The day was coined after Laszlo Hanyecz, who in 2010 bought two Papa John’s pizzas using 10,000 bitcoin BTCUSD, 1.47%, in the first widely known bitcoin transaction to take place.
Bitcoin was worth less than a penny in 2010, and
the purchase was worth around $41 at the time.
But what makes the day notable is that it was believed to be the first time a virtual cryptocurrency had been used to purchase an item in the real world.
Over the years, bitcoin enthusiasts have been trying to expand use cases of the cryptocurrency and its blockchain. They touted bitcoin as a hedge against the existing monetary system and a potential “safe haven.” Developers have also recently enabled issuance of nonfungible tokens and meme tokens on the blockchain network.
Today, one bitcoin is worth slightly below $27,000, according to CoinDesk data, which means that
if Hanyecz had kept the bitcoin, instead of exchanging the cryptocurrency for pizzas, the coins would be worth almost $270 million.
I wish I understood Bitcoin back then.
| 