Bitcoin Pizza Day: 15 years since the $1.1B lunch
On this day in 2010, Florida programmer Laszlo Hanyecz made history by buying two Papa John’s pizzas for 10,000 $BTC.
At today’s prices, that meal would be worth a whooping $1.1 billion — and it’s still the most expensive pizza ever bought.
Here's the shocking background about him.
“I’ll pay 10,000 Bitcoins for a couple of pizzas.”
That sentence, casually typed into an online forum on May 22, 2010, would go down in history as the spark that ignited the real-world value of cryptocurrency. The man behind it? A Florida-based programmer named Laszlo Hanyecz, now forever etched into digital folklore.
A $1.1 Billion Bite
Fifteen years ago, Hanyecz made the first documented real-world Bitcoin transaction. He traded 10,000 BTC—virtually worthless at the time—for two Papa John’s pizzas. Fast forward to 2025, and those same Bitcoins are valued at over $1.1 billion. That’s right—he paid a billion bucks for lunch.
But was it a mistake? Or was it a mission?
More Than Just a Meal
Hanyecz wasn’t just hungry—he was a pioneer. In 2010, Bitcoin was a fascinating tech experiment, largely unknown outside developer circles. By using it to buy pizza, Hanyecz injected life into the code. He transformed Bitcoin from theory to currency, proving it could be used as money. Without that moment, the crypto world might have taken much longer to heat up.
“It wasn’t about the pizza,” Hanyecz later said. “It was about proving Bitcoin’s use case.”
Where Is He Now?
Today, Laszlo Hanyecz is still active in the tech space, albeit more behind-the-scenes. He’s known in developer circles for contributing to early Bitcoin code and even optimizing its mining algorithm for GPUs—making mining faster and more accessible. Though he’s no longer holding 10,000 BTC, he’s holding something more valuable: a permanent spot in crypto history.
The True Value of a Slice
Yes, $1.1 billion is a steep tab for two pizzas. But the transaction’s true value isn’t in the money—it’s in the moment. It was the birth of Bitcoin commerce. That single transaction laid the groundwork for a trillion-dollar industry, spurred global innovation, and made us all question what money really means.
The Legacy of Bitcoin Pizza Day
Every year, May 22 is celebrated as Bitcoin Pizza Day—a quirky, delicious reminder of crypto’s humble beginnings. It’s a day for Bitcoiners to reflect, eat some pizza, and toast the man who made it all possible by sacrificing future fortune for present proof.
So next time you grab a slice, remember: one man’s pizza is another man’s paradigm shift.