Bitcoin Pizza Day marks 16 years since 2010 10,000 BTC pizza trade

The cryptocurrency community is marking the 16th anniversary of Bitcoin Pizza Day, commemorating the first known real-world transaction using the digital currency. On May 22, 2010, programmer Laszlo Hanyecz traded 10,000 bitcoins for two Papa John's pizzas delivered to his home in Florida.

The trade originated from a post Hanyecz made on a Bitcoin forum four days earlier, offering the large sum of bitcoin to anyone who would order and deliver the pizzas. Another forum participant, 19-year-old Jeremy Sturdivant, accepted the offer. At the time, with bitcoin trading for less than a cent, the transaction was valued at approximately $41. Hanyecz has stated his goal was to test whether bitcoin could function as a payment method for physical goods, moving beyond online transfers between enthusiasts.

The anniversary highlights the asset's extraordinary price appreciation over 16 years. With bitcoin's price recently near $77,000, the 10,000 bitcoins used in the purchase would now be worth over $770 million. This stark contrast has led the community to refer to it as the most expensive pizza order ever recorded. Hanyecz has said he does not regret the transaction, noting it helped prove...