On Might 22, 2010, Bitcoin turned extra than merely an thought—it turned precise cash. Laszlo Hanyecz, a developer and early contributor to Bitcoin’s codebase, posted an informal current: “I’ll pay 10,000 bitcoins for only a few pizzas.” 5 days later, any categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical categorical particular categorical particular particular particular particular particular person took him up on it. Two Papa John’s pizzas have been delivered. A screenshot was posted. Bitcoin had entered the exact world.
That 10,000 Bitcoin, worth about $41 on the time, is now valued at over $1.1 billion. And with Bitcoin hitting a new all-time high of $111,999 on the fifteenth anniversary of the transaction, the story of the “Bitcoin Pizza” carries extra weight than ever.
It wasn’t merely referring to the pizza. This was the second Bitcoin proved itself as a functioning worldwide money. Till then, it had lived largely in principle and code—talked about by cryptographers and mined by hobbyists. Hanyecz’s publish, and the commerce that adopted, reworked the thought into motion. “This transaction made Bitcoin precise in my eyes,” he said in a 2019 interview. “It wasn’t worth tons on the time. I wouldn’t have spent $100 million on pizza, associated? Nonetheless as shortly as I hadn’t executed that, presumably Bitcoin wouldn’t have develop to be so well-liked.”
Over the summer time season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season season of 2010, Hanyecz continued utilizing Bitcoin to purchase pizzas, lastly spending elevated than 79,000 BTC—now worth nearly $8.7 billion. Whereas some have joked at his expense, the exact actuality is that this: with out these early real-world transactions, Bitcoin would possibly undoubtedly not have confirmed its use case. Hanyecz helped swap Bitcoin from the perimeter into effectivity.
That legacy nonetheless shapes us immediately. Bitcoin Pizza Day has develop to be a cultural milestone all by the crypto world, with meetups, pizza events, and tutorial occasions held globally every Might 22. The day serves as a reminder of how far the expertise has come—and the significance of normally actions and the impression they’ve.
Merely this week, quick meals chain Steak ‘n Shake began accepting Bitcoin by the Lightning Group, signaling a rising wave of mainstream adoption. What as shortly as felt experimental is now turning into a part of normally commerce.
Bitcoin Pizza Day is about recognition. One straightforward transaction proved that Bitcoin would possibly go—and 15 years later, the world stays to be establishing on that first chunk.
