I just came across an old topic, but I still find it interesting every time I read it—the story of Laszlo Hanyecz and those two pizzas.

Speaking of which, many people know this legend, but they might not be familiar with the details. Laszlo Hanyecz isn’t a big shot or a founder; he’s just a programmer living in Florida, a contributor to the early Bitcoin community. He not only used BTC but also actively participated in development, even optimized mining code to improve GPU mining efficiency. But what truly made him famous wasn’t these technical contributions, but that seemingly casual decision.

On May 18, 2010, Laszlo Hanyecz casually posted on the BitcoinTalk forum: “Can someone help me buy two pizzas? I’ll give 10,000 Bitcoin.” At that time, Bitcoin had little value; 10,000 BTC was worth about thirty dollars. The post sat for a few days without response until May 22, when a 19-year-old named Jeremy stepped in and said, “Sure, I’ll do it for you.” He ordered from Papa John’s and had the pizzas delivered to Laszlo’s door. Laszlo, biting into the pizza, transferred 10,000 BTC. Done.

This might seem trivial, but its significance runs deep. It was Bitcoin’s first real-world transaction, proving that it wasn’t just a number in code but could be used to buy things. That moment changed how people viewed Bitcoin—from a purely technical experiment to something that could circulate as money.

Looking back now, how much are those two pizzas worth? At today’s Bitcoin prices, those 10,000 coins would be worth over a billion dollars. But interestingly, Laszlo has never regretted it. He later said that the original purpose of Bitcoin was to prove it could be used as money, not just to hold and appreciate in value. That decision was, in essence, a way of validating Bitcoin’s core philosophy through action.

Since then, Laszlo Hanyecz’s story has become part of blockchain culture. Every year on May 22, the community celebrates “Bitcoin Pizza Day,” with some buying pizzas and others paying with BTC to honor this legend. It’s not just nostalgia; it’s a reminder that, in the process of Bitcoin moving from the fringes to the mainstream, it took the courage and persistence of an ordinary person.

Interestingly, Laszlo later used Bitcoin to buy coffee, burgers, and other everyday items, but none of those transactions became as famous as the pizzas. Much of the BTC he mined was spent on these real-world purchases. Facing criticism of “losing billions,” he always laughs and says, “I just wanted Bitcoin to be useful.”

Now, Laszlo Hanyecz has stepped back from the public eye and lives a quiet life. But his place in Bitcoin history is cemented. With a simple decision, he opened the door for cryptocurrency payments. From coffee to airline tickets, to houses and cars, many of the later applications trace back to that one moment of experimentation.

That’s the charm of blockchain—it's not driven by grand narratives or capital maneuvers, but by those brave enough to take the first step. Laszlo Hanyecz is exactly such a person, writing an everlasting legend with two pizzas.