The Story of the Creator of the First Physical Bitcoin Transaction

In May 2010, the Bitcoin community witnessed a milestone event. A user named Laszlo posted a special bounty thread on the Bitcoin forum, offering to exchange 10,000 Bitcoins for two large pizzas. This seemingly ordinary request actually became the first physical transaction in Bitcoin's history, opening the door to real-world applications for this emerging digital currency.

At that time, Bitcoin was still in its infancy, and most people had a vague concept of this digital cryptocurrency existing on the internet, let alone trading it. Laszlo's post initially did not attract much attention, until four days later, he finally got his wish and successfully exchanged Bitcoin for the pizza he had been craving. This day, May 22, is therefore referred to as "Bitcoin Pizza Day" by Bitcoin enthusiasts.

The significance of this transaction is profound. It not only proves that Bitcoin can be used for actual purchases but also marks the transition of Bitcoin from a purely digital concept to an exchange medium with real value. Laszlo later explained his thoughts at the time in an interview: "To me, it was like free pizza. I earned my dinner by contributing to open source projects, using my hobby."

As a programmer, Laszlo was one of the first people to encounter Bitcoin and is a pioneer in the discovery of GPU mining. It is estimated that he mined tens of thousands of Bitcoins in a short period of time. Data shows that his wallet reached a peak balance of 20962 BTC in May 2010, and in June, it even set a historical high of 43854 BTC.

As the value of Bitcoin skyrockets, the dollar amount equivalent to this pizza transaction continues to break records. However, faced with the potential loss of a massive fortune, Laszlo remains remarkably open-minded. In multiple interviews, he has stated that he does not feel regret or lose sleep over this transaction. On the contrary, he still feels very happy when recalling that time, as he fulfilled his desire to exchange his technical expertise for tangible goods.

In fact, after completing the first transaction, Laszlo continued to frequently use Bitcoin for payments, reportedly spending around 100,000 Bitcoins in total. Although these Bitcoins are now worth a fortune, Laszlo has always kept a low profile, without any public social media accounts, and rarely discusses his financial situation.

The person who made a deal with Laszlo was Jeremy Sturdivant, a 19-year-old from California at the time. As an early participant in Bitcoin, Jeremy had mined several thousand Bitcoins and often used Bitcoin for purchases. In an interview, he revealed that the ten thousand Bitcoins were ultimately used for a trip with his girlfriend.

Although the value of Bitcoin has far exceeded initial expectations, neither Laszlo nor Jeremy regrets their decision at that time. They believe that it was these early transactions and uses that drove the development of the Bitcoin ecosystem.

Laszlo is still active in the Bitcoin community today, but he chooses to treat Bitcoin as a hobby rather than a profession. He said: "I have a normal job and don't want Bitcoin to be my full-time responsibility. I'm happy to participate in this way."

Laszlo's contributions go far beyond that famous pizza transaction. He developed the MacOS version of Bitcoin Core for the Bitcoin community and advanced GPU mining technology. Although the "Bitcoin Pizza" story may not be his most significant or impressive contribution, it has become one of the most well-known anecdotes in Bitcoin history, eagerly commemorated by community members every year on May 22.