- May 22 marks Bitcoin Pizza Day, a celebration of the first-ever commercial transaction using the cryptocurrency.
- On this day in 2010, US man Lazlo Hanyecz purchased two large pizzas using 10,000 BTC.
- The price of Bitcoin through the years has consistently increased, making Lazlo’s pizzas some of the most expensive cheesy goodness ever purchased.
- Today, the 10,000 BTC used to buy the pizza would be worth over AU$1b.
It’s not as if anybody needs an excuse to order pizza – but here’s one as good as any:
It’s Bitcoin Pizza Day!
14 years ago today marks the first ever commercial transaction using BTC. Lazlo Hanyecz struck a deal with a British man on the BitcoinTalk forums to buy two large pizzas for 10,000 BTC. At the time, the Bitcoin was worth approximately US$41 (AU$61.48).
At the time, it was already a pretty steep price to pay for a couple of pizzas. But in retrospect, not even the biggest optimists could’ve foreseen just how much 10K BTC would be worth.
Related: Death of Memecoins? Ran Neuner’s Bold Bet: Bitcoin to Soar Amidst Memecoin Meltdown
Bitcoin Pizza Day Through the Years
The years following Lazlo’s pizza purchase saw BTC fluctuate significantly in value. On May 22, 2016, the price of BTC came in at US$442 ($AU662). As it turns out, this marked the beginning of an incredible crypto boom that saw the value of Lazlo’s pizzas morph from a small investment, into a house deposit, into multiple fully-fledged mansions.
2017 was the first truly massive bull market for Bitcoin, although on that year’s Pizza Day the run was only just getting started. One BTC was worth about US$2k (AU$3k) – so enough to buy a fairly run-down car.
The dust settled in 2018 with Bitcoin worth US$8.4k (AU$12.6k) on May 22, before dropping slightly to US$7.9k (AU$11.8k) on the same date in 2019.
The infamous year of 2020 became the last time Bitcoin was worth less than five digits on Pizza Day, coming in at US$9.9k (AU$14.8k). Everyone knows what happened next – the crypto market exploded on the back of record-low interest rates and the tech industry running hot. By May 22, 2021, Bitcoin had increased nearly 400% and was valued at US$39k (AU$58.48k).
The next couple of years were tougher for the cryptopshere, with inflation and supply issues causing most markets to retrace somewhat. Pizza Day in 2022 saw BTC at US$30k (AU$45k), before dropping over the next 12 months to US$26k (AU$39k).
But now it’s Bitcoin Pizza Day in 2024, and times have changed. BTC has become legitimised among the financial industry thanks to the approval of spot crypto ETFs, and as a result recorded its highest-ever May 22 price.
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As of writing this article, Bitcoin’s 2024 Pizza Day value is US$70k (AU$104k), nearly double its previous highest price.
This means our friend Lazlo spent an absurd US$700m (AU$1b) to buy his two large pizzas.
Let’s hope tonight, when you’re celebrating this sacred day, the pizzas you purchase are quite a bit cheaper.
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