Bitcoin Pizza Day: How 10,000 BTC Bought Two Pizzas and Made History
On May 22, 2010, a programmer paid 10,000 bitcoins for two pizzas—marking the first commercial Bitcoin transaction. Discover the origin of Bitcoin Pizza Day and how those coins came to be worth over $1 billion.
Jimere
Some holidays remember outstanding people in history. Others commemorate significant events. Yet some serve as a comical reminder of how journeys unfold.
Bitcoin Pizza Day is one such holiday. Celebrated on May 22, it marks the anniversary of the same day in 2010 when Laszlo Hanyecz paid 10,000 bitcoins to Jeremy Sturdivant for delivering two pepperoni pizzas to Laszlo’s house in Florida, USA. Laszlo, a software programmer, had posted an offer on a forum called Bitcoin Talk, where he said he would pay 10,000 bitcoins for “a couple of pizzas… maybe 2 large ones.”
The pizza purchase marked the first documented commercial purchase made using bitcoins. At the time, this transaction was not outrageous. The 10,000 bitcoins were altogether worth about $41, though Jeremy made a profit since he bought the pizzas from Papa John’s for $25. Barely nine months after the transaction, one bitcoin was valued at one dollar, so the two pizzas cost $10,000.
In May 2015, the 10,000 bitcoins were worth $2.4 million. Ten years later, in May 2025, the value of 10,000 bitcoins is $1.09 billion. It is tough to imagine two pizzas exchanged for such a fortune, but it shows just how greatly the value of bitcoin has risen. Bitcoin is a digital currency that has gained acceptance and is widely used in digital transactions. However, it remains highly volatile and very risky for investors.
In a 2013 interview with the New York Times, Laszlo stated that he did not regret his pizza purchase, noting that “It wasn’t like Bitcoins had any value back then, so the idea of trading them for a pizza was incredibly cool. No one knew it was going to get so big.” He also said that he had given up mining bitcoins. He further revealed that he sold the bitcoins he had left when one bitcoin was worth slightly less than one dollar, making a net profit of about $4,000.
If Laszlo had sat on his coins for a few more years, he would have made a fortune. We can only wonder if he will ever get back into mining bitcoin.
Whether he does or not, one thing is clear. Every year, thousands of people in the cryptocurrency community commemorate the 10,000 BTC pizza and celebrate the unpredictable nature of technological progress.
The original conversation on the forum can be seen here.
