Bitcoin Pizza Day: A Historic Milestone in Cryptocurrency
Date: May 22
Event: The first real-world transaction using Bitcoin
Who: Laszlo Hanyecz, a Florida-based programmer
What: Bought two pizzas for 10,000 BTC
Vendor: Indirectly from Papa John’s, arranged through another user on a Bitcoin forum
In the early days of Bitcoin, it had no real monetary value. It was mostly mined and exchanged between enthusiasts. But Laszlo Hanyecz wanted to prove that Bitcoin could be used as a legitimate medium of exchange — not just something theoretical.
So, on May 18, 2010, he posted the following message on the Bitcointalk.org forum:
"I'll pay 10,000 bitcoins for a couple of pizzas... like maybe 2 large ones so I have some left over for the next day."
After a few days, a fellow user agreed. He used a credit card to order two large pizzas from Papa John’s, delivered to Hanyecz’s home in Jacksonville, Florida. Hanyecz sent him 10,000 BTC in return — marking the first documented purchase of a physical good using Bitcoin.
Laszlo Hanyecz’s Role
Hanyecz was also a key figure in early Bitcoin development — he contributed to Bitcoin’s codebase and was the first to use GPU mining, which greatly increased mining efficiency. He doesn't regret the transaction, often saying:
"It wasn't like bitcoins had any value back then, so the idea of trading them for a pizza was incredibly cool."
