Bitcoin Pizza Day commemorates the day when a man named Laszlo Hanyecz used 10,000 Bitcoin to buy two Papa John’s pizzas. It was a milestone in the history of cryptocurrency because it marked the first time that a virtual currency was accepted as a means of acquiring physical goods.
The Bitcoin Pizza Index is derived from Bitcoin Pizza Day and that initial transaction. Essentially, it tracks the value of the 10,000 Bitcoin used by Hanyecz over time, and “illustrates the deflationary properties of Bitcoin.” For context, there will only ever be 21 million Bitcoin in existence – this is viewed by Bitcoin’s proponents as a digital currency that is deflationary, and would thus only be more valuable over time.
On the index’s website, as Bitcoin is currently worth around $26,900 - US$27,000 (AU$40,500) at the time of writing, the pizza is currently valued at around US$268 million (AU$402 million).
However, it’s not just the price of Hanyecz’s pizza that is tracked. Fans of the ‘Bitcoin Pizza’ lore are so deep into it that the pizza – and index – is broken down into price per slice. Oh, you think that’s it? Wrong. The index also breaks down the price for each pizza topping: tomato slice, onion ring, olive, green pepper, bacon, and many more.
