Hanyecz and his two Bitcoin Pizzas. Image courtesy of The Sun.
As the story goes, Hanyecz posted on a Bitcoin forum that he was keen to buy two pizzas for a price of 10,000 bitcoins, worth $41 at that time. Jeremy Sturdivant, a student from California, responded to Hanyecz’s post and agreed to the offer. Once the transaction was complete, he ordered Papa Johns pizzas to be delivered to Hanyecz’s home. Since then, May 22 has been commemorated as Bitcoin Pizza Day.
Hanyecz original forum post. Image courtesy of Bitcoin Pizza Index
As of the time of writing, Hanyecz’s pizzas are worth a whopping $308 million. But what happened to the main characters of this extraordinary tale?
In several interviews, Laszlo said he has “no regrets.” In fact, he repeated a similar Bitcoin transaction in 2018, this time using the Lightning Network. As for Sturdivant, he squandered the 10,000 Bitcoins while traveling across the U.S. with his girlfriend.
Twelve years on, Bitcoin Pizza Day has been widely celebrated by the global crypto community in various ways. Here’s a rundown of several crypto and web3 initiatives that have paid tribute to this historic day:
Papa Johns Enters the Chat
Papa Johns “Cheddar” NFT Hot Bag. Image courtesy of Papa Johns.
A key element of the Bitcoin Pizza Day narrative is, without a doubt, Papa Johns. In 2021, the pizza chain paid tribute to Hanyecz by giving away 10,000 slices of pizza in Jacksonville, Florida. More recently, Papa Johns launched its first collection of NFTs in March 2022 — NFT Hot Bag — with nine designs and the “Papa 1984 Yellow” as the rarest. Minted on Tezos, the collection of 19,840 NFTs were given to pizza fans for free as a metaverse accessory.
A Slice of the Metaverse
Domino’s pizza store in Decentraland. Image courtesy of Decentraland.
Just like Papa Johns, pizza chain Domino’s also wanted a slice of the pie. In May 2021, Domino’s collaborated with Decentraland to build a metaverse pizza shop in celebration of Bitcoin Pizza Day. Users could head to the virtual Domino’s store and place their orders, making payment via ETH or MANA. Following this, the order would be entered into the system, with real pizza sent to the user’s home address. This event was only available to U.S. residents, but we sure hope they will expand it to Domino’s locations worldwide!
Pizza Lovers Unite With DAOs & NFTs
A collection of Rare Pizza NFTs. Image via OpenSea
What’s Bitcoin Pizza Day without a party? Introducing PizzaDAO, a pizza-focused community of artists, creators and pizza lovers that believes pizza should be free for all. Founded in 2021, the DAO celebrates the historic occasion by throwing a global #FreePizzaDay. Through its Rare Pizza NFT Project, proceeds from NFT sales are used to buy pizza for hungry pizza lovers all over the world. In 2021, the DAO purchased $300,000 worth of pizza, and has raised more than $1 million to date. Moving forward, it plans to grow its efforts and connect with more pizzerias to throw bigger and better pizza parties.
Bitcoin Pizza Day Crypto Gatherings
In the spirit of yesteryear’s Bitcoin forums, modern-day Bitcoin advocates come together to celebrate the occasion with events around the globe. From conferences and panel discussions, to networking events and meetup sessions, these events gather crypto enthusiasts in the community to discuss the future of crypto, get to know one another, and of course, enjoy a slice of pizza.
Whether you’re a fan of the thin New York slice, Chicago Deep Dish, or classic Neapolitan, get a slice of pizza along with a side BTC, traded via Spot or Derivatives on Bybit.
Happy Bitcoin Pizza Day, folks!
