• May 22 marks the next anniversary of the transaction in which Laszlo Hanyecz paid 10,000 BTC for two pizzas. This is one of the most important moments in Bitcoin’s history because it showed that digital coins can buy something real.
• With today’s Bitcoin price around USD 76,854, the same 10,000 BTC would be worth approximately USD 768.5 million, or approximately PLN 2.8 billion at the USD/PLN exchange rate close to 3.65.
It wasn’t about the pizza. It was about using Bitcoin
The story began a few days earlier, on May 17, 2010, when Hanyecz published an entry on the Bitcointalk forum. He offered 10,000 BTC to the person who would order him two large pizzas. On May 22, the transaction was completed. According to sources covering this story, the order was fulfilled by Jeremy Sturdivant, known in the community as “jercos.” At the time, 10,000 BTC was valued at around $41.
From today’s perspective, it is easy to say that it was a terrible financial decision. But this is too simple. In 2010, Bitcoin was not an asset of interest to funds, listed companies or institutional investors. It was an open project, tested by a handful of programmers and cryptography enthusiasts.
Without such attempts, Bitcoin could remain a digital curiosity. The pizza transaction was therefore more than just a purchase of food. It was a test: will anyone accept BTC in exchange for a real service?
He accepted.
The most expensive pizza in the world and the cheapest adoption lesson
Bitcoin Pizza Day comes back every year as a story of a lost fortune. In 2026, with the price of Bitcoin around USD 76,854, a bundle of 10,000 BTC means a value of approximately USD 768.5 million. After conversion at the exchange rate of PLN 3.65 per dollar, this gives approximately PLN 2.8 billion.
This number is impressive, but it shouldn’t obscure the point. Hanyecz did not “lose” to the market. He helped launch it. Bitcoin needed early users who were willing to treat it like money before anyone outside the niche community saw it as a global asset.
This is an important difference. Speculation begins when people buy something solely with a higher price in mind. Adoption begins when someone uses a technology even though it is uncertain whether it will ever become widespread.
From an internet forum to a global market
In 2010, Bitcoin was a simple experiment: a decentralized payment system that didn’t need a bank, card carrier, or central issuer. Today, it is a globally liquid asset, listed on stock exchanges, analyzed by investment banks and increasingly treated as a digital equivalent of hard money.
This does not change the fact that Bitcoin is still a volatile asset. Its price can rise and fall rapidly, and the market reacts to macroeconomic data, regulations, liquidity, actions of large investors and retail sentiment. Therefore, Bitcoin Pizza Day should not be read as a simple “you should have bought and held” story. Rather, it’s a reminder that technology needs time, users, and real use cases.
Kanga is celebrating Bitcoin Pizza Day with a special promotion
According to the information on the promotion page, the offer is valid for the whole week, until May 29 inclusive. Using code PIZZA the transaction cost is reduced to 2%. The website also describes how to exchange cryptocurrencies through Kanga Local, Kanga currency exchange offices and withdraw cash using an ATM.
This is a good example of how Bitcoin Pizza Day can be used not only as a meme or anniversary curiosity, but also as a pretext to talk about the practical use of cryptocurrencies. Because Laszlo’s story was not the story of a chart, but the story of adoption.
Why does this story still work?
Bitcoin Pizza Day is such a famous event because it contains the paradox of the crypto market. On the one hand, it shows the huge increase in Bitcoin’s value since 2010. On the other hand, it reminds us that without real use, the price itself means nothing.
Bitcoin didn’t become important because it was expensive. At first it was cheap, niche and incomprehensible. Only later, after years of testing, stock market crashes, bubbles, bear markets, regulatory disputes and subsequent waves of adoption, did it become one of the most important digital assets in the world.
Two pizzas for 10,000 BTC were therefore something like the first receipt of the new economy. Not perfect or risk-free. But one that started with a simple question: is it possible to pay with online money for something you can put on the table?
On May 22, 2010, the answer was yes.
We invite you to take part in a special action of the Kanga exchange on the occasion of Bitcoin Pizza Day, in which you can receive a discount on the exchange: https://pizzaday.kanga.exchange/.
