Nowadays, it is relatively easy to pay with bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies. We can pay in establishments that accept these digital currencies or use specific wallets that exchange fiat money cryptocurrencies (euros, dollars, etc.) instantly.
The particularity of Hanyecz’s transaction is that he made this purchase when all this did not exist. What’s more, Bitcoin at that time was barely a year old and was very unknown. Only a few programmers and “geeks” knew of its existence and used it.
The origin of the “Bitcoin Pizza Day” event
To start, you should know that the first block of the Bitcoin network was generated on January 3, 2009 by Satoshi Nakamoto. Although initially there was not much interest in Nakamoto’s project, when they saw that it worked, many began to join. Among them was Hanyecz, a programmer who was interested in Bitcoin and had become a miner.
You have to know that, at that time, 1 BTC had no cash value. The first attempt at pricing was based on the cost of electricity to mine each block divided by the number of bitcoins awarded per block. Thus, the first price of 1 bitcoin was established below $0.01 by New Liberty Standard, the first Bitcoin exchange.
At this point, we already have an initial starting price. It’s not like there was much of a market for buying and selling bitcoins either. What’s more, bitcoins were often “given away” to community members for their contributions.
The first effective price of Bitcoin was established by Hanyecz who paid 10,000 bitcoins for two pizzas from Papa John’s, which at the time was equivalent to about $41. This commercial transaction generated two very important milestones. The first is the first purchase of a “real” product with bitcoin. In addition, he established the first price reference for this cryptocurrency.
Thus, every May 18, the “Bitcoin Pizza Day” event is celebrated worldwide in the Bitcoin community (and other cryptocurrencies). It is quite common for community users to purchase pizzas that day and share it on social networks.
Who received those 10,000 bitcoins?
Typically, Hanyecz’s part is counted because he shared it on the BitcoinTalk forums. It is the first cryptocurrency forum, which is still active and is very important within the community.
Less well known is Jeremy Sturdivant, an acquaintance of Hanyecz who worked at the pizzeria and received the 10,000 bitcoins. Actually, he is as or more relevant than Hanyecz, since without his consent, the transaction would never have been carried out. Both were pioneers, although Sturdivant has not been involved in the crypto community.
Something that is also not usually told is what happened to those 10,000 bitcoins received by Sturdivant. Well, as he himself has said on several occasions, he spends all those bitcoins on the Humble Bundle platform. Thus, I actively contribute to the growth of the economy of this digital currency.
If you are wondering how much these 10,000 bitcoins would be worth today, you simply have to multiply it by the price that appears on Google. More or less, the price currently would be around 650 million euros.
