On May 22, 2010, Bitcoin became more than just an ideaâit became real money. Laszlo Hanyecz, a developer and early contributor to Bitcoinâs codebase, posted a casual offer: âIâll pay 10,000 bitcoins for a couple of pizzas.â Five days later, someone took him up on it. Two Papa Johnâs pizzas were delivered. A screenshot was posted. Bitcoin had entered the real world.Â
That 10,000 Bitcoin, worth about $41 at the time, is now valued at over $1.1 billion. And with Bitcoin hitting a new all-time high of $111,999 on the 15th anniversary of the transaction, the story of the âBitcoin Pizzaâ carries more weight than ever.
It wasnât just about the pizza. This was the moment Bitcoin proved itself as a functioning currency. Until then, it had lived mostly in theory and codeâtalked about by cryptographers and mined by hobbyists. Hanyeczâs post, and the trade that followed, transformed the idea into action. âThis transaction made Bitcoin real in my eyes,â he said in a 2019 interview. âIt wasnât worth much at the time. I wouldnât have spent $100 million on pizza, right? But if I hadnât done that, maybe Bitcoin wouldnât have become so popular.âÂ
Over the summer of 2010, Hanyecz continued using Bitcoin to buy pizzas, eventually spending more than 79,000 BTCânow worth nearly $8.7 billion. While some have joked at his expense, the truth is this: without those early real-world transactions, Bitcoin might never have proven its use case. Hanyecz helped move Bitcoin from the fringe into functionality.
That legacy still shapes us today. Bitcoin Pizza Day has become a cultural milestone in the crypto world, with meetups, pizza parties, and educational events held globally each May 22. The day serves as a reminder of how far the technology has comeâand the importance of everyday actions and the impact they have.Â
Just this week, fast food chain Steak ân Shake began accepting Bitcoin via the Lightning Network, signaling a growing wave of mainstream adoption. What once felt experimental is now becoming part of everyday commerce.Â
Bitcoin Pizza Day is about recognition. One simple transaction proved that Bitcoin could workâand 15 years later, the world is still building on that first bite.Â