Scott Bessent Drops In On Bitcoin Bar PubKey, BTC Drops Below $83k

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent made a surprise visit to the grand opening of the Bitcoin bar PubKey in Washington, DC, yesterday, sparking optimism in the crypto community even as BTC slumped more than 9% to below $83k.

The visit by such a prominent government official was viewed as a boost for Bitcoin, reflecting growing mainstream acceptance of the asset.

Steve Lubka, the president of investor relations at Nakamoto, said that the Treasury Secretary’s appearance at the bar is the “sign” that traders and investors “have been waiting for.” 

“Having the Secretary of the Treasury at the Pubkey DC launch seems like a moment I’ll look back on and say, ‘wow, it was all so obvious,’” added Strive CIO Ben Werkman on X. 

Bitcoiners including analyst Fred Krueger, Gemini Chief of Staff Jeff Tiller, Bitcoin podcaster Natalie Brunell, and Bitcoin Policy Institute co-founder David Zell also commented on Bessent’s visit, viewing it as a plus for the leading crypto.

Bitcoin Under Pressure

But Bessent’s visit came at a time of extreme pressure on the crypto market, with Bitcoin now down more than 33% from its all-time high in early October, and on a day when the market was hit by more than $1.92 billion in liquidations, according to CoinGlass. 

Bullish bets for Bitcoin took the hardest hit, with more than $508 million wiped out from those positions in the last hour. 

Crypto market liquidations (Source: CoinGlass)

Bitcoin plunged to as low as $82,082.84 earlier today, but has pared losses to trade at $82,342.37 as of 4:26 a.m. EST. The broader crypto market followed Bitcoin’s lead, with overall market capitalization slipping over 7% in the past 24 hours. 

Bessent Seen As Pro-Crypto

Bessent has been seen by the digital asset community as crypto-friendly since his nomination for Treasury Secretary in late 2024. 

He has previously echoed remarks made by President Donald Trump that the US should be the world’s crypto capital. Bessent has also backed several of this year’s crypto bills, which includes the GENIUS Act.

In August, Bessent confirmed that the Treasury was exploring budget-neutral mechanisms for purchasing Bitcoin for Trump’s proposed strategic BTC reserve. 

More recently, on Oct. 31, Bessent praised the Bitcoin network’s resiliency 17 years after Satoshi Nakamoto released the white paper. 

“Bitcoin never shuts down,” he said, before adding that Senate Democrats can “learn something from that.”