Bitcoin Pizza Day 2023: Community celebrates anniversary of first known BTC transaction

Redditors wondered where the 10,000 BTC went, with some speculating it was sold when the price surged, while others suggested the keys may have been lost.

Members of the crypto community celebrated the anniversary of Bitcoin Pizza Day; the first notable exchange of Bitcoin (BTC) into physical goods. 

On May 22, 2010, Laszlo Hanyecz made the first documented purchase of a good with BTC. The exchange involved 10,000 BTC — worth $41 at the time — and two pizzas from a local restaurant in Florida. The milestone turned into an annual celebration for the crypto space as community members reminisced on how far the industry has come since the transaction.

Similar to previous years, crypto fans celebrated the day by eating pizza, with Bitcoiners in Indonesia sharing a photo of themselves eating pizza in Bali.

#Bitcoin pizza day with bunch of bitcoiners in Bali pic.twitter.com/WbeHx02Xlq

— Dea Rezkitha (@dearezkitha) May 21, 2023

Meanwhile, crypto exchanges also joined in on the pizza-eating fun. Crypto exchange Binance served pizza in Naples, Italy, while trading platform OKX shared a photo of its employee’s lunch as it geared up for the day.

While many others were busy eating pizza, some took the time to appreciate Jeremy Sturdivant, the person on the other end of the now-famous transaction. One Bitcoiner described Sturdivant as the “true hero” of the story.

On Reddit, community members shared their curiosity about the fate of the 10,000 BTC spent on the pizza. Some speculated that Sturdivant sold the coins after the price increased by five or 10 times, while others thought he might have lost the keys. 

At the time of writing, 10,000 BTC is worth around $268 million.

Related: Bitcoin FOMO is gone, portfolio managers are taking BTC seriously

While the Bitcoin pizza transaction is widely recognized as the first physical goods exchange using BTC, some speculate that there may be a sale that preceded it. On May 14, Crypto Twitter was set ablaze as people considered the possibility of an image being sold in exchange for 500 BTC months before the pizza purchase. Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto was also involved in the sale.

Magazine: Best and worst countries for crypto taxes — Plus crypto tax tips