Not until Laszlo completed that deal to swap 10,000 bitcoins for “two big pizzas”; bitcoin was basically another complicated technology with an incredible whitepaper, a blurry founder, and a community of nerds and dreamers. You guessed right; Laszlo had a ton of worthless virtual coins sitting in software on his computer screen. Thanks to a lower hash rate, earning new ones was even easier.
He could go on playing the nerd game for as long as he wanted but then he made this announcement instead:
Well, Laszlo had a pretty basic taste for a bitcoiner!
It will be hard to predict exactly what was going on in his mind when he made this announcement, but I’m sure he was surprised anyone bought into his wager and sent him some pizza in exchange for 10,000 bitcoins.
In one move, he showed just how feasible Satoshi’s theories were and gave bitcoin value. Just like Sirius would say; “a great milestone”. Anyway, they made great Pizzas then and Laszlo didn’t care about giving up five-figure bitcoins for them. It’s incredible he chose pizza for this trade. I’d have said he showed bitcoiners what could be achieved with their funny nerdy coins, but the fact is; many believed that would be the last time bitcoin would be exchanged for something reasonable…including Laszlo, probably.
Laszlo’s happiness didn’t last for so long as his deal sparked off a cascade of bitcoin to real commodity trade. Fast forward to a few years later, bitcoin has become a global topic and the biggest economic disruption of the past two decades. It has given birth to an ecosystem and has become a revolution.
Laszlo’s 10,000 bitcoins would go on to be worth even more pizzas and eventually turn into a staggering figure. While bitcoin got way more popular, Laszlo Hanyecs’ story got popular as well. The 10,000 bitcoin deal has a reserved date for remembrance…and fun poking. You can make an endless list of how many things you could buy with a tenth of the fee Laszlo paid for his pizza. A few sources would even rank Laszlo’s deal as one of the dumbest deals of our lifetime… this is wrong in every way.
Laszlo will undoubtedly not get tired of being asked if he regrets his pizza trade but one thing is; considering the reputation of bitcoin at the time of this deal, Laszlo made a good choice. Unarguably, it is contemporarily unthinkable. But a look at the history of bitcoin, Laszlo Hanyecz’s deal with Jeremy Sturdivant is still worth it. Even with over two hundred and fifty-million-dollar worth of bitcoins at stake. The end justifies the means. If that’s what it takes to steer bitcoin and cryptocurrency into making a remarkable upset in the global economy, then certainly anyone will do the same. And Laszlo Hanyecz is easily one of bitcoin’s biggest heroes, just behind Satoshi Nakamoto.
Here’s the logic; Satoshi created bitcoin, and Laszlo gave it a value. Satoshi lost his identity while Laszlo paid an ultimate prize of whatever 10,000 bitcoin might be worth by the time you consider this. For a concept that went from worthless to over a trillion dollars at some point; it was well worth it.
Unfortunately, these two figures aren’t the biggest gainers from their actions. Satoshi might never come back to lay claims on his bitcoins and probably didn’t make a dime from his invention. He might be the brain behind those old bitcoin wallets coming back to life recently though.
But, do you think the cryptocurrency community should reward Laszlo for kicking off cryptocurrency trading and giving out that huge stash in the process?
Alright, I get it; he certainly made a good meal out of those two pizzas and even went on to receive more pizzas and some add-ons which includes a $500 store credit…a fair trade considering bitcoin’s reputation at that time. You’d find it pointless rewarding anyone for fair trade, that’s not wrong too. Regardless, this situation is a bit different, and looking at the role it played in the history of bitcoin; it’s reasonable to say that we are all enjoying the benefits of his 10,000 bitcoin ‘sacrifice’ and should reward him for it. Not necessarily by donating another 10,000 bitcoin to him anyways…
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