A man spent 10,000 Bitcoin on two pizzas 13 years ago, completely unaware that this amount is now worth $437 million.
A man named Laszlo Hanyecz made headlines for spending 10,000 Bitcoin on two pizzas back in 2010.
Today, that amount of Bitcoin is worth a staggering $437 million. This tale raises interesting questions about value, choices, and the early days of Bitcoin.
Man spent 10,000 Bitcoin to buy two pizzas 13 years ago
On May 18, 2010, Laszlo posted on a Bitcoin forum, offering 10,000 Bitcoins for a couple of pizzas.
He wrote that he wanted “two large ones” so he could enjoy some leftovers the next day.
Laszlo was looking for someone to bring him the pizzas or order them for delivery.
At that time, Bitcoin was still a new concept, and not many people understood its potential value.
Laszlo mentioned his favorite pizza toppings in his post. He liked onions, peppers, sausage, mushrooms, tomatoes, and pepperoni.
He made it clear that he wanted regular pizzas, not anything unusual.
Laszlo also added that he thought it would be great to have food delivered in exchange for Bitcoin.
“Like maybe two large ones so I have some leftover for the next day. I like having leftover 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!”
After a few days, on May 22, Laszlo updated the forum to say that he had successfully traded his 10,000 Bitcoins for pizzas from Papa John’s.
He felt excited about his purchase and even mentioned that it was an “open offer,” meaning he would continue to trade Bitcoin for pizza if anyone was interested.
“If you get me the upgraded extra-large ones or something, I can throw in some more bitcoins, just let me know and we’ll work something out,” he wrote.
10,000 Bitcoin on two pizzas 13 years ago now worth $437M
At the time, many people did not realize how valuable Bitcoin would become.
By August 4, Laszlo ended his pizza offer because he could no longer afford to generate thousands of Bitcoins daily.
This was fortunate, as he would have lost not only thousands of Bitcoins but also potentially hundreds of millions of dollars over time.
What once cost him 10,000 Bitcoins for two pizzas is now worth about $437 million.
In fact, Laszlo ended up spending more than just the 10,000 Bitcoins on pizzas.
Reports suggest that he might have spent around 100,000 Bitcoins before he stopped his pizza offer on August 4, 2010.
If we calculate that amount, he could have lost approximately $4.37 billion today!
Looking back, it is easy to see how Laszlo’s decision could be seen as a mistake.
However, he has a different perspective.
In an interview with Bitcoin Magazine in 2019, Laszlo said he viewed the pizza purchase as a fun moment in Bitcoin’s history.
He felt that he got pizza for contributing to an open-source project, which he enjoyed. For him, it was like a hobby that paid for his dinner.
“I wanted to do the pizza thing because to me it was free pizza. I got pizza for contributing to an open-source project.
“Usually hobbies are a time sink and money sink, and in this case, my hobby bought me dinner.”
“I think that it’s great that I got to be part of the early history of Bitcoin in that way,” he said.