5 Interesting Facts About Bitcoin Pizza Day

5 Interesting Facts About Bitcoin Pizza Day

Bitcoin Pizza Day is a special day commemorating the first time BTC was used as a payment for two pizzas. This special day is celebrated on May 22nd each year.

History

On May 18, 2010, a programmer and Bitcoin miner from Florida named Laszlo Hanyecz posted a challenge on the forum Bitcointalk.org. He offered 10,000 BTC to anyone willing to send him two pizzas.

Screenshot of Laszlo Hanyecz’s Post
Source: Bitcointalk.org

By May 21, he still hadn't found anyone to complete the pizza transaction with Bitcoin. Hanyecz revealed that he had to wait four days before someone finally agreed to his challenge.

Hanyecz received the pizzas from a 19-year-old named Jeremy Sturdivant (username "jercos"). The transaction took place around 2:16 PM Eastern Standard Time (EST), as recorded on the Bitcoin Talk forum.

In the original story, Sturdivant actually bought the pizzas with his credit card. However, Hanyecz bought the pizzas from Sturdivant using Bitcoin. This transaction marked the first time Bitcoin was used as a payment method.

"I just want to report that I successfully traded 10,000 BTC for pizza. Thanks to jercos! I think it’s interesting that I can say I paid for pizza with Bitcoin," Laszlo Hanyecz posted on Bitcointalk.org.

In a 2019 interview with CBS, Hanyecz told Anderson Cooper that he believed the transaction raised awareness about Bitcoin’s functionality within the community.

5 Interesting Facts About Bitcoin Pizza Day

There are various interesting facts about Bitcoin Pizza Day. Here’s a list of them.

Photo of Pizza Purchased with BTC
Thanks to Hanyecz’s passion for photography, there is documentation of the first Bitcoin pizza. Hanyecz shared a total of five pictures of his meal, showing pizzas with different toppings.

Spent $41
Data on the initial price of Bitcoin is hard to find. However, a Bitcointalk.org forum member stated that Hanyecz exchanged 10,000 BTC valued at $41. If this data is accurate, each BTC was worth about $0.004 at the time of the transaction.

Jercos Sold His Bitcoin
According to an exclusive interview with Bitcoin Who’s Who, Jeremy Sturdivant said he exchanged his Bitcoin for fiat currency worth $400. If Jercos hadn’t sold his 10,000 BTC, it would be worth approximately $11 trillion at today’s prices.

Bitcoin Mining at the Time
Hanyecz was a Bitcoin miner. Before half of Bitcoin’s supply was produced, each miner who successfully found a new block was rewarded with 50 BTC in 2012. Thus, Hanyecz likely needed to mine only 200 blocks to obtain 10,000 BTC. At that time, the competition for mining Bitcoin was not as difficult as it is today.

Popularized by The New York Times
Initially, Bitcoin Pizza Day was not widely celebrated. In 2014, Hanyecz’s story was popularized by an article in The New York Times. The story was then retold by various communities, eventually becoming a tradition in the larger Bitcoin community.

Conclusion

Bitcoin Pizza Day, celebrated annually on May 22nd, marks a significant milestone in cryptocurrency history as the first recorded instance of Bitcoin being used as a payment method. This day commemorates Laszlo Hanyecz's 2010 transaction where he exchanged 10,000 BTC for two pizzas, an event that has since become legendary within the Bitcoin community. From the modest beginnings of a $41 pizza transaction, Bitcoin's value and significance have soared, underscoring the evolution and growing acceptance of cryptocurrency. The event not only highlighted Bitcoin’s practical application but also laid the foundation for its increased awareness and adoption. Today, Bitcoin Pizza Day is celebrated globally, reminding us of Bitcoin's journey from an obscure digital asset to a revolutionary financial instrument.

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