The First Bitcoin Transaction: When Someone Bought Two Pizzas for Over 1 Billion Kina

Today, we hear about Bitcoin, USDT, ETH, Ripple, T4G Token (T4G Pay), Digital Kina (CBDC by BPNG) and Bokolo Cash (CBDC) in the Solomon Islands. But where did it all begin?

Did you know that someone once bought two pizzas for over 1 billion kina? It sounds crazy but it’s a true story — and it’s the beginning of something big: Bitcoin, the first-ever digital currency.

Today, we hear about Bitcoin, USDT, ETH, Ripple, T4G Token (T4G Pay), Digital Kina (CBDC by BPNG) and Bokolo Cash (CBDC) in the Solomon Islands. But where did it all begin?

Let’s go back to 22 May 2010. A man named Laszlo Hanyecz in the United States posted on an internet forum saying he wanted to buy pizza using Bitcoin. At the time, very few people even knew what Bitcoin was. But Laszlo had mined (created) thousands of Bitcoins on his computer. He offered 10,000 Bitcoins to anyone who would bring him two large pizzas.

A kind stranger accepted. They bought the pizzas for about USD $41 and gave them to Laszlo. In return, Laszlo sent 10,000 Bitcoins. That was the first real-world transaction using Bitcoin. Today, those same 10,000 Bitcoins would be worth millions of US dollars, even billions of kina.

Why This Story Matters?

This simple pizza trade showed that Bitcoin could be used like real money. Not just for fun but for real goods and services. That one pizza changed how we think about money in the digital age.

Now, fast forward to today. Countries like Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands are looking at digital money in a new way. We now have projects like: Digital Kina, a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) idea by Bank of Papua New Guinea (BPNG). Bokolo Cash in Solomon Islands is a CBDC idea by Central Bank in Solomon Islands, already being tested. And T4G Token (TGT) in PNG by T4G Pay.

What Is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is a digital currency. It’s like money but online. You can send it to anyone, anywhere in the world, anytime. No need for banks or middlemen. It’s built on a special technology called blockchain, which is like a secure public ledger.

Bitcoin was made for freedom and security. It is decentralized — meaning no one controls it, not even a government or company. People trust it because it is transparent and limited (only 21 million Bitcoins will ever exist).

What Is T4G Token?

In PNG, we are building our own digital money for everyday use. It’s called the T4G Token (TGT) — short for Travel4Green. One T4G Token equals 1 US dollar and is backed by PNG’s forest and mangrove carbon stock. This means it has real value connected to our land, sea, environment, biodiversity, trees and mangroves.

The T4G Token is not just money. It is a tool to help local businesses and travelers, support climate change action, include the unbanked people in financial services and work both in urban centers like Port Moresby, Lae, Kokopo, Mt. Hagen and rural areas.

T4G Tokens work on the Fedrok blockchain, which is eco-friendly, fast and affordable. T4G Token also known as PNG’s green token will be showcased at the PNG’s FinTech Innovation Center at Unitech, Lae, Morobe Province. With just a mobile phone, you can receive T4G Tokens, store them, send them, or spend them — like Laszlo did with his Bitcoins and pizza!

What About the Digital Kina?

The Bank of Papua New Guinea (BPNG) is exploring a digital version of our national currency, called the Digital Kina. This is different from Bitcoin, USDT, ETH, Ripple or T4G Token. The Digital Kina is centralized, controlled by the central bank. It is just like physical kina but digital.

If launched, people in PNG could use it for government payments, business transactions, mobile and online purchases and safer ways to hold and send money.

Bokolo Cash in Solomon Islands

Our Pacific brothers in the Solomon Islands are already testing their own digital currency: Bokolo Cash. It is named after their central bank and is helping locals do business in a safer, faster way — especially in remote islands.

Imagine using Bokolo Cash to buy fish at the market, send money to family or pay school fees — all from your phone!

PNG and the Pacific Can Lead

If Laszlo used Bitcoin for pizza in 2010, what can we do with digital currencies in PNG in 2025?

With tools like T4G Token, Digital Kina and Bokolo Cash, our region has the power to build better businesses, reach people without banks, fight corruption through transparency, reward green projects like tree planting and protecting mangroves and let young people create