When I first saw Papa John’s trending on Twitter today, I was worried that Papa John Schnatter had either a) said something else controversial, b) made another weird TikTok, or c) died.
Turns out, it was none of the above, though I can’t rule out that the former pizza CEO has made a strange TikTok recently, such as this one:
@thepapajohnschnatter #keepingactive #foodfam #fitness #papabless #workout ♬ original sound – Papa John Schnatter
What it actually was is one of the most tragic investment stories that you will ever hear, and a decision that will haunt this one man’s life forever.
This post from Twitter explains the whole situation pretty well, so I’ll just leave it to the tweet for now and pick back up on the story in a second. The tweet reads:
“13 years ago, Laszlo Hanyecz, a Floridian programmer, bought 2 Papa John’s pizzas for 10,000 $BTC.
Today, those pizzas would be valued at $267 million. Happy Bitcoin Pizza Day, everyone!”
It may be “Happy Bitcoin Pizza Day” for the rest of us, but it certainly is not for Laszlo Hanyecz. Every day is a “Bitcoin Day Nightmare” for him.
The purchase of those two pizzas back in 2010, which now marks a yearly holiday, was one of the first ever purchases using bitcoin to complete the transaction. 13 years ago, bitcoin was worth less than a penny and the total of the 10,000 was worth around $41 dollars at the time.
If that seems pricey for two pizzas, remember that barely anyone knew about it during the time and its value was incredibly questionable. The fact the pizza place accepted it was somewhat of a miracle.
But like a comedy movie from the 1980’s, the whole thing did not age well at all. That 10,000 bitcoin in the modern day crypto market would now be worth around $270 million dollars.
Laszlo Hanyecz paid almost $270 million dollars for two Papa John’s pizzas. Absolutely brutal.
Back in 2021, when bitcoin’s price peaked, the two pizzas were worth near $690 million dollars. So even though the whole thing still sucks for the Florida man, maybe it doesn’t suck as much since the price of bitcoin dropped?
Nope, it still sucks. I’m just reading and writing about it and my stomach has dropped a couple of times like I’m on a rollercoaster. I can’t imagine living with myself if I owned the world record for “Buyer of Most Expensive Pizzas in History.”
So to wrap up, a big “Happy Bitcoin Pizza Day” to all those who celebrate, and thoughts and prayers your way Laszlo Hanyecz. You’ll be etched in cryptocurrency history forever.
