The first real-world Bitcoin transaction occurred on May 22, 2010 (now celebrated as "Bitcoin Pizza Day"), when programmer Laszlo Hanyecz paid 10,000 BTC for two Papa John's pizzas. At the time, this amount was valued at approximately $41 USD. The transaction was considered the first commercial use of Bitcoin, with the pizzas costing around $25 in fiat currency.
Yes, someone really did pay 10,000 Bitcoin for two pizzas in a historic transaction on May 22, 2010, by programmer Laszlo Hanyecz, marking the first real-world purchase with cryptocurrency and becoming famous as Bitcoin Pizza Day. At the time, those 10,000 BTC were worth about $41, but now (in recent years, as Bitcoin's price has soared) they'd be worth over a billion dollars, demonstrating Bitcoin's massive growth in value.
According to historical data at Investing.com, Bitcoin's price never broke above $0.40 per bitcoin in 2010 but did manage to hit that level in early 2011. Then in February, it crossed $1. Just a few months later, in May, it briefly exceeded $8 — a stunning 8-bagger in mere months!
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.
Based on your prediction that Bitcoin will change at a rate of 5% every year, the price of Bitcoin would be $93,987.60 in 2027, $114,242.52 in 2031, $145,805.62 in 2036, and $186,089.02 in 2041. Scroll down to view the complete table showing the predicted price of Bitcoin and the projected ROI for each year.
Despite extreme volatility, Bitcoin's price has skyrocketed 1,060% in the past five years as I write this. This monster gain would've turned a $10,000 initial capital outlay in October 2020 to a whopping $115,700 on Oct. 6.
💭 If You Bought $100 of Bitcoin in 2015, Here's What You'd Have Today! 🤯 In 2015, Bitcoin (BTC) was trading at around $430.57 per coin. Fast forward to today, Bitcoin's price has skyrocketed to $96,229.00!
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.
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".
Domino's is positioning itself for Web3 readiness, with xMoney enabling access to cryptocurrency payment solutions through an upgraded fiat-checkout system.
If you had invested $500 in Bitcoin (BTC 0.49%) five years ago, you'd have about $5,238 today. In other words, you would have more than 10x returns. Image source: Getty Images.
Age 25, Retiring in 2030
You would need approximately 4.52 BTC to retire in five years with an inflation-adjusted US$100,000 annual income. In early 2025, Bitcoin prices were around US$93,000 per BTC. This equates to roughly US$420,000.
When the last Bitcoin is mined (around 2140), no new coins will be created, and miners will rely solely on transaction fees to validate transactions and secure the network, with scarcity potentially increasing demand, though some experts worry about the long-term viability if fees aren't high enough to cover costs and incentivize miners.
Since many belong to custodians and institutions, the number of individuals who actually own 1 BTC is probably well under one million. Owning a single Bitcoin places you among the top 0.1% of all Bitcoin holders, as rare as owning a high-end property in the digital economy.
In the US, all cryptocurrency exchanges must report transaction information to the IRS under the Bank Secrecy Act. This includes customer names, addresses, SSNs, and transaction details.
Capital gains tax on $300,000 depends on your filing status and total income, but for most, it will be taxed at the 15% federal rate, meaning around $45,000 in tax, potentially rising to 20% if your total income is very high, and you'll also need to account for state taxes and potentially a 3.8% Medicare surtax. A $300,000 gain usually falls into the 15% bracket for single filers (above $48,350) and married filing jointly (above $96,700), while for married filing separately, it hits the 20% bracket (over $300,000).
If you're holding crypto, there's no immediate gain or loss, so the crypto is not taxed. Tax is only incurred when you sell the asset, and you subsequently receive either cash or units of another cryptocurrency: At this point, you have “realized” the gains, and you have a taxable event.