In a recent report by Forbes, the cryptocurrency community was reminded of the early days of Bitcoin through programmer Laszlo Hanyecz’s remarkable transactions. Initially famous for spending 10,000 bitcoins on two pizzas in 2010, investigations reveal that Hanyecz may have spent an additional 79,000 bitcoins on subsequent pizza orders, translating to an astounding current value exceeding $8.7 billion. In a candid interview from 2019, he mentioned that his overall spending on pizza approached 100,000 bitcoins, reflecting the carefree attitude towards transactions during Bitcoin’s nascent stage.
Hanyecz corroborated his claims by sharing the original Bitcoin address from his first post on Bitcointalk. Analysis of wallet activity from April 10, 2010, to August 4 reveals he distributed over 79,000 bitcoins. Notably, the remaining balance now holds enough to purchase just a single pizza—a stark contrast to his previous bounty. Between 2009 and 2010, Bitcoin’s block reward stood at 50 bitcoins, and the 1.5% stake Hanyecz claimed underscores his significant early contributions to the crypto ecosystem.
As a pioneering Bitcoin developer, Hanyecz not only crafted the first MacOS Bitcoin client but also introduced GPU mining, leading to a staggering 1,300% increase in the Bitcoin network’s hashrate by year-end. Unfortunately, such developments spurred intense competition, limiting his ability to continue mining at such lucrative levels.