Bitcoin · Bitcoin Magazine
Sixteen years ago today, a Florida programmer named Laszlo Hanyecz paid 10,000 Bitcoin for two large Papa John's pizzas
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Sixteen years ago today, a Florida programmer named Laszlo Hanyecz paid 10,000 Bitcoin for two large Papa John’s pizzas.
Key facts
- In 2025, it hit a record $1.106 billion, with Bitcoin trading at $110,568 on that day’s all-time high
- On this Pizza Day, they are worth $777.87 million, down $328 million from last year’s anniversary price
- Within hours, total crypto market capitalization fell nearly $200 billion in a single session, Bitcoin dropped from $122,000 to $107,000, and approximately $19 billion in leveraged positions
- Q2 has brought partial recovery, Bitcoin has climbed roughly 14% over the quarter, but the broader crypto market cap sits at $2.65 trillion today, down from $2.9 trillion one week ago
Summary
Bitcoin Pizza Day, observed each May 22, marks the first commercial transaction using Bitcoin, the moment a digital currency stopped being a theoretical experiment and became a medium of exchange for real goods. On May 18, 2010, Hanyecz posted on the BitcoinTalk forum with a straightforward offer: 10,000 BTC to anyone willing to order him two pizzas. Hanyecz’s reply was simple: “I think it would be interesting if I could say that I paid for a pizza in Bitcoins”.