On May 22, 2010, a 28-year-old computer programmer named Laszlo Hanyecz carried out a transaction that would today be remembered as “Bitcoin’s first-ever physical transaction.”
Laszlo Hanyecz offered to pay 10,000 Bitcoins for two Papa John’s pizzas.
Laszlo Hanyecz wrote on a crypto talk forum called Bitcointalk.org of which he was a contributor: “I’ll pay 10,000 bitcoins for a couple of pizzas.. like maybe 2 large ones so I have some leftover for the next day.”
He added in his post:
“I like having leftover pizza to nibble on later. You can make the pizza yourself and bring it to my house or order it for me from a delivery place, but what I’m aiming for is getting food delivered in exchange for bitcoins where I don’t have to order or prepare it myself, kind of like ordering a ‘breakfast platter’ at a hotel or something, they just bring you something to eat and you’re happy!”
Laszlo Hanyecz’s offer was picked by a 19-year-old British student named Jeremy Sturdivant.
At that time, 10,000 Bitcoins was valued at $41, according to reports. Jeremy Sturdivant ordered the two pizzas for $25, making himself $16 gain.
But with the current value of Bitcoin today, this transaction would have been in million dollars instead.
Following the transaction, Laszlo Hanyecz is now known as the first person to use bitcoin in a commercial transaction and the day (May 22) is now celebrated annually as “Bitcoin Pizza Day.”
Hanyecz has maintained he has had no regrets about the transaction.
He told the New York Times:
“It wasn’t like Bitcoins had any value back then, so the idea of trading them for a pizza was incredibly cool.”
Even Sturdivant did not save the bitcoins he received from Laszlo Hanyecz for the future; instead, he squandered them on road travel with his girlfriend.
He told the Telegraph in 2018:
“If I had treated it as an investment, I might have held on a bit longer. I would never have thought that the same number of bitcoin would have a purchasing power on the order of real estate.”
Bitcoin has seen an astronomical rise in value over the years despite continued warnings from critics that crypto owners could lose all of their money due to its volatility.
