On May 22, 2010, Bitcoin made history by being used as a payment method for the first time. A Bitcoin miner named Laszlo Hanyecz bought two large pizzas with 10,000 BTC, valued at around $41 back then.
The story started on the Bitcointalk forum when Hanyecz posted a message saying he wanted to buy pizza with bitcoins. Four days later, someone finally took him up on the offer and agreed to deliver pizza for 10,000 BTC. This unlikely partnership gave birth to Bitcoin Pizza Day, a holiday celebrated annually by cryptocurrency enthusiasts around the world.
Nine months after this incident, 10,000 BTC could be exchanged for $10,000. By 2015, those same 10,000 bitcoins were worth an estimated $2.4 million. And as of 2021, their value skyrocketed to $630 million!
For many in the crypto community, Bitcoin Pizza Day is a reminder of the day when Laszlo Hanyecz recklessly gave away millions of dollars. Every year on May 22nd, people remember those who, between 2010 and 2014, bought all sorts of things for BTC without realizing how valuable it could become. But there's another side to this story.
Laszlo Hanyecz's actions were driven by his strong beliefs about the first cryptocurrency. As a programmer from Florida, he was one of the earliest developers and miners of Bitcoin. He wrote the code for mining BTC on graphics processors and worked tirelessly to improve hash rate speed.
Hanyecz didn't see Bitcoin as an investment opportunity, but as a decentralized digital currency with real-world value. He was a true believer in the original concept of BTC, where the cryptocurrency was meant to be used as a payment method, not just traded for profit. This is why he felt it was important to buy pizza with his BTC way back in 2010.
One might wonder whether he would have made the same decision if he knew that Bitcoin would eventually skyrocket to $63,000. In various interviews, Laszlo stated that he never regretted his choice. He believed that by paying for pizza with Bitcoin, he demonstrated the practical use of cryptocurrencies. In fact, the programmer repeated this pizza purchase several times, ultimately spending around 100,000 BTC.
Perhaps this is because he had about a million BTC in his account. Before 2012, miners received 50 BTC for each new block added to the chain. Therefore, for 200 blocks, they were rewarded with 10,000 BTC. Considering the fact that in 2010 the Bitcoin blockchain could be maintained using GPU and there was virtually no competition, it is safe to assume that Hanyecz did not leave himself without means for a comfortable life.
As for how to perceive Bitcoin Pizza Day in 2023, it's up to you. Is it an important historical event marking the first purchase of a tangible item with cryptocurrency? Or is it simply the day when someone bought two pizzas for $286 million?
It's worth noting that today many businesses, including Domino's Pizza, Subway, Starbucks, Burger King, and others, accept payments in cryptocurrencies. You don't have to write a message on a forum, wait four days, and pay millions, as was the case with the first Bitcoin pizza purchase. Additionally, it's worth remembering that on May 22nd, there is traditionally an increase in trading volume for both Bitcoin and pizza.
