It’s the most expensive dinner in human history. Every May 22, the crypto world pauses to laugh, cry, and post memes about a guy named Laszlo Hanyecz who spent 10,000 Bitcoin on two Papa John’s pizzas back in 2010. At the time, those coins were worth maybe $41. Today? Well, do the math. Or don't, if you have a weak stomach for large numbers. It's basically hundreds of millions of dollars for some pepperoni and extra cheese.
Bitcoin Pizza Day isn't just a quirky holiday for nerds. It’s the first real-world proof that this digital "magic money" actually worked.
Before Laszlo made his post on the Bitcointalk forum, Bitcoin was a toy. It was code. It was a philosophy. But it wasn't a currency. You couldn't buy a pack of gum with it. Then, a hungry programmer in Florida decided to see if anyone would trade real-world calories for digital bits. He wasn't trying to make history; he just wanted dinner without using a credit card.
The Bitcointalk Post That Changed Everything
Imagine it’s May 18, 2010. Bitcoin is barely a year old. There are no exchanges like Coinbase. There are no price tickers on CNBC. Laszlo Hanyecz goes onto a forum and writes: "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."
He was specific too. He liked onions, peppers, sausage, mushrooms, pepperoni, and olives. Standard stuff.
For four days, nothing happened. People chatted about it. Someone in the UK even tried to figure out how to order a pizza for a guy in Florida from across the Atlantic. Finally, on May 22, a student named Jeremy Sturdivant (known as "jercos" online) took him up on the offer. Jeremy bought two pizzas from Papa John's for about $25 and sent them to Laszlo’s house. In exchange, Laszlo sent him 10,000 BTC.
The transaction was recorded on the blockchain forever. It's still there. You can look at the block. It’s a permanent receipt for a very expensive meal.
Why 10,000 Bitcoin Didn't Feel Like a Fortune
People love to call Laszlo "the guy who threw away millions." Honestly, that's kinda unfair.
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Back then, Bitcoin had no market value. You earned it by mining on your home computer's CPU. To Laszlo, he was trading something he generated for free—basically computer heat—for actual food. If he hadn't done it, would Bitcoin even be where it is today? Maybe not. Markets need "velocity." They need people using the asset, not just hoarding it in a digital basement.
Laszlo wasn't even a one-hit wonder. He actually kept buying pizzas with Bitcoin for a while after that. He reportedly spent close to 80,000 BTC on pizzas over that summer. Think about that for a second. If he had held all that, he’d be one of the richest people on the planet. But he’s cool with it. He’s said in interviews that he doesn’t regret it because, at the time, it felt like getting free pizza.
The Ripple Effect on Global Finance
Bitcoin Pizza Day grew into a global phenomenon because it marks the birth of "medium of exchange."
Before this, Bitcoin was just a "store of value" experiment for cryptographers. Once the pizza hit the table, the narrative shifted. If you could buy pizza, you could buy a car. If you could buy a car, you could buy a house. It proved the decentralized dream wasn't just whitepaper theory.
The Evolution of the Meme
Nowadays, crypto exchanges use May 22 as a massive marketing day. You’ll see Binance, Kraken, and OKX giving away pizza vouchers or running "Pizza Day" trading competitions. It’s become the "Thanksgiving" of the crypto calendar.
But it also highlights the "pizza paradox."
If everyone thinks Bitcoin will be worth $1 million in ten years, why would anyone spend it today? This is a real problem for adoption. We call it Gresham’s Law—bad money (dollars) drives out good money (Bitcoin) from circulation. People want to spend their depreciating dollars and hoard their appreciating Bitcoin. Laszlo did the opposite, and that's why we celebrate him. He was the first one brave enough—or hungry enough—to treat Bitcoin like money.
What Happened to the Pizza Seller?
People always ask about Jeremy Sturdivant, the 19-year-old who received the 10,000 BTC. Did he become a billionaire?
Sadly, no.
Jeremy didn't HODL. He used the 10,000 BTC to travel and buy video games. He’s gone on record saying that he never saw Bitcoin as an investment back then. It was just currency to be used. By the time the price hit $1, he had already moved through most of it. It’s a sobering reminder that almost nobody—not even the earliest adopters—actually knew how big this would get.
Most people would have sold at $10. Or $100. Holding through $60,000 requires a level of conviction that few possessed in 2010.
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Debunking the Regret Narrative
We love a tragedy. The media loves to frame this as "The Man Who Lost $600 Million."
But talk to any old-school Bitcoiner, and they’ll tell you the same thing: Laszlo is a hero. He helped verify the network. He showed that the peer-to-peer system worked without a bank. When you pay with a credit card, there’s a massive infrastructure of banks, clearinghouses, and processors taking a cut and verifying your identity. Laszlo and Jeremy did it with nothing but a few lines of code and a forum post.
It was the first real "stress test" for the dream Satoshi Nakamoto laid out in 2008.
How to Celebrate Bitcoin Pizza Day Today
You don't have to spend $500 million to participate. Most people just buy a pizza with "legacy" money and post a photo on X (formerly Twitter). But if you want to be authentic, try using a Lightning Network wallet to actually pay for your slices with BTC.
- Host a Meetup: Find a local crypto group. Most cities have something happening on May 22.
- Check for Promos: Almost every major exchange offers some sort of cashback or pizza-themed NFT on this day.
- Explain the Story: It’s the perfect "entry-level" story to explain Bitcoin to your parents or friends without getting into the weeds of SHA-256 hashing.
- Donate: Some charities take crypto. In the spirit of Laszlo, send some "pizza money" to a food bank in BTC.
The Long-Term Impact
We’re now over 15 years into the Bitcoin experiment. The pizzas are long gone, digested and forgotten, but the transaction remains. It serves as a benchmark. Every year the "pizza" gets more expensive in dollar terms, not because the pizza is better, but because the dollar is weaker and Bitcoin is scarcer.
If you want to understand why Bitcoin has value, look at that pizza. It had value because two people agreed it did. That’s it. No government decree, no gold backing, just a mutual agreement between a guy who wanted a snack and a guy who wanted some digital tokens.
That's the foundation of the entire trillion-dollar crypto industry.
Moving Forward With Your Own Crypto
If you’re sitting on some Bitcoin, don’t feel pressured to spend it on food unless you really want to make history. The lessons of Bitcoin Pizza Day are about utility and patience.
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First, realize that "spending" crypto is easier than ever thanks to Layer 2 solutions. You don't have to wait 10 minutes for a block confirmation just to get a breadstick. Second, remember the "HODL" lesson. The difference between Jeremy (the seller) and a billionaire was simply time.
To participate in the spirit of the day, consider setting up a non-custodial wallet if you haven't already. Move your coins off the exchanges. Own your keys. That’s what Laszlo did. He didn't ask a bank for permission to send those 10,000 coins. He just sent them. That's the real power of the technology.
Check your local pizza shop's payment options this May 22. You might be surprised to find a "Bitcoin Accepted Here" sticker. Even if you pay with a debit card, take a second to appreciate that we live in a world where a Floridian programmer’s hunger paved the way for a new global financial system.
Next steps for you: Download a Lightning-enabled wallet like Phoenix or Muun. Load it with $20 worth of Satoshis. Find a merchant on a map like BTC Map that accepts Bitcoin. Go buy a slice. It won't cost you 10,000 BTC anymore—probably just about 30,000 Satoshis. It’s a lot cheaper than it used to be.