Bitcoin Pizza Guy: The Story of the 10,000 BTC Pizza

On this day, Laszlo Heinitz, a computer programmer from Florida, bought two pizzas for 10,000 bitcoins that had just been put into circulation. This day is now known as Bitcoin Pizza Day, and every year on May 22, the community will commemorate this important event. The idea of using cryptocurrency to buy goods and services was completely new at that time, and Heinitz couldn't resist the temptation. However, he couldn't even imagine that bitcoin would become a valuable currency like this, and one day, his pizzas would cost up to several million dollars. Pizza with the price of 10.000 BTC On Monday, May 18, 2010: on the oldest cryptocurrency forum Bitcointalk.org, developers are having boring conversations. They discuss the development of the Bitcoin source code and the challenges it may face. Recently, the world has experienced a financial crisis due to the schemes of Wall Street. Governments have injected trillions of dollars into the economy so that those who caused the problem can continue to live happily ever after; Many people feel that there is something wrong with the monetary system. Those who do the most damage to the economy will receive the most help. Just 1.5 years ago, an anonymous programmer Satoshi Nakamoto published a paper describing a completely new idea - the idea of money not controlled by governments and banks. In 2009, fans of this new system even made the first transaction. Satoshi Nakamoto transferred 50 BTC to cryptographer Hal Finney. This means that digital money is effective, and it can be created and transferred to others. But where can you find people willing to buy bitcoin? One of the contributors to Bitcointalk.org is Hungarian programmer Laszlo Heinitz. He often exchanges letters with Satoshi Nakamoto. He even mines bitcoin by himself. On May 18, 2010, Laszlo Heinitz came to Bitcointalk.org with a quite interesting idea. "Can the bitcoins sitting quietly on my hard drive be exchanged for something of value?" He started a topic and suggested transferring 10,000 BTC to a user who ordered two pizzas to be delivered to the house. He also listed the details of the toppings he likes.

There are a lot of people interested, but many of them cannot execute transactions because the protocol is slow. The commission at that time was 0.99 BTC and confirmation had to wait for 4 days; Historical agreement Heinitz posted a bid on a cryptocurrency forum on May 18. He offered to exchange 10 thousand bitcoins for any pizza with onions, sausages, mushrooms, tomatoes, or just cheese pizza. At that time, ten thousand bitcoins were worth about $40. A few days later, Jeremy Stardivent responded to the announcement. He agreed to exchange two large pizzas from Papa John's for cryptocurrency. However, since then, the price of bitcoin has started to soar. If Laszlo had kept his 10,000 bitcoins, they would be worth hundreds of millions of dollars today. This makes it one of the most expensive pizza purchases in history when looking back. Where has Bitcoin gone At that time, Jeremy Sturdivant was only 19 years old. He couldn't even imagine that fate would give him the opportunity to become a millionaire;

Sturdivant quickly spent his bitcoin on various small things. At the time of his last purchase, the price of BTC was around $400. Sturdivant believed it was a successful investment, as he made over 1000% profit. Like Heinitz, he has forever etched his name in the history of the cryptocurrency world. "Give a man a pizza, he can eat for a day; have him buy a pizza with bitcoin, and it will change the economy." - Sterdivant once joked. Is Laszlo a loser or a crypto angel? Many consider Laszlo a loser. They say he should only mine more and not sell bitcoin; Remember, this is the year 2010 and the VTS exchange rate is only $0.01. But even at that price, no one needs coins. There are no exchanges, no wallets, no Lightning Network for fast payments. Heinitz only stores bitcoin on disk. If he doesn't make the first offer, those bitcoins will continue to collect dust on his disk. The value of bitcoin largely depends on the acceptance and demand of new users. The most expensive pizza is the beginning of the market development. In just a few months, the first cryptocurrency exchange appeared and the bitcoin exchange rate increased many times. As VTS developer Danny Scott wrote, if someone buys bitcoin on May 22 for 10 years, he will be rich now. But without Heinitz, Bitcoin will never become "digital gold". Now with 10,000 WTC, Heinitz can buy all the pizza shops in the United States. But he does not regret his deal. Thanks to his fame, Laszlo has earned a significant amount of money. And becoming a cryptocurrency angel has sparked a powerful digital money industry. Transaction heritage Nowadays, May 22 is celebrated by the cryptocurrency community as "Bitcoin Pizza Day," a day symbolizing the beginning of using bitcoin in the real economy. This story has become a lesson for everyone involved in the world of cryptocurrency: it demonstrates how quickly value can change and how seemingly ordinary decisions can have unexpected consequences. Laszlo Hanyecz, who became the hero of this story, has no regrets about his decision. What matters to him is proving that bitcoin can be used as a medium of exchange, and he did that. The pizza deal encouraged other market participants to use cryptocurrencies more actively, which ultimately contributed to its growth and adoption. How has the real value of bitcoin pizza changed over the years? Many years after buying the historic bitcoin pizza, its value continues to attract the interest of cryptocurrency enthusiasts. How has its actual value changed over the years? 2010 When pizza was first sold for bitcoin At that time, bitcoin was still a young cryptocurrency, its value did not exceed a few cents, and no one could predict that it would grow to unprecedented heights. The value of two pizzas is 10,000 bitcoins. At the exchange rate at that time, that amount is about 41 dollars. Therefore, one bitcoin is worth 0.0041 dollars. 2012 At the beginning of 2012, the value of bitcoin was about 5 dollars. The value of 10,000 bitcoin used to buy two pizzas was already 50,000 dollars. 2013 By the end of 2013, the price of bitcoin had risen to 1,000 US dollars. The value of 10,000 bitcoins used to purchase two pizzas was already 10 million US dollars. 2014-2016 In 2014, the value of bitcoin began to decline and by 2016, it was only about 500 dollars. The value of 10,000 bitcoins used to buy two pizzas had decreased to 5 million dollars. 2017 In 2017, bitcoin surged to a record high of $19,900. The value of 10,000 bitcoins used to buy two pizzas was $199 million. 2020-2021. After a prolonged bear market, 2020 witnessed a significant surge in the cryptocurrency market. In March, the price of bitcoin dropped to as low as $4,000 due to market panic caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, afterwards, the price began to gradually increase, reaching a peak of $63,000 in April 2021. The total value of bitcoin spent has now reached $630 million. 2022-2023 Throughout 2022, the value of the first cryptocurrency continuously decreased, but in 2023, we see at least a market recovery. The value of those 10,000 bitcoins is now more than half higher than in 2021. 2024 In December, bitcoin reached an all-time high of over $106,000. As of May 22, 2024, 10,000 BTC is worth nearly $1.06 billion. What can I buy with 10,000 BTC We decided to find out what could be bought with 10,000 bitcoin in different years. I think Laszlo Hanic in 2010 would be very surprised to know that he could buy, for example, a Lockheed Martin F-35A. Frequently Asked Questions On what day is Bitcoin Pizza Day held? Every year, Bitcoin Pizza Day is celebrated on May 22 to commemorate this historic transaction. How many bitcoins were traded for the pizza? Heinitz paid 10,000 BTC for the pizza, which at the time was only equivalent to 41 dollars. That purchase would be worth over 350 million dollars today. When was the first time a pizza was sold for bitcoin? The first known commercial transaction using bitcoin was carried out in 2010. Laszlo Hanyecz bought two pizzas for 10,000 BTC. Since then, bitcoin has become a more popular means of payment, although not everywhere. How many Bitcoins are mined each day? The amount of bitcoins mined is not constant and depends on the complexity of the network and the number of miners. Currently, about 900 bitcoins are mined per day, but this number may vary depending on market conditions.