Fifteen years ago, on May 22, 2010, Laszlo Hanyecz purchased two pizzas for 10,000 Bitcoin, marking the first known real-world transaction with the cryptocurrency. Today, those same Bitcoins are worth over $1 billion, underscoring the meteoric rise of Bitcoin’s value and its journey from a niche experiment to a global financial phenomenon.
On May 22, 2010, Laszlo Hanyecz, a programmer from Florida, posted an offer on the BitcoinTalk forum: 10,000 Bitcoin for anyone willing to buy and deliver two pizzas to his home. Jeremy Sturdivant, a teenager at the time, took up the offer, purchasing two Papa John’s pizzas for a cash value estimated between $25 and $41.
At that moment, the 10,000 Bitcoins were valued at approximately $41, with 1 BTC trading at about $0.0041. This seemingly mundane purchase would go down in history as the first recorded use of Bitcoin to buy physical goods, bridging the gap between a theoretical digital currency and a practical medium of exchange.
Fast forward to May 24, 2025, and the value of those 10,000 Bitcoins has soared to approximately $1,077,971,300, based on a market price of $107,797.13 per Bitcoin. Two days earlier, on the 15th anniversary of the transaction, May 22, 2025, the value was even higher at around $1,115,603,600, with Bitcoin priced at approximately $111,560.36. This slight fluctuation—still exceeding $1.1 billion on the anniversary—reflects Bitcoin’s volatility, yet consistently placing those two pizzas’ worth in the billion-dollar range today.
| Date | Event/Valuation | Value of 10,000 BTC |
|---|---|---|
| May 22, 2010 | First Bitcoin transaction for pizzas | ~$41 |
| May 22, 2025 | 15th anniversary | ~$1,115,603,600 |
| May 24, 2025 | Current valuation | ~$1,077,971,300 |
Bitcoin Pizza Day, celebrated annually on May 22, has become a cultural touchstone for the cryptocurrency community. It symbolizes Bitcoin’s humble beginnings and extraordinary growth over the past decade. What began as a quirky experiment has evolved into a multi-billion-dollar asset class, with the 10,000 BTC pizza order now a legendary tale of early adoption.
Today, the event is marked by pizza parties, discounts at Bitcoin-accepting eateries, and reflections on the cryptocurrency’s deflationary nature, where its value has appreciated dramatically over time.
The transaction’s significance extends beyond nostalgia. It demonstrated Bitcoin’s potential as a functional currency, paving the way for its acceptance in commerce and investment. The stark contrast between its $41 valuation in 2010 and its billion-dollar status in 2025 highlights the opportunities seized by early adopters and the transformative power of blockchain technology.
