$BTC 15 years ago, a software developer paid for two pizzas with 10,000 bitcoin. Those pies would be worth $1.1 billion today It’s not an official holiday – yet – but for many cryptocurrency enthusiasts “Bitcoin Pizza Day” is still special. Thursday marks the 15th anniversary of the first known use of cryptocurrency to buy real-world goods. The 10,000 bitcoin that software developer Laszlo Hanyecz paid for two Papa John’s pizzas delivered to his Florida home on May 22, 2010, were worth about $41 at the time. Today they’re worth $1.1 billion, as bitcoin hits record high prices.
Several cryptocurrency companies are announcing promotions and other celebrations to mark Bitcoin Pizza Day. Bitget, a cryptocurrency exchange, announced that it’s giving away pizzas to more than 2,000 people at gatherings held around the world. Here’s the backstory of Bitcoin Pizza Day.
Humble BeginningsThe first bitcoin was created in early 2009 by the digital currency’s still unknown creator, Satoshi Nakamoto. It started as a passion project for libertarian-minded computer nerds who wanted to create a digital payment system that didn’t rely on a third party – like a government or financial institution – for transactions.Hanyecz was an early enthusiast and became active on an early bitcoin internet message board, offering technical advice on how to “mine” bitcoin more effectively.Central to bitcoin’s technology is the process through which transactions are verified and then recorded on what’s known as the blockchain. Computers connected to the bitcoin network race to solve complex mathematical calculations that verify the transactions, with the winner earning newly minted bitcoins as a reward in a process known as mining.
In the early days, enthusiasts could mine bitcoin through their home computers and Hanyecz accumulated thousands of the new digital asset. Nowadays, mining bitcoin has become a highly competitive field with multi-billion-dollar companies using specialized computers in entire data centers to acquire new bitcoins.#writetoearn
