The Legendary Bitcoin Pizza Day: How 10,000 BTC Changed History

Technology 2 months ago

Bitcoin Pizza Day

On May 22, 2010, a seemingly ordinary day turned into a historic milestone in the world of cryptocurrency. A programmer named Laszlo Hanyecz , an early Bitcoin enthusiast, made headlines by completing the first-ever real-world Bitcoin transaction. He offered 10,000 Bitcoins to anyone who would deliver two large pizzas to his doorstep.

At the time, Bitcoin was still an experimental digital currency with little monetary value. To most people, it was just lines of code on a computer screen. But Laszlo believed in its potential and wanted to prove that Bitcoin could be used for tangible goods—not just theoretical transactions. His post on a Bitcoin forum read: "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."

A fellow forum user accepted the offer and ordered the pizzas from Papa John’s using traditional money. In return, Laszlo transferred 10,000 BTC to the user’s wallet. Though modest at the time, those 10,000 Bitcoins are now worth hundreds of millions of dollars—a staggering reminder of Bitcoin’s meteoric rise.

This quirky exchange became legendary in the crypto community and is celebrated annually as Bitcoin Pizza Day . It symbolizes not only the humble beginnings of Bitcoin but also its revolutionary promise: to transform abstract digital tokens into real-world utility.

Today, Bitcoin Pizza Day serves as both a lighthearted celebration and a reflection point for how far cryptocurrencies have come—from pizza purchases to reshaping global finance.