#Gate Square Pizza Festival

Two Pizzas, One Era: Ramblings Written on BTC Pizza Day

Fourteen years have passed.
Every year on this day, I think of that unlucky yet great decision. On May 22, 2010, someone spent 10,000 bitcoins to buy two pizzas from Papa John’s in Florida. Looking back today, that was the most expensive meal in human history. But honestly, if it were you and me back then, would we have done the same? Don’t fool yourself—most likely, we would have posted on forums: “Can anyone help me order some takeout? I’ll give you ten thousand of these crappy coins.”

That’s the most fascinating thing about Bitcoin: it’s never a solo act of genius, but a collective accidental performance art by ordinary people.

Over these more than ten years, I’ve heard all kinds of BTC stories. There’s an engineer who mined thousands of coins in 2011, only for his hard drive to fall into the sea; a college student who bought “goods” on the dark web, with a wallet still holding a few coins, now used as a down payment; and a friend who jumped in at the peak in 2017, sold at the bottom of the bear market, then re-entered in 2021. Behind each story is a long struggle of a person with greed, fear, and patience.

But what moves me most are the “stories without stories.” Ordinary people who print out their private keys, hide them under the bed, check the price once a year, and do whatever they normally do. They don’t join any groups, don’t watch any K-line charts; their only observation is—fiat currency’s purchasing power will decline over time, while the total supply of Bitcoin will not increase.

Speaking of memes, “HODL” is probably the greatest invention in this circle. A drunken post, misspelled, yet it became the spiritual totem for countless people through bull and bear markets. There are also laser eyes, alpacas pulling carts, and that classic meme: “The market top starts with grandma asking how to buy coins.” These seemingly joking memes actually hide the simplest wisdom: don’t take yourself too seriously; this market is the ultimate cure for all disobedience.

Today, I want to have a bit of a brainwave. What if that guy back then hadn’t exchanged his pizza but held onto those coins all along? Most likely, he wouldn’t be better off. He might have cashed out early for a sports car, or sold at the lowest point due to pressure. More likely, he’d have been tormented by wild swings, losing the sense of life. Those two pizzas are actually his salvation—they proved to the world that Bitcoin can buy things, that it’s really useful. This contribution is more meaningful than the digital numbers sitting in his wallet.

From a trading perspective, after three bull and bear cycles, I only have one sentence: don’t short, don’t use high leverage, don’t go all-in. Bitcoin’s greatest advantage isn’t rising fast, but that it has never “gone to zero.” Fourteen years, countless altcoins have risen and fallen, and it’s still here. Every time you think it’s over, it rises from the ashes. This resilience is more worthy of respect than any technical indicator.

Today’s Bitcoin is no longer a toy in the hands of geeks. Institutions have entered, ETFs have been approved, and more countries are starting to focus on reserves. But the core hasn’t changed—it’s still that scarce digital gold. The long-term bullish logic remains, but the path is always full of bumps.

Finally, back to those two pizzas. Today, someone will buy the same pizza, spending 0.0001 BTC, to celebrate this festival. Fourteen years ago, it was 10,000 coins; today, it’s 0.0001 coins. That change is the story of Bitcoin.

Don’t regret not buying back then, and don’t envy the “what ifs.” Every Satoshi you own today is part of future history. What matters is—you are part of this story.

Happy festival, and remember to enjoy your pizza.
(Pineapple on or off, as long as you’re happy 🍍)