On May 22, 2010, computer programmer Laszlo Hanyecz purchased two large Papa John’s pizzas for 10,000 bitcoin (BTC).
Yes, you read that right — not $10,000 worth of BTC, but 10,000 BTC.
Back then, 10,000 BTC was worth about $30(1). Today, it’s worth approximately $818.77 million or $81,877 per bitcoin.
This transaction — the first recorded commercial transaction using BTC — is now commemorated every May 22, a day that has become widely known in Bitcoin circles as Bitcoin Pizza Day.
While it’s fun that Hanyecz has given us something to celebrate each May, we also couldn’t help but wonder: How would his former stack of BTC measure up to the market caps of publicly traded US pizza chains?
If Hanyecz had held onto his bitcoin instead of buying two pizzas with it 16 years ago, he’d not only be able to buy A LOT more pizza, but the dollar amount of his BTC would comprise a notable percentage of major pizza chains.
Here’s how his bitcoin holdings valued at $818.8 million measure up to the market capitalizations of three major publicly traded pizza companies as of May 11, 2026, including the one from which he purchased those two infamous pizzas — Papa John’s.
Hanyecz’s former stack of 10,000 BTC is now worth 76% of the $1.07 billion market cap of Papa John’s(2), the company from which he purchased those two large pizzas 16 years ago.
Hanyecz’s former stack of 10,000 BTC is now worth 8% of the $10.32 billion market cap of Domino’s Pizza(3).
Hanyecz’s former stack of 10,000 BTC is now worth 2% of the $41.25 billion market cap of Yum! Brands(4), which owns Pizza Hut.
What would have happened if Hanyecz invested $30 — the amount his 10,000 BTC was worth 16 years ago — in pizza stocks instead of bitcoin on May 22, 2010?
As mentioned earlier, Hanyecz’s $30 worth of bitcoin back on May 22, 2010, would now be worth almost $818.77 million.
If he’d invested in DPZ, YUM or PZZA, would his returns have been comparable to the returns he would have seen if he’d held his BTC?
Spoiler alert: NO.
$30 would have bought Hanyecz 2.3 shares of DPZ, 1.04 shares of YUM and 2.4 shares of PZZA on May 22, 2010.
As of May 11, 2026, those 2.5 shares of DPZ would be worth $789.87, while the 1.05 shares of YUM would be worth $156.51 (including a two-for-one stock split) and the 2.4 shares of PZZA would be worth $80.47 (including a 1391:1000 stock split).
So they would have made, $759.87 on DPZ, $126.51 on YUM and $50.47 on PZZA. And while getting a 26.3X return on DPZ, 5.2X return on YUM and a 2.7X return on PZZA they do pale in comparison to the type of gains they would’ve had if they’d held onto their BTC … a 2,729X return.
Had Hanyecz not spent his 10,000 BTC on two large pizzas on May 22, 2010 — what’s now known as Bitcoin Pizza Day — those bitcoin would currently be worth 76% of the market cap of Papa John’s, the chain from which he purchased the two pies.
The lesson here? Bitcoin works better as a tool for saving than it does as a medium of exchange.
So, even if you do make some purchases with your BTC, be sure to keep a little on the side. While its value likely won’t increase as much in the next 16 years as it did in the previous 16, history shows that there’s a good chance it’ll be worth significantly more in 2042 than it is now.
Image: Leonardo AI
