Crypto community celebrates Bitcoin Pizza Day
Bitcoin Pizza Day has been celebrated in the crypto community for 13 years now, as a commemoration of the cryptocurrency’s first commercial exchange. On May 22, 2010, Bitcoin was first used to purchase products in the real world. Coincidentally, the first cryptocurrency product purchased was a pizza!
On May 22, 2010, Laszlo Hanyecz paid 10,000 bitcoins to have two pizzas delivered from Papa John’s. At today’s Bitcoin rate, they would have been worth $268 million.
How (expensive) pizza made history
Exactly 13 years ago today, crypto pioneer Laszlo Hanyecz dared to announce his visionary idea in the renowned Bitcoin Talk forum. He asked if someone would do him a favor by sending him two deliciously fragrant pizzas in exchange for 10,000 BTC.
This simple act was the first step into a new era of digital currency. Laszlo Hanyecz was willing to invest his Bitcoin fortune to acquire a real asset that would satisfy his taste buds. A daring venture into a world that was still in its infancy at the time and was often ridiculed by skeptics.
Laszlos was willing to pay 10,000 bitcoin for a couple of pizzas—preferably two large ones, so he would have some left over the next day. It didn’t really matter to him whether someone made the pizza themselves and brought it home or ordered the pizza from a delivery service. All he really wanted was food delivered in exchange for bitcoin.
Laszlo’s request received a great response from the burgeoning bitcoin community. A member of the community, nicknamed «Jercos», jumped at the chance and accepted the challenge. He organized the exchange of 10,000 BTC for two freshly baked pizzas from Papa John’s. Since then, May 22 has been celebrated as “Bitcoin Pizza Day”.
Bitcoin Pizza Day: The first time a crypto asset was defined
The crypto pioneer could hardly have guessed what kind of reaction his hunger would trigger – and that he would go down in history with his pizza order. At the Bitcoin price all-time high, the 10,000 Bitcoins were worth 690 million US dollars.
Although he did not pay for the pizza directly with Bitcoin – because of course there was no crypto payment system at the time – the exchange went down in history. The cryptocurrency was received by the intermediary who took the order – and collected the 10,000 bitcoins. At today’s Bitcoin price, they would be worth $268 million.
What is more important for the crypto community, however, is that the transaction brought equivalent value into the BTC system for the first time. Laszlo arbitrarily determined that a pizza was worth 5,000 units of the cryptocurrency to him. After that, all he had to do was find someone who was interested in the swap.
Cryptocurrency soon spread and became an increasingly popular means of payment – until it finally achieved worldwide fame.
Pizza to start?
Bitcoin not only represents a finite commodity and fixed asset, but also functions as a means of payment that is used beyond speculative market activities. Laszlo Hanyecz’s appointment may not have been beneficial to himself in retrospect, but it still has significant significance for crypto history. Nowadays it is much easier to pay for a pizza with bitcoin and the landscape of bitcoin usage has changed significantly.
The meaning of money – whether it is cryptocurrencies, digital assets or fiat money – is ultimately based on belief. The basic promise underlying the financial system is that a given amount of currency represents measurable value that can be exchanged for goods, services, or assets.
This trust forms the foundation of the economic system and enables the exchange of goods and trade on a global scale. A shared understanding and acceptance of the value of a means of payment is crucial to its effectiveness and usefulness in society.
This fundamental belief makes it possible to store wealth, conduct transactions and facilitate daily economic life.
