Today marks the 15th anniversary of the first known use of cryptocurrency to purchase goods in the real world – the so-called "Bitcoin Pizza Day."
Programmer Laszlo Hanjec paid 22 bitcoins for the delivery of two pizzas from the Papa John's pizza chain on May 2010, 10.000. At the time, those 10.000 bitcoins were worth about $41, and today, at the time of the cryptocurrency's record values, they are worth $1,1 billion, AP reports.
Bitcoin was created in early 2009 by Satoshi Nakamoto, although the identity of the person or persons behind the name remains unknown. The cryptocurrency originated as a project by libertarian-minded computer geeks who wanted to create a digital payment system without relying on a third party – such as a government or financial institution – for transactions.
Hanjec, who was among the early bitcoin enthusiasts, offered technical advice on how to "mine" bitcoin more efficiently on an early bitcoin internet forum.
A key part of bitcoin technology is the process by which transactions are verified and then recorded on what is known as the blockchain. Computers connected to the bitcoin network race to solve complex mathematical calculations that verify transactions, with the winner earning new bitcoins as a reward in a process known as mining.
In the early days, enthusiasts could mine bitcoins on their home computers. Hanjec amassed thousands of bitcoins that way. Today, mining is highly competitive, with multi-billion dollar companies using specialized computers in entire data centers to mine new bitcoins.
In the early days, no one knew what to do with the bitcoins they mined. On May 18, 2010, Hanjec tried an experiment and posted a message offering 10.000 bitcoins for a pizza.
"I like things like onions, peppers, sausage, mushrooms, tomatoes, pepperoni (an American variety of spicy salami made from dried pork and beef seasoned with paprika and chili peppers. etc...) just the standard stuff, no weird fish toppings or anything like that," Hanjec wrote.
Three days later, Hanjec wondered if he should raise the price.
"So, no one wants to buy me pizza? Is the amount of bitcoin I'm offering too low?" he wrote.
However, the next day, Hanjec said he successfully exchanged his bitcoins for pizza. Another California bitcoin enthusiast paid for a Papa John's pizza in exchange for cryptocurrency, according to a book on the history of bitcoin, "Digital Gold."
It didn't take long for the value of Bitcoin to start rising after the first pizza transaction. Bitcoin began to gain more publicity and its value increased, thanks in part to the popularity of the black market website Silk Road, which only accepted Bitcoin.
By February 2014, when bitcoin was worth around $600, Hanjec admired the development of the digital currency.
"I think people may say I'm stupid, but it was a great offer at the time," Hanjec wrote on a bitcoin forum. "I don't think anyone could have known it would go this way."
Five years later, when bitcoin was worth up to $11.000, Hanjec reflected on what buying that first pizza meant for bitcoin.
"That made it real for some people, I mean certainly for me," Hanjec said on a television show.
Hanjec has largely been out of the public eye in recent years, and attempts by The Associated Press to contact him were unsuccessful.
Bitcoin now seems to be firmly entrenched in the mainstream financial system. While it didn't take off as a way to pay for everyday items like pizza, it has gained popularity as a form of "digital gold" or a way to store assets.
More and more companies are buying bitcoin as corporate bonds, and United States President (US) Donald Trump recently signed an executive order establishing a national bitcoin reserve.
Bitcoin was worth about $111.000 on Thursday morning – a new record. That puts the total value of bitcoin at more than $2.000 trillion, or about the same as Amazon.
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