László Hantz's Riddle: what happened to 10,000 bitcoins for one pizza?

One of the most famous questions in the crypto community still remains unanswered — does Laszlo Hanyecz own his bitcoins? On May 22, 2010, he made a historic transaction, giving away 10,000 bitcoins for two pizzas. At that time, no one could have imagined that these coins would turn into a fortune.

From $41 to a Billion: How the Value Changed

At the time of the transaction, 10,000 bitcoins were worth only $41 — an incredibly cheap price by today’s standards. If those same 10,000 BTC had remained in Laszlo’s wallet, today they would be worth about $860 million at the current Bitcoin price of $85.9K. Even considering historical highs, the price of those pizzas could have reached $1 billion or more.

This makes two pizzas the most expensive meal in world trade history. Every year on May 22, the crypto community celebrates this milestone as “Bitcoin Pizza Day” — a reminder of how far the digital revolution has come.

What happened to Laszlo’s bitcoins?

Laszlo Hanyecz himself has never confirmed nor denied whether he kept any of his assets. There are several scenarios:

Scenario one: He may have sold the coins long ago when the price reached $100 or $1000, believing that was the market peak. Many early Bitcoin holders made exactly this mistake, cashing out their assets long before they started to appreciate.

Scenario two: Laszlo lost access to the wallet — forgot the password, lost the private key, or faced technical issues. Such fates befell many early investors, and their bitcoins remained forever “dead” on the blockchain.

Scenario three: He indeed kept some coins and is an anonymous billionaire within the cryptocurrency ecosystem.

Why does this story remain significant?

Regardless of what happened to Laszlo and his bitcoins, his transaction became a benchmark for cryptocurrencies. It proved that Bitcoin is not just a mathematical experiment but a real means of payment capable of functioning in everyday commerce.

The two pizzas exchanged for 10,000 BTC laid the foundation for the entire digital assets industry. Today, this industry is valued in trillions of dollars, including thousands of crypto projects and decentralized platforms. Laszlo Hanyecz’s story serves as a reminder of how small decisions at the beginning of a technological revolution can have colossal consequences for the future.