10,000 Bitcoin for Two Pizzas: The Story Behind Bitcoin Pizza Day

Two pizzas, $41, and 10,000 bitcoin

On May 22, 2010, an American programmer named Laszlo Hanyecz announced on the Bitcointalk forum that he had traded 10,000 bitcoin for two Papa John's pizzas. The order came to roughly $41, about $25 per pie. It is widely regarded as the first time bitcoin bought a physical product. As bitcoin later soared, those 10,000 coins were at one point worth hundreds of millions of dollars — and the meal became known as the most expensive in history. Every May 22, the crypto community marks Bitcoin Pizza Day.

The scene: Bitcoin in 2010, a geek experiment

In the spring of 2010, bitcoin was a network barely over a year old, with no established exchanges, almost no public price, and only a small circle of cryptography enthusiasts. A single coin was worth a fraction of a cent; few could buy it or say what it was for.

Hanyecz was one of the first people to mine with a graphics card, or GPU. The network was quiet and mining difficulty low, so a home computer could keep producing fresh coins. To those running it, bitcoin felt almost free — plentiful and of uncertain value. The 10,000 coins he spent were ones he had mined himself.

How the deal went down

The offer went up on May 18: in a Bitcointalk post, Hanyecz said he would pay 10,000 bitcoin for a couple of pizzas. People read the thread, but for several days nobody took it.

On May 22, a forum user going by jercos — later identified as Jeremy Sturdivant — took the trade. He placed the Papa John's order with his own dollars, and Hanyecz sent him the 10,000 bitcoin. When the pizzas arrived, Hanyecz posted photos in the thread, and the most famous transaction in crypto was complete. At the time, those coins covered a bill of about $41, roughly $25 per pizza.

The aftermath: no regrets, and a second pizza in 2018

The rest is crypto's favorite what-if: over the following decade, bitcoin rose from a fraction of a cent to prices that, at their highs, put that one order's coins in the hundreds-of-millions range. Hence the label "the most expensive pizzas in history" and the holiday — the community designated May 22 Bitcoin Pizza Day, a yearly chance to revisit the receipt.

Hanyecz has said many times in public that he has no regrets: in 2010 no one knew whether bitcoin would survive, and a working purchase of delivered food proved the experimental network could do what money is meant to do. In 2018, he bought pizza again, this time over the still-new Lightning Network — an echo of the meal eight years earlier.

Trivia and legacy: why one order matters

• The first physical purchase. Bitcoin had moved between online wallets and hobbyists; this was its first widely recognized purchase of a real, delivered product.
• A GPU-mining pioneer. Hanyecz's early switch to graphics cards gave him far more hashing power than CPU miners — a preview of the hardware race that followed.
• From code to money. The deal showed bitcoin was more than data on a screen: it could buy dinner.
• A lasting ritual. Bitcoin Pizza Day became a fixed date for self-mockery and a nod to those who tested the network early.

The lesson: spending versus holding has no standard answer

Most coins early miners generated effortlessly were spent, lost, or forgotten; only a trickle survived intact. Judging the trade from today's prices is easy, but in 2010 bitcoin could plausibly have gone to zero — and the lunch gave the young network proof that it worked as payment, worth far more than $41 at the time.

The story captures the permanent tension between holding and spending: money proves itself in circulation, yet bitcoin's earliest users carried all the risk of an asset the world ignored. The takeaway today is not to chase a ten-thousand-fold legend, but to know why you are buying, how much volatility you can stand, and which money you can genuinely afford to lose.

FAQ

When is Bitcoin Pizza Day?

May 22 each year, marking the 2010 trade of 10,000 bitcoin for two pizzas.

How much would those pizzas be worth today?

The original bill was about $41, but at bitcoin's later highs the 10,000 coins were worth hundreds of millions of dollars. The figure moves with bitcoin's price.

Does Hanyecz regret it?

No. He has said repeatedly that he does not, because the purchase proved bitcoin could buy real goods. In 2018 he bought pizza again over the Lightning Network.

Why is this considered bitcoin's first purchase?

Bitcoin had been transferred between users online, but the pizza order was its first widely recognized purchase of a physical, delivered product — a starting point for bitcoin as spendable money.

Risk warning

This is a historical explainer, not investment advice. Bitcoin is highly volatile, and the trade happened in an era of tiny participation and almost no liquidity, unlike today's market. Early miners acquiring coins easily — and losing many — is no basis for buying or holding now.

Risk notice: Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile, and trading or holding can lose you principal. This article is historical and educational only, not investment or trading guidance. Historical prices and valuations change over time; rely on public sources. Information is current as of October 2026.