It’s Bitcoin Pizza Day: The Story Behind $700 Million In BTC Spent on One Dinner

Yearly on Might 22, the cryptocurrency neighborhood remembers and marvels at how one man paid for a pizza with bitcoin. Whereas the story might sound benign and uninteresting at first look, the small print are fully surprising and have undoubtedly led to regrets for some concerned.

On Might 22, 2010, Laszlo Hanyecz, a Florida resident, posted on the bitcoin Discuss discussion board, “Pizza for bitcoins?” The publish said that Laszlo could be prepared to pay “10,000 bitcoins for a few pizzas…like possibly two massive ones so I’ve some leftover for the subsequent day.”

Do not Miss:

A British man took Laszlo up on the provide, and despatched his two pizzas from Papa John’s in trade for 10,000 bitcoins. The man who purchased the pizzas obtained $41 in bitcoin and solely needed to pay $25. 

Clearly, the ten,000 bitcoins have appreciated in worth nicely past the $41 they have been value on that day in 2010. At present costs, they’re value over $700 million, sufficient to purchase greater than two pizzas. 

Laszlo went on 60 Minutes in 2019 to debate the transaction, saying that he “thought it will be actually cool if I might say, ‘Hey, I simply traded this, you realize, open-source web cash for a real-world good.'”

He additionally mentioned bitcoin Pizza Day, noting that “it is fairly cool to have a vacation in my honor. Many crypto fans around the globe rejoice at the present time annually because it marks the primary time that bitcoin really added worth to its customers.

Trending: 1 in 4 Individuals personal a share of Bitcoin in accordance with NASDAQ, how many people got started through this free crypto faucet?

The story has additionally grow to be a legend within the crypto neighborhood, because it reveals the 2 predominant features of bitcoin: a type of cost and a retailer of worth. Coinbase has used the story to create commercials that present these factors. In a lately released advertisement, Coinbase reveals how the halvings have impacted the value of bitcoin, utilizing pizza as a medium of rationalization.

The advert reveals that in 2012, one bitcoin was value one pizza; in 2016, one bitcoin was value a stack of pizzas, and in 2024, one bitcoin is value a mound of pizzas. The advert virtually definitely bought inspiration from Laszlo’s story, displaying how the bitcoin halvings have lowered the long run provide, which will help enhance the worth of 1 bitcoin and purchase increasingly more pizza. 

So, annually on Might 22, the crypto neighborhood serves up a pizza toast to Laszlo Hanyecz, one of many first to make use of bitcoin as supposed. This set off a sequence of occasions that has led the value of 10,000 bitcoins to go from $41 to over $700 million.

Learn Subsequent: