Most expensive Bitcoin pizza in history
Today is April Fools’ Day, and we would like to celebrate it by recalling the funniest stories from the world of cryptocurrencies. But the most famous of them is the 10,000 Bitcoin pizza, bought by American programmer Laszlo Heinitz in 2010. By today’s standards, such a pizza for BTC would now cost $ 588,041,000. Then, few people could have assumed that in 11 years, the value of 1 coin in dollars would reach the level of $ 60,000. Not only Heinitz but other pioneers of the cryptocurrency market have done things that are now legendary.
Laszlo Heinitz was a regular at the Bitcointalk forum, which became the main place where crypto enthusiasts gathered and exchanged opinions. Satoshi Nakamoto even took part in the discussions on the forum. Heinitz repeatedly entered into dialogue with him and corresponded.
As the owner of a good PC, Laszlo Heinitz took part in discussing the prospects for the development of Bitcoin and mining. He was one of the first to come up with the idea of using a video card for mining. He managed to save about 100,000 BTC for a BTC wallet. The value of the coin was then a few cents.
Heinitz decided to try spending the Bitcoins he received for free and posted an ad on Bitcointalk asking him to buy him two pizzas with home delivery. Heinitz promised to pay 10,000 Bitcoins to whoever agrees to pay for the purchase. Heinitz later said that he deliberately indicated such a large amount to guarantee that he would find a person who agreed to the deal.
Jeremy Sterdivent volunteered to help Heinitz make it happen. He paid for the order with a bank card and honestly received 10,000 BTC from Heinitz. It happened on May 22, 2010. Since then, this day has been an unofficial celebration of the cryptocurrency community called «Bitcoin Pizza Day.» At the same time, Heinitz posted on his blog that he successfully bought pizza for Bitcoins, turning digital money into a real asset.
To the current criticism, Heinitz replies that he does not regret the purchase. First, he became a famous person in the crypto community, which helped him make a lot of money. Secondly, his idea became one of the incentives that increased the popularity and value of BTC. If it were not for the most expensive pizza for Bitcoins, then who knows, maybe the cryptocurrency would not have become so popular at all.
Jeremy Sterdivent, who received 10,000 BTC from Heinitz for two pizzas, also had no idea how much the cryptocurrency value would rise over the next ten years. He was 19 years old, and he could not even imagine that fate gave him a chance to become a millionaire. He quickly spent his 10,000 BTC, getting rid of the last coins when the BTC rate was around $ 400. Sterdivent believes that he made a good investment and made more than 1000% of the profit after the first pizza with Bitcoin was bought. Like Heinitz, he forever inscribed his name in the history of the world of cryptocurrencies.
The most expensive BTC pizza has had a huge impact on the industry. When Laszlo Heinitz decided to sell Bitcoin for pizza, he made the first-ever exchange of a cryptocurrency for a real thing. As soon as the rumor spread about this, BTC value began to rise sharply, increasing tenfold in three months. Many pizzerias and cafes started to accept Bitcoins for payment, making cryptocurrency a real means of payment. Already in the middle of summer 2010, the first-ever cryptocurrency exchange appeared.
