On 22 May 2010, there was one of the well-known cryptocurrency transactions. It has become a day of celebration for the cryptocurrency community. What is the story behind it? You will find out in this article. 

Bitcoin Pizza Guy story

In 2010, Laszlo Hanyecz, a developer living in the US, decided to order a pizza with bitcoins. Hanyecz was trying to figure out how the cryptocurrency worked, and the idea of paying for food with it seemed “incredibly cool” to him. The Las Vegas programmer made his first purchase with bitcoins. It was two $25 pizzas from Papa John and he paid 10,000 BTC for them. He offered such a big price hoping someone would respond – there were hardly any transactions in 2010. Some bitcoin owners even gave the cryptocurrency a way to boost its popularity on the Internet.

On a forum post about bitcoins, Hanyecz wrote that he wanted to pay with cryptocurrency for a pizza. Anyone wishing to receive bitcoins could order a pizza or make one himself. The developer warned that he didn’t like fish and asked to add mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, pepperoni, or sausages. Cheese pizza is also suitable, Hanyecz wrote. Users reacted to the developer’s offer without enthusiasm. But four days later, he reported that he had found someone who agreed to the deal. 

The post was answered by Jeremy Sturdivant, who got his promised cryptocurrency in exchange for order from Papa John’s. Hanyecz got two pizzas and sent 10,000 bitcoins ($40-50 in current). 

In 2013, Hanyecz explained that he hadn’t thought about the bitcoin value and was just studying it. Bitcoins had almost no value at the time, in his opinion, and the idea of exchanging them for pizza seemed incredibly cool. No one realized how it would turn out. Over the last 24 hours, bitcoin has risen by $1,000. The day before, the cryptocurrency passed $10,000, and today it has risen to 32,550. Thus, the value of the pizza ordered by Hanech exceeded $100 million. At that time, 19-year-old Jeremy didn’t think he was getting potential multi-million dollars – the agreement seemed fair to him for both sides. 

Every year the bitcoin exchange rate rose and the Hanyecz and Sturdivant deal became more and more popular. From that time, 22 May has become a holiday for the cryptocurrency community, with the name ‘Bitcoin Pizza Day. On this day, companies and cryptocurrency owners remember Hanyecz on social media and celebrate the date with a pizza.

Eight years later, Hanyecz tries not to worry about this case. There are two reasons: one is that it is useless, and the other is that thinking about possible profits would drive him mad. Hanyecz mined bitcoins for a hobby and admitted to spending them all before the surge. Apart from pizza, there were other goods he paid for with cryptocurrency. 

However, Stardivent also didn’t manage to become a millionaire with the cryptocurrency. He put the bitcoins in his wallet and used them as payment for a trip to the US with his girlfriend. In 2018, Laszlo made the same transaction – he bought two pizzas again with bitcoins. But this time, the price was just 0.00649 bitcoin ($67).