Bitcoin is a revolutionary digital currency that has changed the way people transact and store value. But do you know how it all started? One of the most iconic events in Bitcoin’s history is the Bitcoin Pizza Day, which marks the first time someone used Bitcoin to buy a real-world good.
Bitcoin Pizza Day is a reminder of how far Bitcoin has come from its humble beginnings to its current status as a global phenomenon. It is also a celebration of the innovation and creativity of the Bitcoin community, which continues to push the boundaries of what is possible with this technology.
The story goes back to May 22, 2010, when a Florida programmer named Laszlo Hanyecz posted on a Bitcoin forum that he was willing to pay 10,000 bitcoins for two pizzas delivered to his house. He wrote: “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 left over pizza to nibble on later.”
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At that time, Bitcoin was still a new and obscure technology, with no established market value or widespread adoption. Hanyecz had mined some bitcoins on his computer, but he had no idea what to do with them. He thought it would be cool to exchange them for something tangible, like food.
Luckily, someone took up his offer and agreed to order two pizzas from Papa John’s and deliver them to Hanyecz in exchange for 10,000 bitcoins. The pizzas cost about $30, which means Hanyecz paid around $0.003 per bitcoin. The person who accepted the deal was a British man named Jeremy Sturdivant, who went by the nickname “jercos” on the forum.
The transaction was completed and Hanyecz posted a picture of the pizzas on the forum, confirming that he had received them. He wrote: “I just want to report that I successfully traded 10,000 bitcoins for pizza. Thanks jercos!”
The event was recorded on the Bitcoin blockchain as transaction hash ID a1075db55d416d3ca199f55b6084e2115b9345e16c5cf302fc80e9d5fbf5d48d.
Little did Hanyecz know that his pizza order would go down in history as the first documented case of Bitcoin being used to purchase a physical good. The day of the transaction, May 22, is now celebrated as Bitcoin Pizza Day by the Bitcoin community around the world.
The significance of Bitcoin Pizza Day is not only that it demonstrated the potential of Bitcoin as a medium of exchange, but also that it showed how much Bitcoin has appreciated in value over time. The 10,000 bitcoins that Hanyecz spent on the pizzas are now worth over $200 million at the current market price of around $20,000 per bitcoin.
The value of the 10,000 bitcoins used in the transaction has also skyrocketed over time, reaching hundreds of millions of dollars at current prices. This makes the pizzas arguably the most expensive ones ever bought in history. However, Hanyecz does not regret his decision and has said that he enjoyed the pizzas and was happy to be part of the early days of bitcoin.
That means Hanyecz paid about $10 million per pizza, making them the most expensive pizzas ever bought. Of course, Hanyecz did not regret his decision, as he later said: “It wasn’t like Bitcoins had any value back then, so the idea of trading them for a pizza was incredibly cool.”
The bitcoin pizza transaction has become part of the folklore of cryptocurrency and is celebrated every year on May 22 as Bitcoin Pizza Day. On this day, bitcoin enthusiasts around the world commemorate the event by buying goods (often pizza) with bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. Some also use the occasion to reflect on how far bitcoin has come since its inception and how much potential it still has.
The bitcoin pizza transaction may seem trivial today, but it was a milestone in the history of cryptocurrency. It demonstrated that bitcoin could be used as a medium of exchange for goods and services, not just as a store of value or a speculative asset. It also showed that bitcoin could facilitate cross-border transactions without intermediaries or fees. Moreover, it inspired other people to experiment with using bitcoin for everyday purchases and created a sense of community among early adopters.