5 min read · May 19, 2024
A revolution often starts with a few small, seemingly insignificant acts. For Bitcoin‘s community, May 22 will forever be enshrined in crypto folklore as Bitcoin Pizza Day. On May 22, 2024, people around the world will celebrate the 14th anniversary of the historic first Bitcoin transaction.
It’s a feel-good story (depending on how you look at it) that reflects the original vision of Bitcoin and should bring welcome respite for those who love pizza and Bitcoin and need a break from 2022 and 2023’s Crypto Winter horrors.
On Bitcoin Pizza Day, crypto factions set aside their differences to break bread (well, pizza) and honor a Bitcoin pioneer who paid 10,000 BTC to buy 2 Papa John’s pizzas in 2010.
Now worth $658 million according to the Bitcoin Pizza Index (May 2024), the Bitcoin pizza transaction played a crucial role to prove the real-world use of crypto and help usher in the era of decentralized digital asset industries such as Web3, DeFi, NFTs and GameFi.
Bitcoin Pizza Day is the annual celebration of the first known Bitcoin transaction for a physical product. On 22 May 2010, a young US engineer and crypto enthusiast, Laszlo Hanyecz, paid a fellow user a staggering 10,000 BTC for 2 Papa John’s pizzas.
Laszlo Hanyecs is the “Bitcoin Pizza Guy” who paid 10,000 Bitcoin for 2 pizzas (valued at $28) to Jeremy Sturdivant (jercos).
Laszlo Hanyecz, now forever known as “Bitcoin Pizza Guy”, made a legendary post on 18 May 2010 on the crypto website forum BitcoinTalk in which he stated he wanted to exchange 10,000 BTC for 2 pizzas. Funnily enough, it took a while for someone to take him up on his offer.
A lucky fellow crypto enthusiast, Jeremy Sturdivant ( aka jercos), took him up on his offer and they quickly fleshed out a deal.
The original thread is still up on BitcoinTalk. It’s a riveting, even poignant time capsule that reflects the simple early days of cryptocurrency. (read here).
On 18 May 2010, Laszlo posted:
“ I’ll pay 10,000 bitcoins for a couple of pizzas.. like maybe 2 large ones so I have some left over for the next day. I like having leftover pizza to nibble on later. You can make the pizza yourself and bring it to my house or order it for me from a delivery place, but what I’m aiming for is getting food delivered in exchange for bitcoins where I don’t have to order or prepare it myself, kind of like ordering a ‘breakfast platter’ at a hotel or something, they just bring you something to eat and you’re happy!
I like things like onions, peppers, sausage, mushrooms, tomatoes, pepperoni, etc.. just standard stuff no weird fish topping or anything like that. I also like regular cheese pizzas which may be cheaper to prepare or otherwise acquire. If you’re interested please let me know and we can work out a deal.
Thanks, Laszlo”
Then on 22 May 2010, Laszlo left the short post that would change Bitcoin history:
It’s not quite Satoshi whitepaper stuff, but try to put a topping on that!
The post is still online today, but the last post was in 2016. Here are a few choice replies through the years:
2010
2012
2015
2016
The Bitcoin Pizza transaction proved that Bitcoin had a real-world use case and could be used instead of fiat currency (government-issued money like the US dollar) to purchase physical products.
It has since grown more important each year it makes us look back and then forward to understand Bitcoin’s journey. It’s a reminder of the adversity Bitcoin has faced down and the incredible once-in-a-generation investment opportunity it presents when looking at its historical price trajectory since 2010.
As always, this is not financial advice to invest in cryptocurrencies. Do your own research (DYOR) and decide for yourself.
Young Laszlo got a raw deal even back in 2010 when Bitcoin was in its infancy. At the time the 2 pizzas he received cost a mere $25, while 10,000 Bitcoins were valued at about $41.
However, back then, one Bitcoin was worth less than a penny. That’s around $0,006! Let that sink in for a bit.
Laszlo Hanyecz paid 10,000 Bitcoin for the 2 Papa John’s pizzas. That amount of BTC is now worth a staggering $658 million (May 2024)!
As much as Laszlo is admired and considered a folk hero by early adopters and newcomers alike, the industry won’t let him forget just quite the size of his generosity!
