Bitcoin Pizza Day Hits $1.1 Billion Milestone as BTC Reaches New All-Time High
Fifteen years ago today, 10,000 bitcoins were exchanged for two pizzas — a deal now valued at over $1.1 billion as Bitcoin (BTC) hits fresh record highs.
On May 22, 2010, programmer Laszlo Hanyecz made history by paying 10,000 BTC for two Papa John’s pizzas, then worth around $40. This transaction is widely regarded as the first documented commercial purchase using Bitcoin, marking a key moment when the cryptocurrency began its journey from niche digital code to real-world money.
Fast forward to 2025, that same amount of Bitcoin could buy more than 70 million pizzas at today’s prices, reflecting the enormous growth of the asset class. With BTC soaring past $111,800 early Thursday, the value of those original coins now tops $1.1 billion.
Hanyecz has often downplayed the “missed fortune” narrative, telling CBS in 2019 that the purchase helped make Bitcoin tangible for him. He mined those coins when BTC was worth less than a cent, a time when few imagined it would evolve into a multi-trillion-dollar global asset.
Beyond just pizza, Bitcoin is increasingly accepted for purchases ranging from real estate and vehicles to, in some cases, tax payments — underscoring how far digital currency has come since that fateful pizza order.
