JAKARTA – May 22 is the biggest anniversary in the crypto community. The date marks the biggest regret in the history of cryptocurrency, where someone named Laszlo Hanyecz bought a pizza with 10,000 Bitcoins.
The historic event occurred on May 22, 2010. Hanyecz is a computer programmer from Florida. He wanted to test whether the digital currency mined at his house could be used to buy something.
In that year, cryptocurrencies were still in their infancy, so there was no facility to buy or sell goods and services using Bitcoin. Crypto adoption has not been as vibrant in recent years. The transaction is more akin to bartering than buying goods.
Later, Hanyacz announced his plans on an online Bitcoin forum. He explained that he would pay 10,000 Bitcoin for some pizzas.
“You can make your own pizza 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,” he said in an online forum.
One of the forum members, immediately responded to the announcement. It was Jeremy Sturdivant from England who accepted the offer. Sturdivant then ordered 2 Domino's pizzas, paid $25 and had them delivered to Laszlo Hanyecz's house. The British man also received a reward of 10,000 Bitcoin.
At that time Bitcoin was still trading at 0.004 US dollars per BTC. A total of 10,000 Bitcoins at that time was worth 41 US dollars. Sturdivant has actually benefited at that price.
“I just took a real step as part of a growing community trust in bitcoin, it didn't feel unique in the sense that if I didn't accept the offer someone else would… it was then that I kind of realized that this was a precedent for ordinary trading with bitcoin,” said Sturdivant, quoted from DailyCoin.
After getting paid in BTC, Sturdivant reportedly sold his 10,000 Bitcoins at a price of 400 US dollars. Purchasing Pizza with Bitcoin became a tragedy in the history of crypto. Laszlo had to swallow the bitter pill, as the price of BTC has skyrocketed to tens of thousands of dollars since then.
At the time of writing BTC is trading at a price of 30,169 US dollars (approximately Rp.442,397,213) per coin, according to data from Coingecko at 10:37 WIB, May 23, 2022.
When asked if Laszlo regretted not keeping Bitcoin to himself, he replied: “Someone has to start it all.”
"I'm poor now," he added in the caption on his Twitter bio.
Although Laszlo Hanyecz did not become a millionaire from crypto, his name is recorded in the history of cryptocurrencies. The crypto community around the world often commemorates this event every May 22. Some of the world's largest crypto exchanges, including Binance, are also celebrating Bitcoin Pizza Day.
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