Why did a pizza cost 10,000 Bitcoins?
On May 22, 2010, programmer Laszlo Hanyecz made the first real-world Bitcoin purchase, trading 10,000 BTC for two Papa John's pizzas.
Laszlo Hanyecz paid 10,000 bitcoins for two large pizzas worth about $25 at the time. When he made the purchase, Bitcoin was worth roughly $0.0041 per coin, making his total transaction worth approximately $41. Today, that same amount of Bitcoin would be worth hundreds of millions of dollars. This historic transaction, which occurred on May 22, 2010, is now celebrated annually by crypto enthusiasts as Bitcoin Pizza Day, marking the moment when Bitcoin first proved itself as a medium of exchange for physical goods.
Nerd Mode
On May 18, 2010, Laszlo Hanyecz posted an offer on the BitcoinTalk forum: he would pay 10,000 BTC to anyone willing to order two large pizzas for him. He specified his topping preferences, including onions, peppers, sausage, and pepperoni. Four days later, 19-year-old Jeremy Sturdivant accepted the challenge. Sturdivant purchased two pizzas from Papa John's for about $25 and received the 10,000 BTC in return.This transaction holds immense historical significance because it established the first real-world economic exchange rate for Bitcoin. Before this moment, Bitcoin existed primarily as a hobbyist project with no measurable market price. By trading digital tokens for a tangible good, Hanyecz demonstrated that Bitcoin could function as a genuine medium of exchange. At the time, one Bitcoin was valued at approximately $0.0041.Over the following decade, as Bitcoin's price climbed dramatically, the "Bitcoin Pizza" became an iconic symbol of the cryptocurrency's extreme volatility and explosive growth potential. If Bitcoin were to reach $100,000 per coin, those two pizzas would represent approximately $1 billion in value. Despite the astronomical opportunity cost, Hanyecz has stated in interviews that he has no regrets about the purchase. He views it as a crucial early step in establishing the cryptocurrency ecosystem and proving Bitcoin's practical utility.
Verified Fact
FP-0003608 · Feb 18, 2026