On May 22, 2010, Raszler Hanets, a Florida programmer, purchased two pizzas with 10,000 Bitcoin. The transaction, which began out of curiosity, "Can I make a physical transaction with Bitcoin?" marks the first time Bitcoin was used as a real payment method.
A Florida programmer named Raszler Hanets purchased two pizzas using 10,000 Bitcoin on May 22, 2010. The transaction, fueled by Hanets' curiosity to see "Can I make a physical transaction with Bitcoin?" marks the first time Bitcoin was used as a real payment method. Back then, the value of 10,000 Bitcoin was only about $40 (about 55,000 won), but at the current market price (as of May 22, 2025), it's approximately 1.5479 trillion won. If you had the bitcoin you received after handing over pizza so far, your assets have increased hundreds of millions of times.
At the time, the value of 10,000 Bitcoin was only about $40, but if converted at the current market price (as of May 22, 2025), it's approximately 1.5479 trillion won. If you had the bitcoin you received after handing over pizza so far, your assets have increased several hundred million times.
After that, Bitcoin rapidly evolved, and real-time payments are now available at some stores around the world based on the Lightning network. Lightning Network is a Layer 2 solution built on the Bitcoin blockchain, enabling fast and inexpensive payments.
In Korea, bitcoin payments are being made using the Lightning network in some hair salons, restaurants, and cafes. Major virtual asset companies such as Metamask and Bybit have also released check cards that allow payment with global credit card companies such as Mastercard and Visa and virtual assets such as Bitcoin. Bitcoin payments, which began with one individual's curiosity, are now becoming more and more a reality around the world.
May 22 is celebrated as 'Bitcoin Pizza Day' every year, and major virtual asset exchanges are presenting special events to celebrate it. Upbit will present NFTs drawn by teenagers along with pizza to 2025 people through a quiz event, while Bithumb will collaborate with Domino's Pizza to provide pizza coupons and rewards to 200,000 people on a first-come, first-served basis. Coinone will also present Papa John's Pizza to 110 certificates of return on investment through a community event.
The small transaction, which started out of curiosity, has now become a symbol of changing the global payment ecosystem.
