Sixteen years ago today, a guy ordered two pizzas and accidentally became a legend. Bitcoin Pizza Day is May 22 — the anniversary of the first time Bitcoin bought something real. Spoiler: the pizzas were great, the price tag was insane.
Two pizzas. Ten thousand Bitcoin. The most expensive lunch order in human history.
On May 22, 2010, a Florida programmer named Laszlo Hanyecz paid 10,000 BTC for two Papa John's pizzas. He posted the offer on the Bitcointalk forum on May 18, a user known as jercos ordered the pies, and the coins changed hands a few days later.
At the time, 10,000 BTC was worth roughly $41. Bitcoin barely had a price. Hanyecz wasn't being reckless — he was a serious dev who'd built the first macOS port of Bitcoin Core. He just wanted to prove the thing worked as money.
It did. That order is the first known real-world Bitcoin purchase, full stop.
Here's where it stings. As of May 22, 2026, Bitcoin trades around $78,000.
10,000 BTC at ~$78K each = roughly $780 million. That's about $390 million per pizza.
For the record, Hanyecz says he has no regrets. He's pointed out the trade helped show Bitcoin had practical value — and that he'd have spent the coins on something eventually. Legend behavior.
The crypto community has a dark sense of humor, and Bitcoin Pizza Day is its favorite inside joke. It's not sad — it's a celebration of how far the thing came.
From a forum post in 2010 to global pizza parties — Pizza Day grew with the network itself.
The point isn't "imagine being that guy." It's that someone had to be first. Every network needs its first transaction.
Pizza Day works because it's honest. It's the rare crypto holiday with zero hype, zero price predictions, and zero "wen moon." Just a true story about a guy, two pizzas, and a network that was worth almost nothing.
It's also a flex on the no-coiners. Sixteen years later, the same chain that struggled to buy a pizza now settles trillions in value. The joke aged into a milestone.
If you ride for that energy — the self-aware, we-were-early, in-on-the-joke crypto culture — that's literally the entire Mr. Lined worldview. Our stickman has been climbing the ladder since 2010 in spirit.
We made a whole Bitcoin collection for days exactly like this — Sharpie-doodle Bitcoin tees built for people who know what May 22 means without Googling it.
Pizza Day is the perfect excuse to grab one. Browse the Bitcoin drop or the wider crypto t-shirts range and find your fit.
No pressure — but a tee costs a lot less than 10,000 BTC. Just saying.
What is Bitcoin Pizza Day? It's the annual May 22 celebration of the first real-world Bitcoin purchase — 10,000 BTC for two pizzas in 2010.
Who paid for the pizzas? Programmer Laszlo Hanyecz, a Bitcoin Core contributor, made the offer. A user called jercos ordered and delivered the pizzas.
How much is 10,000 BTC worth today? At roughly $78,000 per Bitcoin on May 22, 2026, that's about $780 million.
Does Laszlo Hanyecz regret it? No. He's repeatedly said the trade proved Bitcoin could function as real money — and he doesn't dwell on the lost value.
Why do people celebrate a "bad" trade? Because someone had to make the first purchase. Pizza Day honors the moment Bitcoin stopped being theory and became money.
Mr. Lined makes crypto-culture streetwear — playful, premium, and proudly self-aware. Explore the full collection at mrlined.com.
