Bitcoin, the original cryptocurrency, was first used in a real-world commercial transaction.
Bitcoin
In the history of finance, it has typically taken decades, if not centuries, for innovation to rise from first usage to the mainstream. However, that’s not been the case for cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. Rather, it’s only taken a decade and a half.
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15 years ago this month, Bitcoin, the original cryptocurrency, was first used in a real-world commercial transaction. This event is now known as “Bitcoin Pizza Day.” Every year, the crypto community celebrates this day, and how it represents how far this financial innovation has come from its humble beginnings.
In a recent interview, Binance CEO Richard Teng reflected on the crypto industry’s incredible journey over this relatively short span of time, stating: “Fifteen years ago, crypto was about buying a pizza. Today, it’s about building robust payment systems, stablecoins, and real-life use cases that change lives.”
What is ‘Bitcoin Pizza Day?’
It may have taken just a few years for Bitcoin to explode in popularity and usage, but for the first year of its existence, the original cryptocurrency was still very obscure, known about by only a small community of followers. These followers congregated primarily on BitcoinTalk, the original cryptocurrency forum.
Debuting in October 2009, transactions with Bitcoin at first were limited to early adopters purchasing the crypto in exchange for U.S. Dollars via PayPal. That all changed in mid-2010, when one of the first Bitcoin purchasers proposed what became the first real-world Bitcoin-based commercial transaction.
On May 18, 2010, BitcoinTalk user Laszlo Hanyecz created a thread titled “Pizza for bitcoins?” In the original post, Laszlo discussed his desire to make a concierge-style order of two large pizzas, with a third-party accepting 10,000 BTC in exchange for going to the trouble of ordering or making said pizzas.
Four days later, Laszlo posted a follow-up message on the thread, announcing that he had “successfully traded 10,000 BTC for pizza,” having found a third party to accept the crypto, then place an order on his behalf.
Why This Wasn’t a Billion Dollar Blunder
At first, you may think that Laszlo made a billion dollar blunder with this pizza purchase. After all, while 10,000 BTC was only worth around $41 back in May 2010, today this same amount of Bitcoin would be worth around $1.1 billion.
Still, beyond the fact that no one at the time would have believed Bitcoin would reach such lofty heights, one can argue that if Laszlo didn’t place this pizza order, Bitcoin, and in turn the cryptocurrency asset class and blockchain economy may never have taken off in the first place.
Hence, while the opportunity cost was high in hindsight, Laszlo is nonetheless lauded as a pioneer. This transaction marked the first major milestone for crypto, on its journey from the fringes of the internet to the global mainstream.
Today, crypto is commonly used to settle large, cross-border commercial transactions. BTC and other major cryptos have also become investment-grade assets, with considerable institutional capital flowing into them, both directly and via investment products like exchange-traded funds.
‘Pizza Day Stories’ Keep Happening Every Day
Bitcoin may now be entrenched into the financial mainstream, but make no mistake. “Pizza Day” itself has come and gone, but crypto users keep turning to this alternative payment method for everyday transactions, for its many benefits over traditional fiat-based payment methods. Binance recently asked its users to share how crypto has actually been useful in their own lives. Forget the memes for a second; these stories paint a picture of cryptocurrencies solving everyday problems and creating meaningful moments, showing the practical side that Bitcoin Pizza Day first hinted at.
Take Andy from Vietnam, for example. He ran into a common travel snag in Malaysia: needing to pay a rental deposit without a local bank account. His plan B was crypto. "I turned to crypto and planned to use Binance to make the payment," he shared. As it turned out, the host ended up waiving the fee because Andy promised to take good care of the place. "While the payment was never completed," Andy reflected, "it was still a perfect example of how versatile crypto can be in real-life situations!"
In a second example, Binance Angel @Gerrit92 got into crypto back in 2019. Through patient “buying and HODLing,” Gerrit92 built a small fortune. To celebrate, he cashed out some of his profits, using them to buy a Rolex. Besides fulfilling a long-held desire to own this valuable watch, the Rolex to this user also serves as a token of the friends and profits he has made via crypto. @Gerrit92 explains, “I’ve been investing in crypto since 2019 and have never cashed out a large amount. I traded occasionally to rebalance my portfolio, but I always believed in a long-term vision. After many years in crypto, I decided to take a small portion of my profits to invest in another asset, fulfilling a childhood dream with a valuable purchase, a Rolex. It may be less volatile, but I look at it every day, and it reminds me of crypto and the friends I’ve made in this community.”
