Coinbase faced criticism from the Bitcoin community for its unconventional celebration of Bitcoin Pizza Day by only accepting USDC for pizza purchases instead of Bitcoin, causing a stir among cryptocurrency enthusiasts.
On May 22, Coinbase kicked off its celebration by introducing the Coinbase Pizza Truck in New York, offering pizza slices for $1 but only accepting USDC, a stablecoin issued by Circle, Coinbase’s longtime partner, as payment. This decision sparked controversy and backlash from Bitcoin supporters who felt that the exclusion of Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency being honored on Bitcoin Pizza Day, was disrespectful.
Despite the negative feedback, Coinbase and its founder Brian Armstrong remained silent on the issue. Former TechCrunch reporter Jacquelyn Melinek acknowledged the concept of selling pizzas for Bitcoin but defended Coinbase’s choice to focus on USDC due to lower transaction costs for businesses.
Critics of Coinbase argued that the exchange could have also accepted Bitcoin payments through the Lightning Network, a layer-2 solution known for its lower transaction fees, which Coinbase has recently been promoting as a way to facilitate “low-cost BTC transfers.”
Bitcoin Pizza Day commemorates the historic moment when Laszlo Hanyecz, a programmer, famously paid 10,000 BTC (now valued at approximately $700 million) for two pizzas on May 22, 2010, marking one of the earliest real-world transactions involving Bitcoin. This event is celebrated annually as Bitcoin Pizza Day, symbolizing Bitcoin’s evolution towards mainstream acceptance as a legitimate form of currency.