Black Friday Sale! 50% Off All Access

Someone in 2010 Bought 2 Pizzas With 10,000 Bitcoins -- Which Today Would Be Worth $20 Million Bitcoin is going nuclear.

By Rob Price

Entrepreneur+ Black Friday Sale

Our biggest sale — Get unlimited access to Entrepreneur.com at an unbeatable price. Use code SAVE50 at checkout.*

Claim Offer

*Offer only available to new subscribers

This story originally appeared on Business Insider

Laszlo Hanyecz
Laszlo Hanyecz bought these pizzas for 10,000 bitcoins on May 22, 2010.

On May 22, 2010, a developer bought two pizzas using 10,000 units of a then-little-known digital currency called bitcoin.

Today, 10,000 bitcoins are worth more than $20 million.

Bitcoin is going nuclear. Its price is tearing upward, with each bitcoin worth $2,128 -- a little shy of its all-time-high of $2,185 reached earlier Monday morning.

Just a year ago, it was trading at just $443, after deflating from what was then seen as the giddy highs of about $1,100 in late 2013. It has since embarked on an epic bull run.

"The Japanese have caught the Bitcoin bug and inefficiencies across markets are being exposed," CryptoCompare founder Charles Hayter said in an emailed comment. "Irrational exuberance is taking hold as the Japanese stumble over each other to enter the Bitcoin market and drag up international prices."

The digital currency has come a long way since 2010, when the purchase of the two Papa John's pizzas by Laszlo Hanyecz from another bitcoin enthusiast marked what is believed to be the first "real-world" bitcoin transaction.

He posted on the Bitcoin Talk forum on May 22, 2010, writing:

"I'll pay 10,000 bitcoins for a couple of pizzas.. like maybe 2 large ones so I have some left over for the next day. I like having left over pizza to nibble on later. You can make the pizza yourself and bring it to my house or order it for me from a delivery place, but what I'm aiming for is getting food delivered in exchange for bitcoins where I don't have to order or prepare it myself, kind of like ordering a 'breakfast platter' at a hotel or something, they just bring you something to eat and you're happy!

"I like things like onions, peppers, sausage, mushrooms, tomatoes, pepperoni, etc.. just standard stuff no weird fish topping or anything like that. I also like regular cheese pizzas which may be cheaper to prepare or otherwise acquire.

"If you're interested please let me know and we can work out a deal."

Ten thousand coins were then worth about $40. A British user agreed to buy the pizza for him, and even at the time the buyer got a good deal out of it: The person paid only $25 for the two pizzas.

The date is a marked on an annual basis by bitcoin users as "Bitcoin Pizza Day."

Today, 10,000 bitcoins add up to about $20.5 million.

"It wasn't like Bitcoins had any value back then, so the idea of trading them for a pizza was incredibly cool," Hanyecz told The New York Times in 2013. "No one knew it was going to get so big."

Bitcoin is on an epic bull run, soaring to all-time highs.
Image credit: Coindesk

Get the latest Bitcoin price here.

Rob Price is a technology reporter for Business Insider.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Making a Change

This All-Access Pass to Learning Is Now $20 for Black Friday

Unlock more than 1,000 courses to fit your schedule.

Health & Wellness

How to Improve Your Daily Routine to Strike a Balance Between Rest and Business Success

Here's how entrepreneurs can balance their time and energy to prevent burnout.

Business Ideas

63 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2024

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2024.

Business News

The Two Richest People in the World Are Fighting on Social Media Again

Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk had a new, contentious exchange on X.

Business News

Barbara Corcoran Says This Is the Interest Rate Magic Number That Will Make the Market 'Go Ballistic'

Corcoran said she praying for lower interest rates and people are "tired of waiting."

Science & Technology

I've Spent 20 Years Studying Focus. Here's How I Use AI to Multiply My Time and Save 21 Weeks of Work a Year

AI is supposed to save time, but 77% of employees say it often costs more time due to all the editing it requires. Instead of helping, it can become a distraction. But don't worry — there's a better way.