The two Papa John’s pizzas ordered by programmer Laszlo Hanyecz in 2010 for 10,000 BTC have become one of the most famous and historic events in the world of cryptocurrencies. According to the current market, they are worth more than $980 million. Compared to the historical high on November 22, the two pies can be converted into about $1 billion (25,000 billion VND).
However, for this to happen, the American programmer kept those 10,000 BTC in his wallet for the past 14 years. This is unlikely given the many price increases the digital currency has experienced. Few people can keep Bitcoin for that long, unless they lose their USB or forget the password to their wallet.
In a 2019 interview on CBS's 60 Minutes, Hanyecz recounted the first real asset transaction conducted with digital currency. "I posted on a forum something like, 'If anyone is interested, I will pay 10,000 BTC for a pizza.' Then someone accepted the offer. So I sent him 10,000 Bitcoin. The person then paid with a credit card, and two pizzas were delivered to my house," the programmer recalled.
Hanyecz's 'wastefulness' has become a persistent meme in the cryptocurrency community, especially after each growth cycle of the digital currency, when prices increase exponentially.
"I couldn't imagine Bitcoin would be worth that much. Therefore, the idea of exchanging them for a pizza at that time was quite appealing," Laszlo told the New York Times in 2013.
The famous transaction took place on May 22, 2010. Subsequently, the Bitcoin community referred to it as 'Pizza Day' and celebrates it every year.
On May 22, 2016, the 10,000 BTC that Hanyecz spent was valued at approximately 4.4 million USD. When he bought the two pizzas, they were only equivalent to 41 USD.
Just two years later, on Pizza Day 2018, the aforementioned digital currency amount surged to 41 million USD, ten times that of 2016, ten million times that of 2010.
Bitcoin is the first digital currency and remains the highest in the industry, despite the emergence of other blockchains that are more technologically advanced or optimized. Its initial applications, as designed by Satoshi Nakamoto, are no longer practical. However, BTC is regarded as 'gold' in the cryptocurrency world, with a limited supply and store of value.
The total supply of Bitcoin is 21 million coins. However, according to a report by Unchained Capital, about 3.8 million of these are classified as lost, leading to a scarcity of supply.
Additionally, using BTC to purchase real assets is banned in most countries. It is only available in El Salvador, a South American country that legalized Bitcoin in 2021.
