Every May 22, the crypto community enthusiasties one of the most symbolic dates of the ecosystem: the Bitcoin Pizza Day. This day commemorates the first time Bitcoin was used as a currency to acquire a physical good. Today, 14 years later, the gesture that seemed anecdotal is remembered as the beginning of a new financial era.
What happened exactly that May 22, 2010?
It all started with Laszlo Hanjecta programmer and one of the first miners of Bitcoin. In a specialized forum (Bitcointalk), Laszlo published a message offering 10,000 BTC to whom he was willing to give him Two big pizzas at home. At that time, the value of those bitcoins was around $ 41.
A day later, on May 22, Jeremy Sturdivanta 19 -year -old, accepted the offer and sent two pizzas of the Papa John’s chain in exchange for the 10,000 BTC. Thus, the first documented commercial transaction was made with Bitcoin, which consolidated its potential use as a means of payment.
A silent revolution
To contextualize, in 2010 Bitcoin was still a very early phase financial experiment. There were no consolidated exchanges, nor easy -to -use purses, or legislation to regulate it. However, Laszlo’s gesture was key: demonstrate that a digital asset could be used to buy something tangible. At that time, the value of the transaction did not matter. The proof of concept imported.
Why did Laszlo have so many bitcoin?
Before the first halving (reduction of mining rewards), each block of bitcoin generated granted 50 BTC. Since in 2010 there were few miners, it was relatively simple to accumulate large amounts of this cryptocurrency. To get 10,000 BTC, it was enough to undermine about 200 blocks, something available to an enthusiastic with technical knowledge and a conventional computer.
How much are those 10,000 BTC today?
This is the most curious question. Today, with a bitcoin that has recently exceeded the $ 70,000those two pizzas would have a value of about 943 million dollars. However, the interest of this story is not in gain (or loss), but in what it represented: The birth of Bitcoin as a functional currency.
A date that marked a before and after
Since then, the use of cryptocurrencies as a means of payment has been generalized. Today there are cards linked to Wallets Cripto, businesses that accept digital payments and platforms that allow paying with assets such as Ethereum or USDT. What in 2010 was an experiment, today is a consolidated reality.
Many companies in the sector celebrate the Bitcoin Pizza Day with offers and promotions, and some pizzerias even accept cryptocurrencies as a payment method to commemorate the event.