Pizza Day

In plain words

In May 2010, Laszlo Hanyecz, a Florida programmer, posted an open offer on the Bitcointalk forum: 10,000 bitcoin for two pizzas. On May 22 someone took it — two pies delivered for about $25 — and bitcoin, until then a toy among cryptographers, had a price fixed by a real trade. Every May 22 the internet recalculates what those pizzas cost. The wrong lesson is regret. The right one: money is money only when someone accepts it.

Why it matters

• The first documented purchase of real goods with bitcoin.
• Value isn't declared; it's established one trade at a time.
• Laszlo says he'd do it again. Spending is what made the coins worth something.

Go deeper

• The original thread — "Pizza for bitcoins?", as posted.
• Satoshi (the unit)
• HODL