Bitcoin Pizza Day: The 10,000 BTC Transaction That Defined Crypto History Turns 16

Sixteen years ago today, programmer Laszlo Hanyecz made what is now the most famous transaction in cryptocurrency history — paying 10,000 Bitcoin for two Papa John's pizzas. At the time, it was a proof-of-concept moment, demonstrating that Bitcoin could function as a real medium of exchange.

Today, those 10,000 BTC are worth over $775 million. The transaction is remembered every May 22 as Bitcoin Pizza Day, a marker of just how far the asset has traveled from a niche cypherpunk experiment to a store of value sitting in institutional portfolios worldwide.

Hanyecz has said he has no regrets — the pizzas served their purpose, and the trade helped establish Bitcoin's first real-world price anchor.