Bitcoin Pizza Day — 15th-anniversary

May 22, 2025, marks the 15th anniversary of a now legendary first purchase made with Bitcoin: on that day in 2010, early Bitcoin developer Laszlo Hanyecz paid 10,000 BTC to buy two pizzas. What happened to Hanyecz and Jeremy Sturdivant, who received these bitcoins, and what is the deep meaning behind the first Pizza Day?

What is Bitcoin Pizza Day? 

Laszlo Hanyecz is an early Bitcoin adopter, developer, and miner from Florida. He is one of the pioneers of GPU mining. On May 18, 2010, he published an unusual post on BitcoinTalk, a Bitcoin forum created by Satoshi Nakamoto. In the post, Hanyecz was urging anyone to send him two large pizzas in exchange for 10,000 bitcoins. 

He mentioned that he likes onions, peppers, sausage, mushrooms, tomatoes, pepperoni, and regular cheese pizzas. He asked not to make things like “weird fish topping,” etc. “If you are interested please let me know and we can work out a deal,” he concluded.

The discussion in the comment section took several days. Some thought Hanyecz offered too low a price, citing that 10,000 BTC could be exchanged for only $41, which was not a good amount for two large pizzas and delivery. Others found it hard to order a pizza from outside the U.S. When someone asked Laszlo if he was hungry, he replied:

“I just think it would be interesting if I could say that I paid for a pizza in bitcoins.”

Consciously or not, this answer emphasizes the original purpose of Bitcoin as an electronic cash system, as is outlined in the Bitcoin white paper by none other than Satoshi Nakamoto. 

On May 22, Hanyecz stated that he successfully bought two pizzas for 10,000 BTC and posted a link to a photo of two large pizzas and Laszlo with his kids. He added that he is always happy to receive two large pizzas, so his offer is open as long as he has funds. “I usually have plenty,” he said–in 2010, the block reward was 50 BTC. The person who bought Hanyecz pizzas in return for his bitcoins was identified as Jeromy Sturdivant, a Californian student who was 19 years old at that time.

In August, the BTC price spiked, and new comments appeared, mockingly asking Hanyecz if he was still going to pay 10,000 BTC ($600) for two pizzas. He replied that he could not do this anymore and thanked everyone (!) who already bought him pizzas. 

In November 2010, some asked if it was okay to eat pizza for $26,000. As the Bitcoin price continued to grow, more and more people were flocking to the thread, wondering if Laszlo was regretting eating pizza that cost that much (the prices were getting bigger from message to message). As of May 22, 2025, several hours after the Bitcoin price reached another all-time high, 10,000 BTC equals $1.1 billion.

What do Hanyecz and Sturdivant think of their trade years later?

Sturdivant, who received 10,000 BTC, gave a number of interviews. He said he realized that he was setting a historical precedent while admitting that if he didn’t do that, someone else would eventually buy pizza for Hanyecz.

I feel my part wasn’t critical or irreplaceable, but it was an important step to be taken, and I’m glad to have had the opportunity to take it myself. Beyond that, I’m just as excited to take part in the future and don’t have any intention of pining away for the “glory days.”

Some publications claim Sturdivant spent all of his bitcoins to travel with his girlfriend, while in the interview, he mentions he spent bitcoins received from Hanyecz when they cost around $400, ten times bigger than at the time of purchase.

As for Hanyecz, he said he didn’t perceive spending 10,000 BTC for pizza as an expensive flex. It was the opposite; it was a rare fortune to get rewarded with free food for his hobby of being a network contributor. Usually, hobbies are money sinks, Hanyecz said.

“It wasn’t worth much at the time. I wouldn’t have spent $100 million on pizza, right? But if I hadn’t done that, maybe Bitcoin wouldn’t have become so popular.”

In 2018, Hanyecz appeared in Bitcoin history again. He was one of the first testers of Lightning Network and ordered two pizzas via his friend, who agreed to take payment in Lightning Network BTC. The transaction went smoothly, and Hanyecz and his family ate two more pizzas that were bought for Bitcoin. You can read a recollection of this event in Hanyecz’s newsletter. 

15 years later, the community is still celebrating on social media

People remember Bitcoin Pizza Day. Educational posts appear here and there. This time, the Bitcoin Pizza Anniversary nicely coincided with another historic achievement–the Bitcoin price exceeded $111,500 for the first time. 

Isabella Santos, a founder of BTC Isla and many other Bitcoin-related projects, celebrated the new Bitcoin ATH and Pizza Day by eating a pizza for which she paid in Bitcoin. This is especially remarkable as Santos is busy turning the Mexican island of Isla Mujeres into a Bitcoin hub and has helped over 17 local businesses to start accepting Bitcoin.

Pierre Rochard, Bitcoin Bond company CEO, and an avid Bitcoin advocate, wished a happy Bitcoin Pizza Day while asking why someone needs two pizzas when they can easily be sliced in two instead. Well, probably, that’s because they had no halvings back in 2010.

An X account of Zerohedge media has brought an interesting parallel, pointing out that the current cost of these two Papa John’s pizzas got close to Papa John’s entire market cap.

If we take a look at the comments to such posts, we will see that the regret narrative (“guy spent millions on pizza, poor he”) that was strong for years has been changed with a legend narrative (“the man is a legend”). People are increasingly supportive of a person who literally made Bitcoin valuable in the real-world economy. They don’t mock him or laugh at him anymore. However, the name of Sturdivant is still less prominent than the name of Hanyecz.

What’s the meaning of Bitcoin Pizza Day?

In Laszlo’s pizza thread on BitcoinTalk, one of the users wrote in 2016: “Imagine if he wouldn’t of bought that pizza and saved that 10k bitcoins right now. He would have 5 million dollars! That would be awesome.” Another user replied: “Not necessary. The circulation of bitcoin gives its value. If he does not buy the pizza with the bitcoin, the bitcoin is worth nothing.” 

That is an important point. While Michael Saylor and others may argue that Bitcoin is not fit for being a means of exchange but rather serves as a capital that should not be spent or sold, the initial purpose of Bitcoin was serving as a money network that doesn’t have the flaws of the banking system. Bitcoin is a trustless peer-to-peer payment system, and Hanyecz was the first to try buying something with bitcoins and succeeded, thanks to Sturdivant.

Before Bitcoin Pizza Day, Bitcoin was living only within the code lines. On May 22, it was born into a physical world, making its first tiny impact on the real-life economy (electricity bills of miners aside). 

Hanyecz probably missed some long-term returns, but he hit the gas of the Bitcoin vehicle, making use of it while others were sitting still after switching the ignition. He believed that Bitcoin could actually work as money and set the precedent that, 15 years later, still makes Bitcoin valuable.