Today, at Consensus 2017, some people were talking about getting Pizza to celebrate Bitcoin Pizza Day. What is the story behind that, and when is it celebrated?
2 Answers
Bitcoin Pizza Day is celebrated on May 22nd. On this day in 2010, a BitcoinTalk member bought pizza in exchange for 10,000 BTC. This represents more or less the first known transaction using bitcoins for actual goods.
The original post: Laszlo announcing his purchase in 2010
The significance has been growing especially now, because... of how much that 10,000 BTC would be worth today.
Bitcoin Pizza Day commemorates Laszlo's purchase of two pizzas in exchange of 10,000 BTC (about $41 then). Laszlo's transaction is thought to be the first use of Bitcoin as a payment for goods. Commonly, revelers celebrate Bitcoin Pizza Day by ordering pizza, preferably purchased with Bitcoin.
Often, the first question people ask when hearing about Laszlo's purchase is whether he made his piece over expending such an amount of Bitcoin. Laszlo's response was that the purchase should be seen in the context of the situation back then: Bitcoin was virtually unknown and the purchase was in line with the exchange rate of that time.
In fact, Laszlo recently doubled down on his seminal purchase by buying pizza via the Lightning Network with a mock "atomic swap".