bars or restaurants that have been sold for crypto only. But more and more people look at crypto as a monetary instrument. We’re really at a tipping point of its acceptance“.
Hughes revealed that the sale is being driven by the harsh economic situation caused by the coronavirus pandemic. He disclosed that he had to trim his workforce by 90% because of the pandemic, from 50 employees to just 5-6 at the moment.
While the sale of the two bars could be a big step in the cryptoverse, many have taken to social media to lambast Hughes for the sale’s timing. Majority of them believe Hughes is trying to profit off the Bitcoin rally, especially when New York businesses are fighting to stay afloat.