May 22 marks the ten-year anniversary of the first Bitcoin transaction, in which a Florida man paid for two pizzas with the cryptocurrency. The day has become part of folklore, not because of the transaction, but more the price: the man in question paid 10,000 Bitcoins, which today is worth over $90 million, for the two pizzas.
On May 22, 2010, programmer Laszlo Hanyecz paid a fellow Bitcoin Talk forum – the main gathering place for bitcoiners at the time – user 10,000 BTC in exchange for two Papa John’s pizzas. At the time, when Bitcoin was a little over a year old, the amount paid equated to approximately $40.
Hanyecz posted posted:
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. You can make the pizza yourself and bring it to my house or order it for me from a delivery place, but what I’m aiming for is getting food delivered in exchange for bitcoins where I don’t have to order or prepare it myself, kind of like ordering a ‘breakfast platter’ at a hotel or something, they just bring you something to eat and you’re happy!
Another user, known as “jercos” accepted Hanyecz’a offer.
To complete the transaction, Hanyecz sent the Bitcoin to Jercos, who then ordered the pizza.
Hanyeczs’ pizzas have gotten more and more expensive since Bitcoin first burst on the scene. Some nine months after the pizza purchase, Bitcoin hit parity with the US dollar, making the two pizzas worth $10,000.
Then, on the fifth anniversary of Bitcoin Pizza Day, the two pizzas were valued at a mouthwatering $2.4 million.
Despite the astronomical rise in the price of Bitcoin it seems Hanyecz is not phased about his deal. “It wasn’t like Bitcoins had any value back then, so the idea of trading them for a pizza was incredibly cool,” Hanyecz told the NY Times.
Happy #BitcoinPizzaDay, everyone! If you’re celebrating, tag @azcoinnews and send us photos of your pizza feasts.
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