Grab a slice, Bitcoin lovers. It’s that time of year again. Time to celebrate Bitcoin Pizza Day!
Delivery or DiGiorno? Nah, make it Papa John’s. It seems more fitting for this particular celebration.
Let’s all raise a slice to Jacksonville, Fla., software programmer Laszlo Hanyecz.
Four years ago today, Hanyecz laid claim to the ultimate crypto-nerd first. The early Bitcoin adopter forked over 10,000 bitcoins that he mined on his computer for about $25 worth of Papa John’s pizzas. Two hot, scrumptious pizza pies, to be exact.
Internet legend has it that it was the first time anyone ever purchased anything using Bitcoin. And it was pizza. Go figure.
Related: Nerds Rejoice. Google Glass and Bitcoin, Together at Last.
That was back on May 22, 2010, when Bitcoin wasn’t worth jack -- not a fraction (0.003) of a penny -- not even as much as the gooey good cheese that topped the now legendary pizzas.
With the price of a single BTC nearing $490 today, those same pies would cost upwards of $5 million worth of Bitcoin today. Yeah, we know Papa John’s promises “Better Ingredients. Better Pizza.” But, come on. It’s not that special.
Naturally, the first thing Hanyecz did after ordering it was brag about it on BitcoinTalk, an early and still-popular Bitcoin discussion forum, even posting a mouthwatering pic of the pizzas for proof.
“It wasn’t like Bitcoins had any value back then, so the idea of trading them for a pizza was incredibly cool,” Hanyecz later told tech columnist Nick Bilton. “No one knew it was going to get so big. I’d say I ended up on top.”
Now, before you kick off your pizza party, let’s take a quick trip down memory lane. Bite first into Hanyecz’s historic BitcoinTalk pizza post, in which he describes his hankering for a pizza delivery paid in BTC:
I’ll pay 10,000 bitcoins for a couple of pizzas.. like maybe 2 large ones so I have some left over for the next day. I like having left over pizza to nibble on later. You can make the pizza yourself and bring it to my house or order it for me from a delivery place, but what I’m aiming for is getting food delivered in exchange for bitcoins where I don’t have to order or prepare it myself, kind of like ordering a ‘breakfast platter’ at a hotel or something, they just bring you something to eat and you’re happy!
If you’re interested please let me know and we can work out a deal
Thanks,
Laszlo
If you happen to have some Bitcoin pizza money to spare, you can order yours now from PizzaForCoins.com, though it won’t be as cool as when Hanyecz ordered his back in the day, before Bitcoin went boom.
Related: 6 Crazy Things You Can Buy With Bitcoin (Paradise Included)