In 2009, Bitcoin had virtually no monetary value when it launched, trading for fractions of a cent, with the first recorded exchange in late 2009 seeing 5,050 bitcoins traded for $5.02, equating to roughly $0.00099 per Bitcoin, or about one-tenth of a cent, as the network was experimental and not yet on public exchanges.
If you invested $1,000 in Bitcoin in 2010, depending on the exact date and current prices (early 2026 estimates), your investment would have grown astronomically, potentially reaching hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars, showcasing Bitcoin's immense growth from fractions of a cent to a major asset, though with significant volatility and risk.
Bitcoin's price finally broke through the US$1 mark in 2011, and moved as high as US$29.60 that year. However, in 2012 Bitcoin pulled back and remained relatively muted. Bitcoin's price saw its first significant growth in earnest in 2013, the year it broke through both US$100 and US$1,000.
Laszlo Hanyecz, a programmer and early Bitcoin miner, famously traded 10,000 Bitcoin for two Papa John's pizzas on May 22, 2010, marking the first documented commercial transaction for physical goods with cryptocurrency, a day now celebrated as "Bitcoin Pizza Day". At the time, the Bitcoins were worth only about $41, but the value of those coins would later grow to be worth hundreds of millions, even over a billion dollars, making it one of history's most expensive pizzas.
Key Takeaways. The IRS treats cryptocurrency as property, meaning that when you buy, sell or exchange it, this counts as a taxable event and typically results in either a capital gain or loss. When you earn income from cryptocurrency activities, this is taxed as ordinary income.
Investing $100 in Bitcoin about 10 years ago (around late 2015/early 2016) would have turned that initial amount into tens of thousands of dollars, potentially over $30,000, given Bitcoin's massive growth from roughly $300-$400 per coin to over $100,000 by late 2025/early 2026, though exact value depends on the specific purchase price and current market fluctuations, representing an astronomical return but also highlighting Bitcoin's extreme volatility.
If you invested $100, you'd have been able to buy about 1,000 bitcoins. At its all-time high Thursday, those 1,000 bitcoins would've been worth more than $48 million, not accounting for compounding and assuming you bought and held the asset the entire time.
By June 2011, Bitcoin's price had hit nearly $30, a seemingly unimaginable rise from just months before. And that's where it topped out for the year. Bitcoin spent the remainder of 2011 just dwindling to as low as $2, before finishing the year at $4.70.
Debuting in January 2009, Bitcoin's price broke the $1 milestone for the first time in February 2011. Fast-forward to 2025, when Bitcoin soared to a few record highs, even breaking $124,000 in August.
Well, the price of one BTC was $245.17 on March 24, 2015, i.e., exactly ten years ago. If you invested $10,000 to buy Bitcoin then, you would have acquired 40.78 BTC coins. Ten years later, the price of one BTC has hit $88,131.29 as of March 24, 2025, as per Kraken's price feeds.
On May 22, 2010, the first known commercial transaction using bitcoin occurred when programmer Laszlo Hanyecz bought two Papa John's pizzas for ₿10,000, in what would later be celebrated as "Bitcoin Pizza Day".
Later, Jeremy ordered the two pizzas from Papa Johns, which were then delivered to Laszlo. “How lucky they must have been to find all that money in their hands!”. Actually, Papa Johns didn't receive any Bitcoin. For a straightforward reason: Papa Johns didn't accept Bitcoin in 2010.
At Pizza Man, we're not just serving great food — we're embracing the future. By accepting Bitcoin, we're blending our passion for pizza with modern financial technology. It's part of our commitment to innovation, savings, and staying ahead of the curve.