Crypto bar provides a new way to lobby D.C.
December 24, 2025 • 2m 40s
Melissa Lee (Anchor)
00:00.310
welcome
back
the
crypto
industry
taking
a
unique
approach
to
lobbying
capitol
hill
lawmakers
emily
wilkins
joins
us
with
the
details
ham
Emily Wilkins (Washington Correspondent)
00:07.430
hey
melissa
well
yeah
look
crypto
it
made
a
splash
in
DC
with
millions
in
campaign
donations
a
huge
lobbying
effort
on
the
hill
now
they're
trying
something
new
a
dive
bar
pub
key
might
look
like
your
average
tavern
at
first
glance
but
little
easter
eggs
like
a
bitcoin
ticker
on
Emily Wilkins (Washington Correspondent)
00:23.270
the
wall
a
cocktail
on
the
menu
called
the
orange
pill
whale
and
most
importantly
the
ability
to
pay
with
bitcoin
this
is
a
crypto
bar
and
for
co-founder
thomas
pakia
the
space
is
less
about
the
food
and
more
about
the
community
around
bitcoin
the
Thomas Pacchia (Co-founder and CEO)
00:40.590
idea
of
pub
key
is
really
more
of
a
media
company
with
a
hospitality
wrapper
and
we
build
the
culture
and
community
through
physical
locations
Emily Wilkins (Washington Correspondent)
00:48.710
pub
key
also
has
a
podcast
studio
and
plans
to
hold
weekly
events
helping
explain
digital
assets
to
the
crypto
curious
assisting
with
that
effort
is
crypto
think
tank
the
bitcoin
policy
institute
which
has
their
offices
inside
the
space
connor
brown
the
group
's
head
of
strategy
Emily Wilkins (Washington Correspondent)
01:04.950
said
he
hopes
the
place
will
allow
for
more
dialogue
with
policymakers
experts
and
academics
Conner Brown (Head of Strategy)
01:12.090
this
is
a
long
standing
problem
with
with
bitcoin
is
that
sometimes
people
see
it
as
being
too
intangible
it
is
a
virtual
asset
and
so
it's
difficult
for
people
to
you
know
get
their
arms
around
it
sometimes
but
with
pub
key
we
now
have
a
physical
location
where
people
can
come
Conner Brown (Head of Strategy)
01:28.290
to
and
really
see
bitcoin
in
person
Emily Wilkins (Washington Correspondent)
01:31.750
pub
key
officially
opened
last
friday
but
it's
already
welcomed
folks
like
including
treasury
secretary
scott
besson
and
lawmakers
from
both
parties
the
groups
say
they
want
the
space
to
remain
nonpartisan
and
open
to
all
even
if
you
don't
have
crypto
you
are
still
welcome
to
Emily Wilkins (Washington Correspondent)
01:46.750
come
grab
a
beer
and
a
burger
guys
Carl Quintanilla (Anchor)
01:49.430
emily
i
wonder
how
you
gauge
sort
of
momentum
of
crypto
policy
on
the
hill
especially
with
the
announced
retirement
of
senator
loomis
and
whether
or
not
there'll
be
enough
champions
to
push
some
of
these
things
over
the
hill
Emily Wilkins (Washington Correspondent)
02:01.750
carl
it's
a
really
good
question
i
think
you
know
senator
lummis
means
that
a
huge
heavyweight
on
crypto
is
leaving
the
hill
that
said
there
are
a
number
of
other
senators
on
both
sides
of
the
aisle
who
are
really
committed
to
trying
to
get
something
done
and
there's
been
a
lot
Emily Wilkins (Washington Correspondent)
02:15.230
of
action
we've
seen
a
lot
of
meetings
everyone
from
bankers
to
major
crypto
companies
but
the
fact
of
the
matter
is
is
that
the
issues
they
were
grappling
with
on
this
market
structure
bill
a
couple
months
ago
remain
the
kind
of
main
sticking
points
that
they're
trying
to
Emily Wilkins (Washington Correspondent)
02:28.470
figure
out
now
and
of
course
as
you
know
next
year
you
have
the
midterm
which
means
you
can
kind
of
do
some
legislating
in
the
first
few
months
of
the
year
but
after
that
really
kind
of
runs
down
the
clock
on
the
ability
to
get
something
done
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