Holy Pepperoni! May 22, 2023, marks the 13th anniversary of the first-ever Bitcoin transaction! Yay! Wanna hear the story?! Of course, you do!
Once upon a time, on May 22, 2010, in a land far, far, far away, well, not really far, it was in Florida, USA; a man paid for two pizzas with cryptocurrency. (F.L. is known for the high rate of serial killers, which may explain the lack of HODLing in this tale. lol)
Similar to Bitcoins White Paper Birthday, BTC’s Official Mint Day, and Satoshi’s Birthday, Bitcoin Pizza Day has become part of fun FinTech folklore; some state this is not related to the purchase but the soaring price of BTC. The man paid 10,000 Bitcoins today worth over $268,037,400 million for the two pizzas.
On May 22, 2010, known as Bitcoin Pizza Day, Laszlo Hanyecz agreed to pay 10,000 Bitcoins for two delivered Papa John’s pizzas. Organized on the Bitcoin talk forum, the Florida man reached out for help. “I’ll pay 10,000 Bitcoins for a couple of pizzas.. like maybe two large ones, so I have some leftover for the next day,” Hanyecz wrote. “I like having leftover 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!”
A British man took up Hanyecz’s offer and bought the two pizzas for him in exchange for 10,000 Bitcoins. The man got a bargain; he only paid $25 for the pizzas, while 10,000 Bitcoins were worth around $41 in 2010.
Since the inception of Bitcoin, Hanyeczs’ pizzas have got more and more expensive. Nine months after the purchase, Bitcoin reached parity with the U.S. dollar, making the two pizzas worth $10,000, and in 2015 — the fifth anniversary of Bitcoin Pizza Day — the two pizzas were valued at $2.4 million. Today, Bitcoin is around $30k, making the pizzas worth… long gone, but the stomach acid and story of the first Bitcoin transaction lives on.
Despite the astronomical rise in the price of Bitcoin, it seems Hanyecz is okay with 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 N.Y. Times.
What lesson do we pick up here?
Maybe it’s something like: “You’ll poop out pizza, but BTC is a hedge against inflation and indigestion!” hehe.
Happy Bitcoin Pizza Day, Fam!
Author
Alyze Sam is a refreshing blockchain strategist, a novel educator, an award-winning author, and a vehemently driven advocate.
First, dedicating her life to her patients in hospice nursing, Sam passionately embraced the world of financial technology after nearly losing her own life in 2013. After becoming physically disabled, Sam proclaimed her purpose lay in serving “underdogs” using ethical technologies.
Alyze is the CEO of Tech & Authors, where she publishes poetic technical education and obtains grants for tech startups. She is also the CEO of MassCrypto.io, a blockchain incubator, where she has launched most of her solutions with her long-term trusted partners and experts. Sam is the inventor and a co-founder at GIVE Nation, a children’s financial literacy protocol that rewards altruism. She co-founded Bakeree, the “Wix Solution” to NFT minting, and is a co-founder at OnionClub.io, a privacy-by-design social media application and marketplace.
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