Nine years ago, a computer programmer by the name of Laszlo Hanyecz was using his PC to maintain the Bitcoin network.

The company rewarded him with Bitcoin, which at the time was worth less than a single penny (a US one-cent coin). He had no idea what to do with it, so he decided to try something.

Using an online chat forum, he offered to exchange 10 000 Bitcoin for pizza. He got two pizzas out of the deal, and became famous for two reasons, according to Interesting Engineering.

First, this is widely considered the first time that the cryptocurrency was exchanged for real-world goods. Secondly, he’s become a “symbol of everything that is confusing about cryptocurrencies”.

In honour of his pizza purchase, Bitcoin celebrates ‘Pizza Day’. Hanyecz spoke to 60 Minutes about how he became the “Bitcoin Pizza Guy”:

That’s right – at the time of the above interview, one Bitcoin was valued at roughly $8 000, which means that he effectively dropped $80 million on two pizzas.

That wasn’t the end of it, though. He kept on spending Bitcoin, mostly on pizza, up to what amounts to the present-day equivalent of $800 million in the cryptocurrency.

That’s a lot of money, and not nearly enough pizza to justify it.

Luckily for you, you don’t need a few million to get your hands on some world-class pizza.

Butler’s has been making Cape Town’s favourite pizza, and delivering it to your door, for almost 30 years.

With daily deals and specials, there’s something for everyone. I started my morning with a slice of The Smog left over from last night’s dinner – cold pizza for breakfast is always the best – because you have to treat yourself on a Monday.

You do you – and with SnapScan and Zapper payment options, your piping hot pizza doesn’t come with a side of regret nine years later.

[source:interestingengineering]