Bitcoin Pizza Day: A Slice of Crypto History

Did you know that Bitcoin was first used to buy pizza? In the early days of Bitcoin, proponents were bullish on its potential. However, few people had the foresight to see just how valuable Bitcoin would become. The crypto community celebrates Bitcoin Pizza Day each year in recognition of the first real-life transaction using Bitcoin. This annual event symbolizes Bitcoin's humble beginnings and digital currencies' transformative potential. Reflecting on the exponential rise in Bitcoin's value since its early days teaches us the valuable lesson that remarkable developments often require time. 

Key Takeaways:

• Bitcoin Pizza Day honors the first use of Bitcoin in a real-life transaction.

• Crypto enthusiasts worldwide celebrate Bitcoin Pizza Day each year on May 22.

What Is Bitcoin Pizza Day?

Bitcoin Pizza Day isn’t merely a milestone event in the history of Bitcoin; the story itself offers a lesson in patience. Laszlo Hanyecz was an early Bitcoin miner in 2010. At that time, miners earned 50 BTC per block. Mining competition was minimal, because Bitcoin was still in its infancy and it was relatively easy for miners to amass a large stash of tokens. 

While thousands of merchants now accept Bitcoin payments for all sorts of transactions, back in 2020, no one had ever used cryptocurrency to complete a real-life transaction before. As an early Bitcoin adopter, Hanyecz made an example of Bitcoin’s practicality by using his bitcoins to purchase two Papa John's pizzas. Hanyecz placed his Bitcoin pizza offer on bitcointalk.org, offering to pay 10,000 BTC in exchange for the delivery of two pizzas. It took four days until a 19-year-old student named Jeremy Sturdivant accepted the offer. 

Bitcoin Pizza Day has become a monumental event in Bitcoin history, celebrating Bitcoin’s prominence as the world’s largest crypto in terms of market cap. 

Bitcoin Key Milestones

While Bitcoin launched more than 14 years ago with the mining of its Genesis Block, Bitcoin Pizza Day is only one of several notable milestones in its seminal decade-plus history. BTC has navigated through several hurdles, such as China’s crypto ban,, exceptional volatility and more. However, the Bitcoin community has continued to grow, and BTC is increasingly used for everything from buying NFTs to investing in real estate. Let’s look at some of its key milestones.

2009 – 2011

Jan 3, 2009 — Satoshi Nakamoto’s visionary Bitcoin project comes into being with the mining of its first block. 

May 22, 2010 — Laszlo Hanyecz purchases two pizzas for 10,000 BTC, the first real-world Bitcoin transaction. This date continues to be celebrated as Bitcoin Pizza Day.

Feb 2011 — Bitcoin’s price hits $1 for the first time. Awareness of the infamous Bitcoin pizza transaction contributes to increasing interest in the cryptocurrency, leading to a price jump to $30 within a few months' time. 

2013 – 2017

Oct 2013 — While Bitcoin Pizza Day places cryptocurrency in the spotlight, Bitcoin gains even greater media scrutiny when the FBI shuts down the Silk Road marketplace, an online marketplace used for money laundering and the sale of illicit drugs. 

Feb 2014 — The largest Bitcoin exchange at the time, Mt. Gox, is hacked, resulting in the loss of 850,000 BTC and gaining notoriety as one of the most significant security events in Bitcoin’s history. 

Aug 2017 — Bitcoin launches the Segregated Witness (SegWit) soft fork upgrade, which enables the creation of second-layer scaling solutions such as Lightning Network. The same month, Bitcoin Cash (BCH), a hard fork of Bitcoin, is introduced, enabling faster transactions with lower fees and dividing the Bitcoin community. 

Dec 2017 — Bitcoin is first traded on a regulatory exchange when Bitcoin futures are listed on the Chicago Board Options Exchange and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Bitcoin’s price exceeds $20,000 for the first time, attributed to the introduction of futures trading and the growing interest of institutional investors. 

2021 – 2023

Feb 2021 — Bitcoin’s market value reaches $1 trillion for the first time as a result of increased support from financial companies and institutional investors.

Nov 10, 2021 — Bitcoin hits its ATH of $69,045.

Nov 14, 2021 — Bitcoin has its second major upgrade, termed Taproot, which improves the efficiency and security of Bitcoin transactions while reducing costs. This upgrade also enables the execution of smart contracts on Bitcoin.

May 2022 —Bitcoin halving events begin, reducing mining incentives by half and occurring roughly every four years. While lowering mining incentives, halving also serves as a reminder of Bitcoin's finite supply and potentially even greater value over time.

Jan 2023 — The ordinal theory protocol is launched, which not only imprints serial numbers on satoshis for easier tracking but also enables inscriptions to individual satoshis to transform them into Bitcoin NFTs.

What Would the Bitcoin Pizza Be Worth Now?

Despite his lofty goal of switching people’s perception of Bitcoin from a speculative coin to a transactional one, Laszlo Hanyecz never expected that the price of Bitcoin would one day top $69,000. Nevertheless, thanks to his spending 10,000 BTC, Bitcoin Pizza Day has become an internationally celebrated annual event. 

This astounding growth in Bitcoin’s price placed the total potential cost of his two pizzas at more than $680 million at Bitcoin's peak price. As of May 5, 2023, Bitcoin's price is $28,276. If Hanyecz had held onto his Bitcoin rather than buying his pizza, it would be worth more than $280 million today. 

What Happened to the Bitcoin Pizza Guy?

When Florida resident Laszlo Hanyecz bought two pizzas for 10,000 BTC from Jeremy Sturdivant on May 22, 2010, the entire Bitcoin pizza transaction was valued at $41. With the astounding increase in Bitcoin’s price over the years, the renowned Bitcoin pizza purchase has retroactively proven to be the most expensive in history.

While the payor in the transaction has received plenty of attention for the events that led up to the celebrated Pizza Day, the recipient of those 10,000 BTC also ultimately missed out on a sizable cryptocurrency fortune. Like Hanyecz, Sturdivant sold the bitcoins far too early, spending the full 10,000 BTC he received for the transaction on travel.

While many people regret their missed opportunities for incredible wealth, both men involved in the Bitcoin pizza transaction look at it in a different light. Hanyecz sees himself as a Bitcoin pioneer, and Sturdivant stated in an interview with the New York Post that he’s proud to have played a role in Bitcoin's growth and history.

Closing Thoughts

Bitcoin Pizza Day is a significant milestone that signifies the journey of Bitcoin's adoption and reputation as digital gold, while symbolizing the broader impact of cryptocurrencies on our society. By reflecting on this event, supporters of Bitcoin are encouraged to maintain a long-term perspective, understanding that significant gains often require one to endure market volatility. Bitcoin Pizza Day is a potent reminder for crypto enthusiasts to be patient with their holdings.

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