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Bitcoin Pizza Day 2026: The $778 Million Pizza and the Two Men Behind It

ME
BY MEGASLEY
Verified Contributor
| 19H AGO | 4 |
EVENTS OPINIONS

Today is Bitcoin Pizza Day. Every 22 May, the Bitcoin community remembers the first time anyone bought a real-world good with Bitcoin. Specifically, on 22 May 2010, developer Laszlo Hanyecz paid 10,000 BTC for two Papa John’s pizzas, worth about $41 at the time.

This year marks the 16th anniversary. Furthermore, the numbers are staggering. With Bitcoin trading near $77,848 as of May 21, 2026, that same 10,000 BTC would now be worth roughly $778.5 million. LARA on the Block

However, the story is bigger than a price meme. In fact, it is the founding moment of Bitcoin as money.

What happened in 2010

The story began on the BitcoinTalk forum. Hanyecz posted a simple offer: 10,000 bitcoins for a couple of pizzas. At the time, Bitcoin had no market price, no reliable exchange, and no public consensus that it was worth anything.

Notably, this was not a naive blunder. Hanyecz was an early core contributor who understood Bitcoin’s fixed 21-million supply better than almost anyone. Moreover, he had personally mined a meaningful share of all Bitcoin in circulation. Therefore, he knew exactly what he was spending. He did it anyway, to prove Bitcoin could work as money.

In short, Hanyecz performed the first real price discovery. As a result, that single act laid the groundwork for every exchange listing and ETF that followed. He did not make a mistake. He made a market.

Where Laszlo Hanyecz is now

Hanyecz remains a Florida-based software developer and has consistently said he has no regrets. Beyond the pizzas, his contributions were foundational. Specifically, he is credited as one of the first people to mine Bitcoin using GPUs, and he helped port Bitcoin to Mac.

There is also an elegant sequel. In February 2018, Hanyecz bought pizza again — this time over the Lightning Network, settling in under a second. Therefore, the same man who took four days to buy pizza in 2010 did it instantly eight years later. Today, he stays largely out of the spotlight, living quietly as a developer.

The other half: Jeremy "jercos" Sturdivant

Every pizza needs a buyer. The deal only happened because Jeremy Sturdivant, a then-19-year-old known as “jercos,” said yes.

Sturdivant did not pay in Bitcoin, Papa John’s did not accept it. Instead, he used his own credit card to order the pizzas for delivery to Hanyecz, spending about $25. Then Hanyecz sent him the 10,000 BTC. As a result, Sturdivant became the first person to receive Bitcoin for a tangible good.

However, he did not hold the coins. Instead, he sold them shortly after, reportedly to fund a trip with his then-girlfriend, cashing out for around $400. In interviews, Sturdivant has stressed he was not acting as an investor, but as a helpful community member.

Unlike Hanyecz, Sturdivant stayed out of the public eye. He settled near Santa Cruz, California, and went on to work as a product development engineer. Therefore, while millions celebrate his trade each year, the man himself has remained refreshingly low-key.

Why this matters for Africa

For the African Bitcoin community, Pizza Day is more than nostalgia. In fact, it is a reminder of what Bitcoin is for.

Hanyecz proved Bitcoin could buy a real-world good without a bank. Sixteen years later, that is everyday reality across Africa. Specifically, shoppers buy groceries at Pick n Pay via MoneyBadger in South Africa, and spend Bitcoin at M-Pesa merchants through Tando in Kenya. Meanwhile, residents in Kibera pay for water and food using Lightning QR codes that settle instantly.

Therefore, while the rest of the world treats Pizza Day as a story about opportunity cost, Africa lives its original spirit. Here, Bitcoin is not a speculative chip. Instead, it is money used to buy things, exactly what Hanyecz set out to prove.

The lesson

The deeper lesson is not “never spend your Bitcoin.” Instead, it is that someone had to spend it first to prove it was money at all. Hanyecz proved Bitcoin could spend. Sturdivant proved it could be accepted. Together, they completed the first real-world Bitcoin transaction, and neither, by their own accounts, regrets it.

So whether you are stacking sats in Ouagadougou, running a node in Nairobi, or ordering a pizza in Lagos, raise a slice to Laszlo and jercos.

Happy Bitcoin Pizza Day. One sat, and one slice at a time.

Sources

BITCOIN PIZZA DAY