The Man Who Traded 10,000 Bitcoin for Pizza: Why This Historic Deal Still Matters

In May 2010, an early cryptocurrency enthusiast named Laszlo made an unusual proposal: he would give away 10,000 bitcoin for two large pizzas. At the time, this digital currency was barely known, and the offered bitcoin were worth approximately $30. What seemed like a simple transaction became the moment when bitcoin transitioned from a theoretical concept to a practical currency—a turning point that still resonates through the crypto community today.

When Bitcoin Met Real-World Commerce

On May 18, 2010, at 12:35 PM, Laszlo posted his offer on the Bitcoin Talk Forum, the same platform founded by Satoshi Nakamoto. He wasn’t looking to make a profit; he was curious whether bitcoin could actually function as money in everyday life. Few users responded initially, and those who did faced a simple problem: they weren’t located in the United States, making the transaction impossible.

Laszlo wasn’t discouraged. He adjusted his expectations and kept waiting. Four days later, on May 22, a California teenager named Jeremy Sturdivant accepted the deal. Jeremy purchased two large pizzas and sent them to Laszlo. In return, he received 10,000 bitcoin. The transaction was complete.

May 22 would forever be remembered as “Bitcoin Pizza Day”—not because of the pizzas themselves, but because this marked bitcoin’s first documented real-world purchase. For the first time since bitcoin’s creation, the digital currency had proven its fundamental purpose: it could be used as a medium of exchange, just like traditional money.

Behind the Deal: A Programmer’s Experiment with GPU Mining

Laszlo wasn’t just any bitcoin user; he was one of the earliest miners and a skilled programmer who recognized bitcoin’s potential long before the mainstream. More significantly, he pioneered GPU mining—using graphics processing units to mine bitcoin far more efficiently than traditional CPU mining. This technical breakthrough allowed him to accumulate tens of thousands of bitcoin rapidly.

According to blockchain data from OXT explorer, Laszlo’s wallet received substantial funding from May 2010 onwards. That month alone, his holdings peaked at 20,962 BTC. Even after spending 10,000 bitcoin on pizza, his mining operation quickly replenished the supply. By June 2010, his wallet balance had surged to 43,854 BTC—a testament to how efficiently he was mining at that time.

The man who buys pizza with bitcoin wasn’t motivated by wealth accumulation or investment speculation. Laszlo viewed his involvement with bitcoin purely as a hobby. To him, the pizza deal represented something simpler: using his technical skills to earn a free dinner through open-source contribution. As he later recalled in a Bitcoin Magazine interview, he felt like he had “won the Internet” that day.

Two Perspectives: Jeremy’s Version of the Story

Jeremy Sturdivant, the 19-year-old who accepted the deal, had been mining bitcoin since 2009 and already owned thousands of coins himself. Unlike some who would later regret early transactions, Jeremy spent his 10,000 bitcoin on something that mattered to him at the time: traveling with his girlfriend.

In a 2018 interview, Jeremy admitted he never anticipated bitcoin’s explosive growth. Yet he held no regrets about the transaction. From his perspective, he had sold pizza for $400 worth of bitcoin at that moment, which appreciated roughly tenfold by the time he spent it. The deal was profitable then; the question of what it might be worth years later simply wasn’t part of his calculation.

From $30 to $260 Million: Understanding the Real Value of Bitcoin Pizza Day

The most striking aspect of this story isn’t the regret—it’s the lack thereof. The 10,000 bitcoin spent on pizza reached a value exceeding $260 million by early 2025. Yet Laszlo famously stated he had no regrets whatsoever. He didn’t lose sleep over the transaction. He remained calm and philosophical about it.

This perspective offers a crucial insight: both participants understood that bitcoin was valuable not because of its price, but because of its utility. Neither man was playing a financial game; they were participating in an experiment that would shape the future of currency itself.

The Quiet Legacy of Bitcoin’s First Customer

Laszlo maintained a notably low profile after his historic purchase. He never sought media attention or built a public social media presence. For him, bitcoin remained exactly what it had been from the beginning: a hobby, not a career. He continued contributing to the bitcoin community, including development work on Bitcoin Core and GPU mining for MacOS, but always as a volunteer rather than a professional.

“Honestly, I kind of stayed out of it because there was so much attention,” Laszlo explained years later. “I didn’t want to draw that attention. I just thought it was better as a hobby. I have a normal job. I don’t want it to be my responsibility and my career.”

This restraint stands in sharp contrast to the media frenzy that would later surround bitcoin. While speculators and traders sought fortunes, Laszlo simply continued his technical work, proving that the early bitcoin community was driven by genuine innovation rather than get-rich-quick schemes.

Why Bitcoin Pizza Day Matters Beyond the Numbers

Today, Bitcoin Pizza Day is celebrated annually on May 22 as a community holiday—not to mock those who “lost” money, but to commemorate the moment bitcoin became real. The pizza meme has become legendary in cryptocurrency culture, but its significance runs deeper than humor.

The transaction proved that bitcoin could function as intended: a peer-to-peer electronic cash system. It demonstrated that the digital currency could solve real-world problems and be used in practical transactions. Most importantly, it showed that the early adopters valued the technology’s purpose more than its price appreciation.

Bitcoin Magazine noted this legacy perfectly: “Hanyecz provided us with Bitcoin Core and GPU mining on MacOS—and the pizza, which while perhaps not as impressive as his technical contributions, makes May 22nd memorable for the community every year.”

From a man who buys pizza with bitcoin to a multi-billion-dollar asset class, the journey reveals something often forgotten in modern cryptocurrency markets: the technology was designed to solve a problem, not to make people rich. Laszlo understood this from day one, and his lack of regret proves that some transactions can’t be measured in dollars alone.