Every year on May 22, the cryptocurrency world celebrates a unique and lighthearted holiday known as Bitcoin Pizza Day—a digital-age meme that honors the first real-world transaction using Bitcoin. This historic moment centers around one man: Laszlo Hanyecz, the software developer who famously spent 10,000 BTC on two pizzas in 2010. While today that amount would be worth hundreds of millions of dollars, at the time, Bitcoin had no established value. This story isn’t just about a quirky purchase—it’s a foundational moment in the evolution of digital currency.
The First Real-World Bitcoin Transaction
On May 18, 2010, Laszlo Hanyecz posted on the Bitcointalk forum:
“I’ll pay 10,000 BTC for a couple of pizzas… like maybe 2 large ones so I have some left over for the next day. I like onions, peppers, sausage, mushrooms, tomatoes, pepperoni, etc…”
He was offering what equated to about $40 at the time—10,000 Bitcoin for two delivered pizzas. For several days, no one responded. By May 21, he began to wonder if his offer was too low. But on May 22, a user named Jeremy Sturdivant (known online as “jercos”) accepted the deal and ordered two Papa John’s pizzas using a credit card, receiving the 10,000 BTC in return.
This simple exchange marked the first time Bitcoin was used to purchase physical goods, giving the digital asset its first real-world valuation: 1 BTC ≈ $0.004.
👉 Discover how early Bitcoin transactions shaped today’s crypto economy.
Beyond the Pizza: Laszlo’s Contributions to Bitcoin
While Laszlo is best known for the pizza purchase, his role in Bitcoin’s early development is far more significant. As a skilled software engineer, he began contributing to Bitcoin as early as 2009, shortly after Satoshi Nakamoto released the whitepaper.
Some of his key contributions include:
- Fixing critical bugs in the original Bitcoin codebase.
- Creating and deploying the first macOS version of Bitcoin Core, making it accessible to Apple users.
- Pioneering GPU mining, which dramatically increased mining efficiency.
In fact, just weeks before buying the pizzas, Laszlo introduced GPU mining to the Bitcoin community. After experimenting on his MacBook, he found that graphics processing units could mine Bitcoin up to 10 times faster than CPUs. He shared his code publicly on Bitcointalk, despite initial skepticism from Satoshi Nakamoto, who worried GPU mining might lead to centralization.
Laszlo’s vision was clear:
“With enough Bitcoin, I’ll never have to pay for food again.”
His work laid technical groundwork that helped scale early mining operations and encouraged broader participation in the network.
A Symbolic Gesture, Not a Regret
Today, with Bitcoin trading around $60,000 (as of market trends leading into 2025), 10,000 BTC would be worth over **$600 million**. Many view Laszlo’s transaction as one of the most expensive meals in history. But Laszlo himself has repeatedly stated he doesn’t regret it.
In interviews, he explained that mining Bitcoin was a hobby—something he did for fun while contributing to an open-source project he believed in. To him, those pizzas were essentially free, paid for with digital coins he mined during his spare time.
He even revealed something surprising:
“I spent nearly 100,000 BTC on pizzas back then.”
That’s right—Laszlo frequently gave away hundreds or even thousands of Bitcoin to other forum users just to encourage adoption. For him, the goal wasn’t wealth accumulation; it was proving that Bitcoin could function as real money.
The Return of the Pizza Purchase
Fast forward to February 25, 2018, after the Lightning Network was deployed on Bitcoin’s mainnet—enabling faster and cheaper transactions. Laszlo made headlines again when he bought two pizzas using just 0.00649 BTC, worth about $62 at the time.
This symbolic second purchase highlighted how far Bitcoin had come: from impractical for daily use to enabling microtransactions via layer-2 scaling solutions like Lightning.
It also brought emotional depth. In 2010, his daughter was an infant; by 2018, she was a growing girl—mirroring Bitcoin’s own journey from infancy to maturity.
Why Bitcoin Pizza Day Still Matters
Bitcoin Pizza Day is more than a meme—it’s a celebration of decentralized innovation, peer-to-peer exchange, and the belief that digital scarcity can create real value.
Core keywords naturally embedded throughout this article include:
- Bitcoin Pizza Day
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- first Bitcoin transaction
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- real-world Bitcoin use
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These terms reflect both historical significance and ongoing relevance in discussions about cryptocurrency utility and cultural milestones.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: Who is Laszlo Hanyecz?
A: Laszlo Hanyecz is a software developer and early Bitcoin contributor known for making the first real-world purchase with Bitcoin—two pizzas for 10,000 BTC on May 22, 2010.
Q: What was the value of 10,000 Bitcoin in 2010?
A: In May 2010, 10,000 BTC was worth approximately $40. There was no formal exchange rate at the time, so value was determined by peer agreement.
Q: Did Laszlo Hanyecz regret spending 10,000 BTC on pizza?
A: No. He has stated publicly that he views the transaction as fair—he earned the coins through hobbyist mining and enjoyed proving Bitcoin could be used to buy real goods.
Q: What did Laszlo contribute to Bitcoin besides buying pizza?
A: He developed the first macOS client for Bitcoin Core, fixed critical bugs, and pioneered GPU mining—which significantly improved early mining efficiency.
Q: Has anyone else spent large amounts of BTC on pizza since?
A: Not in the same symbolic way. However, each year on Bitcoin Pizza Day, enthusiasts around the world commemorate the event by buying pizza with BTC—some even donate to charity using small fractions.
Q: How has Bitcoin evolved since the first pizza purchase?
A: From being nearly worthless and untested in commerce, Bitcoin has grown into a global financial asset with real-world use cases supported by technologies like the Lightning Network for fast payments.
👉 Learn how you can use Bitcoin today for everyday purchases—without spending thousands of dollars.
A Legacy Written in Code and Crust
Laszlo Hanyecz didn’t just buy two pizzas—he helped prove that a decentralized digital currency could function in the real world. His actions bridged the gap between abstract technology and tangible utility.
More than a decade later, as institutions adopt blockchain tech and developers build new layers atop Bitcoin’s foundation, we’re still living out the vision Laszlo helped shape—one transaction at a time.
His story reminds us that innovation often begins not with grand gestures, but with simple acts: a forum post, a shared meal, and a belief in what might one day be possible.