Pizza or Panic? The $770M Slice of Regret

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On May 22, 2010, Laszlo Hanyecz, a man with a penchant for pepperoni and a blind spot for future riches, traded 10,000 bitcoins for two Papa John’s pizzas. Today, those pizzas are worth roughly $770 million, making them the most expensive delivery since the Magi brought frankincense and myrrh. And let’s be honest, those guys didn’t even have to tip.

  • Key Takeaways (or, as I like to call them, “Things to Ponder While Eating Leftover Pizza”):

  • Laszlo Hanyecz made the first commercial Bitcoin transaction, proving that even geniuses crave carbs.
  • Those 10,000 BTC were worth $41 then. Now? $770 million. Moral of the story: Always check the exchange rate before ordering pizza.
  • Hanyecz has no regrets, which is either admirable or the world’s most expensive case of denial.

Bitcoin Pizza Day: Because Who Needs Retirement When You Have Garlic Dipping Sauce?

The Bitcoin world has evolved since 2010, but one thing remains constant: our obsession with Laszlo Hanyecz’s $770 million pizza order. It’s like the financial equivalent of that time you accidentally wore mismatched socks to a job interview-everyone remembers it, and you’re still not sure if it was a mistake or a bold statement.

On May 18, 2010, Hanyecz, a pioneer of the Bitcoin Talk forums, posted an offer that would go down in history-or at least in the annals of “What Was I Thinking?” He wanted pizza, and he was willing to pay 10,000 bitcoins for it. Because, you know, priorities.

His post read:

“I’ll pay 10,000 bitcoins for a couple of pizzas… I like having left over pizza to nibble on later. You can make the pizza yourself and bring it to my house or order it for me from a delivery place, but what I’m aiming for is getting food delivered in exchange for bitcoins where I don’t have to order or prepare it myself, kind of like ordering a ‘breakfast platter’ at a hotel or something, they just bring you something to eat and you’re happy!”

Someone suggested he just sell the bitcoins for $41 and buy the pizzas himself, but where’s the fun in that? Thankfully, Jeremy Sturdivant stepped up, and the rest is history. Or, as I like to call it, “The Great Pizza Debacle of 2010.”

In June 2026, Hanyecz doubled down on his love for pizza, offering to trade 10,000 BTC for two pies again. Because apparently, he hadn’t learned his lesson the first time. Or maybe he just really, really likes pizza.

“I will trade 10,000 BTC for 2 of these pizzas any time as long as I have the funds… The exchange is favorable for anyone who does it because the 2 pizzas are only about 25 dollars total, maybe 30 if you give the guy a nice tip,” he declared, seemingly unaware that those bitcoins could buy him a small island.

Later, he admitted to spending over 100,000 BTC on pizza that year. Because why save for retirement when you can have extra cheese?

Eventually, Hanyecz had to call it quits when the cost of his pizza habit soared to $600. “Well I didn’t expect this to be so popular but I can’t really afford to keep doing it since I can’t generate thousands of coins a day anymore,” he said, probably while staring longingly at an empty pizza box.

While Hanyecz is a Bitcoin pioneer-contributing to GPU-based mining and building the first Bitcoin Core release for Mac-he’ll always be remembered as the guy who traded a fortune for pepperoni. And honestly? I respect the commitment.

He insists he has no regrets. “I got pizza for contributing to an open-source project. Usually, hobbies are a time sink and money sink, and in this case, my hobby bought me dinner,” he said. Which is a nice way of saying, “I could have been a millionaire, but at least I had garlic bread.”

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2026-05-22 16:00