Recently, while reviewing the history of Bitcoin, I was reminded of the legendary pizza story. On May 22, 2010, a programmer named Laszlo exchanged 10k bitcoins for two pizzas. This transaction was later called "Bitcoin Pizza Day," becoming one of the most iconic memes in the cryptocurrency community.

The background at that time was actually quite interesting. Bitcoin had just been created, and no one considered it a real payment tool. When Laszlo posted a bounty on a forum, those 10k bitcoins were worth about $30. He even worried for a moment that no one would respond to his proposal. But four days later, the deal was still successful.

Why did he dare to do this? Laszlo later said frankly in an interview—that it felt like a free dinner to him. These bitcoins were mined by him through programming and contributing to open-source projects. When the pizzas arrived, he truly felt like "I won the whole internet." His interest and enthusiasm ultimately resulted in a meal, which was the greatest sense of achievement for him.

The key reason he could make such a calm decision was that mining difficulty was extremely low at the time. Laszlo was not only one of the earliest programmers to get involved with Bitcoin but also one of the first to develop GPU mining. According to blockchain data, his wallet reached a peak of 43,854 bitcoins in June 2010. The 10k bitcoins spent were quickly replenished by subsequent mining rewards.

The true significance of this transaction is that—it was the first physical transaction after Bitcoin's birth, symbolizing Bitcoin taking its first real step as a payment tool. Later, as Bitcoin's price soared, online users kept updating the latest prices of those two pizzas in their posts. It is estimated that Laszlo spent about 100,000 bitcoins on daily expenses, which, at the time's prices, was a huge "loss."

But the key point here is—Laszlo has never regretted it. Even as Bitcoin became more valuable, he openly admitted he never second-guessed himself. He said he was quite happy back then, mining with a graphics card to get free pizza, which was just a fun experience for him.

The seller who made the deal with him was a California guy named Jeremy, who was only 19 at the time. Jeremy was also an early Bitcoin user; he spent those 10k bitcoins on a trip with his girlfriend. In a 2018 interview, he also expressed no regrets about the deal. He felt that selling the pizza earned him $400, which appreciated tenfold, making it a pretty good deal.

Interestingly, Laszlo has always maintained a low profile. He didn't create social media accounts and kept a distance from external attention. He once admitted that he felt somewhat detached because there was just too much focus on him. He didn't want to be overly scrutinized, nor did he want people to mistake him for Satoshi Nakamoto. He simply thought that treating Bitcoin as a hobby made him more comfortable, having a normal job and not planning to turn Bitcoin into a full-time career.

Since entering the Bitcoin open-source community in 2010, his attitude toward Bitcoin has never changed—it's never been a career, just an extension of his interest and passion. He has made many valuable contributions to the Bitcoin ecosystem, including bringing the MacOS version of Bitcoin Core, pioneering GPU mining, and that well-known pizza meme.

Although the technical value of the pizza meme might not be that critical, it created a warm cultural symbol for the Bitcoin community—giving every May 22nd a reason to be commemorated. Today, with BTC price soaring to $81.49k, that "most expensive dinner" from back then has become a classic story known throughout the community.