Bitcoin Pizza Day commemorates a historic event roughly 10 years ago, when coder Laszlo Hanyecz made the first commercial purchase using Bitcoin (BTC). In celebration of this well-loved community holiday, BitFlyer donated pizzas to a number of organizations.
"We ordered the pizzas ourselves from a local chain and delivered them to the homeless shelters," BitFlyer COO Joel Edgerton told Cointelegraph on May 22. "We worked closely with the managers of the shelters to ensure they get the appropriate amount and get there on time."
BitFlyer sending slices all over
"Bitcoin Pizza Day is a very special day for our community," BitFlyer USA said in a May 22 Tweet. "For its 10-year anniversary, we decided to make it special for others too," BitFlyer said.
"BitFlyer USA is donating pizzas to local organizations supporting homeless families," the exchange said. BitFlyer listed outfits such as Raphael House — an organization helping victims of domestic violence, as well as Compass Family Services — a non-profit assisting homeless families.
BitFlyer chose in favor of supporting local San Francisco Bay Area pizza shops with its pie purchases destined for donation, Edgerton said. Although the famous day stemmed from a Bitcoin pizza purchase, BitFlyer chose not to use BTC to pay for the cheese and pepperoni pizzas the exchange bought and donated.
Bitcoin Pizza Day cost Hanyecz a lot of Bitcoin
Roughly one year after Bitcoin's launch in 2009, Hanyecz paid 10,000 BTC for two pizzas at Papa John's. The purchase marked the first documented time someone used Bitcoin to purchase real-world goods or services.
At the time of the purchase, 10,000 BTC valued approximately $41. In today's dollars, 10,000 BTC values about $92.5 million.
A similar story involved the Gemini's Tyler Winklevoss, who paid 312.5 BTC for spaceship ticket back in 2014.