The record for the most expensive pizza purchase in history dates back to May 2010, when a man from Jacksonville, Florida, made the unconventional transaction. At that time, the two pizzas cost a mere $41, but today, their value has skyrocketed to millions. This notable purchase was orchestrated by Laszlo Hanyecz, who opted to pay for the pizzas using a newly minted digital currency known as bitcoin. Hanyecz casually shared his proposal in an online forum frequented by fellow bitcoin enthusiasts, stating, “If anyone is interested, I’m offering 10,000 bitcoins for some pizza.”
Shortly thereafter, Jeremy Sturdivant from England accepted Hanyecz’s offer. After receiving the bitcoins, Sturdivant placed an order for the pizzas through a standard credit card at a Papa John’s in Jacksonville, Florida, and had them delivered right to Hanyecz’s door. Hanyecz’s intention was to generate buzz around bitcoin, and he subsequently distributed press releases about the stunt to various media outlets across the country, including a small newsroom in Park Hills, Missouri. Unfortunately, this initiative went largely unnoticed, as there was little local relevance to the event, and the press release was quickly disregarded.
However, just three years later, that seemingly trivial pizza purchase transformed into a staggering asset, valued at approximately $750 million in 2013. Even during the bear market of 2023, the worth of that pizza transaction remained at a remarkable $268 million. The valuation continues to rise, and Hanyecz is often invited to reminisce about his pizza purchase, which has come to be celebrated as Bitcoin Pizza Day.
In fact, the purchase of the pizzas today is estimated to be worth around $814,464,800, according to CoinLedger, a platform providing cryptocurrency accounting services.
Most Costly Crypto Transaction Recorded
Interestingly, the pizzas do not hold the title for the most expensive item ever bought with bitcoin. That distinction belongs to a Trump SoHo condo hotel, known today as The Dominick, which was valued at $2.08 billion in 2024. Initially listed for sale in 2013, the condo had a unique stipulation that the purchase had to be made entirely in bitcoin. The eventual transaction involved 25,500 bitcoins, which were worth about $2 million at that time. Today, those same bitcoins have appreciated to a staggering $2.67 billion, marking this as the highest-priced bitcoin purchase on record, as reported by CoinLedger.
There may be other high-value transactions from the early days of bitcoin that remain undisclosed, as many users during that time were primarily focused on experimenting with the digital currency and ensuring its continued viability. Caitlin Long, the CEO of Custodia Bank, which specializes in digital assets like bitcoin, recalls this era. “Every year on Bitcoin Pizza Day, people ask Hanyecz for his thoughts because those pizzas are valued at nearly a billion dollars now,” Long noted. “He shares the same perspective as I do; you can’t dwell on that. The bitcoin network wouldn’t be where it is today if early users hadn’t engaged in transactions like that.”
This situation highlights the remarkable journey of bitcoin since its inception in 2008, when a domain called bitcoin.org was quietly registered, and a white paper detailing the cryptocurrency was circulated by the mysterious figure known as Satoshi Nakamoto in 2009. The true identity of Nakamoto remains unknown, as they vanished in the spring of 2011, leaving behind a legacy of billions and an ongoing mystery, with various theories proposed but no definitive answers.
Bitcoin’s Evolution Through Transactions
Long, who began her bitcoin journey in 2012, experienced her own pivotal moment in 2014. “I noticed that Overstock.com became the first major brand to embrace bitcoin,” she recalled. “At that time, everyone was questioning whether bitcoin could survive, especially after the collapse of Mount Gox, which had dominated bitcoin trades.” Mount Gox was a Tokyo-based exchange that managed around 70% of bitcoin transactions before it suffered a catastrophic hack that resulted in the theft of thousands of bitcoins. Like many in the bitcoin community, Long sought ways to bolster the cryptocurrency’s future during this tumultuous period. She opted to use some of her bitcoins to buy Christmas gifts that year, with the price of a single bitcoin hovering around $320. Her $640 purchase equated to two bitcoins, now worth approximately $208,000. “I try not to dwell on it, but that’s the reality. The focus should be on the impact of using bitcoin,” she explained. “It parallels the act of donating appreciated bitcoin in 2017 to support an endowment for female engineers. Had I waited, I could have contributed more, but many students benefitted from my donation when it mattered. This is part of what has shaped bitcoin’s current standing. Without practical use, the network effects would not exist.”
Long believes these network effects contribute to bitcoin’s resilience today, likening it to the Internet’s evolution. The decentralized nature of bitcoin means it cannot be easily dismantled by a singular entity. A concerted effort would be required, and Long is skeptical about its potential success. This decentralization is integral to the philosophy underpinning the entire system.
Long’s desire to use bitcoin for the endowment fund motivated her to engage with Wyoming’s digital asset legislation, which at the time posed challenges to making her donation without regulatory changes.
Future of Cryptocurrency
Despite her practical outlook, Long admits to occasionally wishing that she had invested more in bitcoin back in the day. “We could all be wealthy,” she chuckled. One reason she held back from investing more was the same caution that many financial advisors historically advised against cryptocurrencies. Long recalls losing some of her coins following Mount Gox’s collapse in 2014, stating, “I recovered some funds a decade later, but it was only a small fraction of my initial investment.”
Bryan Pedersen, a financial advisor based in Cheyenne, also reminisces about the early days of bitcoin. “In 2011, I had a close friend who is now a partner at a major accounting firm, and he mentioned he was mining this digital currency,” Pedersen recounted. His incredulity at the time was palpable. “I thought, ‘What are you doing, you Dungeons and Dragons nerd? You’re mining an internet coin to buy a shield for your wizard?’” Fast forward to today, and that same friend has amassed millions from his bitcoin mining endeavors. “We all look back and think about what could have been, but it’s important to remember that many cryptocurrencies have failed,” Pedersen noted. “Choosing the wrong one could lead to total loss.”
Pedersen’s perspective on cryptocurrencies has evolved since then. “I see a place for crypto in the future,” he remarked. “I’m not as skeptical as I was in 2011 when I simply didn’t comprehend it. However, I’m uncertain about how it will unfold, whether through government regulation or free market dynamics.” He has observed BRICS nations—comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates—pushing for trading securities that aren’t dollar-denominated. “We essentially dictate that the world must use U.S. dollars for trade, while we continue to print more, thus devaluing our currency,” Pedersen explained. “This trend towards cryptocurrency appears to be a response to that devaluation, creating a new economic competition.”
“If the future lies in cryptocurrency, we must be part of it,” Pedersen emphasized, noting the importance of maintaining the U.S.’s leadership in global finance, as the dollar remains a crucial component of the international banking system. “If the world transitions to any form of cryptocurrency, whether led by BRICS nations or otherwise, we need to have a stake in it. Owning a sovereign crypto entity would ensure that.” This belief underscores Pedersen’s conviction that cryptocurrencies are not going away anytime soon, be it bitcoin or an alternative system.
