Laszlo Hanyecz, an early cryptocurrency enthusiast, used Bitcoin to buy two pizzas from Papa John's. He spent 10,000 Bitcoins, or roughly $40 at the time, in one of the first purchases ever made with the digital currency. Today, those pizzas would cost over $1 billion. This historic purchase marks the transformation of Bitcoin from a mocked novelty into a major financial asset.
Bitcoin now stands as arguably the most successful investment product of the last 20 years. The total cost of those pizzas today: $1 billion. The value of all the coins in circulation is $2 trillion, surpassing that of Mastercard, Walmart and JPMorgan Chase combined.
The motley assortment of hackers and political radicals who embraced Bitcoin when it was created have become millionaires many times over. The invention has spawned an entire industry, with publicly traded companies like Coinbase and endorsements from celebrities, athletes, and even the president-elect.
Bitcoin began as essentially an experimental hobbyist project, said Finn Brunton, the author of a 2019 book about the history of cryptocurrency. To see where it is now is to see a really impressive feat.
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