Laszlo Hanyecz, a Florida man, bought two pizzas for 10,000 Bitcoin on May 22nd, 2010.
Even though this purchase seems like a big mistake at current times, Bitcoin was almost worthless back then, with the 10,000 $BTC being worth around $41.
The story highlights the volatile nature of crypto, showcasing Bitcoin's massive price swings over the years.
There have also been speculations by prominent figures in the crypto space, that Bitcoin could reach $1 million in the next decade.
By then, these pizzas would have been worth a staggering 10 billion
The truth they say, is often stranger than fiction.
14 years ago today, a Florida man named Laszlo Hanyecz made history as one of the first people to use Bitcoin in a real-world purchase.
However, the “purchase” itself isn’t the most special thing about this story—what makes Hanyecz’s story interesting is what he bought, how much Bitcoin he paid for it, and what this purchase means for the Bitcoin community, more than a decade after.
Fourteen years ago today, on 22 May 2010, which is now known worldwide as "Bitcoin Pizza Day", Laszlo Hanyecz went on a Bitcoin Talk forum to reach out for help.
The Florida man agreed to pay 10,000 bitcoins for the delivery of two Papa John's pizzas. On the Bitcoin Talk forum, Hanyecz reached out for help.
10,000 for two pizzas
The snapshot above is from the Bitcoin Talk forum, and features a message authored by Hanyecz “I’ll pay 10,000 bitcoins for a couple of pizzas” he said.
"Like maybe 2 large ones so I have some leftover for the next day,"
Surely enough, someone—Jeremy Sturdivant, a 19-year-old at the time—took Hanyecz up on his offer, and delivered two large Papa Johns for 10,000 Bitcoin.
While this story may seem strange—or even horrifying to someone living in 2024, back then, Bitcoin was worth around $0.00041.
This means that Hanyecz's pizzas were worth around $41. Fast forward to the present-day Bitcoin craze, and anyone can already see where this story is going.
Hanyecz’s “mistake” started to become more popular, less than a year after the pizza purchase, when Bitcoin hit the $1 mark in February 2011.
By then, Bitcoin was already two years old, and the Hanyecz pizza purchase was worth around $10,000—But Bitcoin didn’t stop there.
In 2013, at Bitcoin's four-year anniversary, the cryptocurrency traded at around $200 by October, making the Pizzas worth about $2 million.
By December 2017, they were worth $190 million with a $19,000 Bitcoin price tag.
Today, assuming a price of $70,000 per Bitcoin, those Pizzas are worth around $700 million.
The Bitcoin Pizza Day histories
Reporter, Nick Bilton from the New York Times tracked Hanyecz down for an interview, in which it was revealed that Hanyecz got the 10,000 Bitcoins from mining them on his computer.
Hanyecz, aged 32 then, stated that he has no regrets about those pizzas, and that “It wasn’t like Bitcoins had any value back then, so the idea of trading them for a pizza was incredibly cool,”.
Overall, the story goes to show how volatile cryptocurrencies are, and that lowly beginnings do not necessarily mean that projects lack promise.
At current price levels, Bitcoin is currently struggling to break the $70,000 price level, and Jack Dorsey, Martin Shkreli, and Cathie Wood among others have speculated on several accounts, that Bitcoin might be hitting 1 million dollars in the next decade.
(Just out of curiosity, at a $1 million price tag, 10,000 Bitcoins would be worth a staggering 10 billion—which might make it slightly harder for Hanyecz to “have no regrets”.)
Bitcoin at $1 million
The latest to add to this outlook is renowned analyst, Willy Woo, who says that Bitcoin at $1M will happen “easily” in the next 10 years.
Woo emphasized that central banks might not allow Bitcoin to rally so hard or even become a reserve currency, without stifling its growth with CBDCs.
Toby Cunningham, one of BTC’s detractors also commented on Woo's outlook, highlighting that Bitcoin is too expensive, slow, and non-scalable to become a global currency.
In all, Woo suggests a “a purge of central bank corruption” as one of the milestones in the path to global Bitcoin adoption, which might turn out to be a walk in the park within the next ten years.
Disclaimer: Voice of Crypto aims to deliver accurate and up-to-date information, but it will not be responsible for any missing facts or inaccurate information. Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile financial assets, so research and make your own financial decisions.