Laszlo Hanyecz and his legendary pizza: what happened to the bitcoins?

On May 22, 2010, a young programmer named Laszlo Hanyecz made the first-ever purchase of goods with cryptocurrency. He had no idea that his act would go down in the history of digital assets. Two slices of pizza, seemingly insignificant purchases, became the most famous meal in the world of cryptocurrency.

Laszlo Hanyecz’s Historic Transaction: From Humble Beginnings to Incredible Value

Laszlo Hanyecz paid 10,000 bitcoins for two pizzas when the price of one BTC was around $0.0041. The total cost was just $41. At that time, it was simply a curious transaction between members of the crypto community to test the capabilities of a young and unknown currency.

But it only takes a decade to realize the true scale of what happened. Today, with Bitcoin trading at around $70,220, those 10,000 coins would be worth approximately $702 million. The modest two pizzas unexpectedly became the most expensive dish in human history, symbolizing missed opportunities and simultaneously proving the potential of early investments.

Where is Laszlo Hanyecz’s Bitcoin now?

Over a decade and a half later, Laszlo remains silent about the status of his original wallet. Is he still holding any of his assets, or has he completely sold them? There is no official answer to this question yet.

Several possible scenarios exist for his fate. The first suggests that Laszlo Hanyecz managed to keep some of his bitcoins, which at the current price would make him a multimillionaire. The second scenario is based on historical experience: like many early crypto investors, he might have sold his coins during the first significant price surge—when Bitcoin reached $100, $1,000, or even $10,000—confident that further growth was impossible. The third, essentially tragic scenario involves losing access to his wallet, forgotten private keys that would turn his millions into an unclaimed digital asset, forever locked in the blockchain.

Which of these scenarios is realistic? Laszlo Hanyecz remains committed to his silence, leaving room for speculation and legend.

Why Laszlo’s deal remains significant for the crypto world

Beyond Laszlo Hanyecz’s personal story, his transaction marks a pivotal moment in the development of crypto technology. May 22 has become known in the crypto community as “Bitcoin Pizza Day”—an annual reminder of that bubble day when cryptocurrency first moved beyond theoretical discussions and became a practical exchange tool.

Laszlo Hanyecz’s deal proved a simple but revolutionary truth: Bitcoin can function as a real means of payment, not just a technological experiment. It paved the way for widespread recognition of cryptocurrencies in commerce and finance, encouraging the emergence of payment systems and the integration of digital assets into everyday transactions.

Today, with the global crypto asset market valued in trillions of dollars, it’s hard to overstate the significance of the first pizza bought with BTC. Laszlo Hanyecz’s two private pizzas became the foundation of an ecosystem now comprising tens of thousands of projects, millions of users, and infrastructure worth trillions. Whether or not their creator still owns his original bitcoins, his name remains inseparably linked to the moment when cryptocurrency transformed from a hobbyist project into a global phenomenon.