Pizza Day Recipient Confirms He Spent 10,000 BTC on Road Trip

Jeremy ‘jercos’ Sturdivant confirmed in a video clip that he spent the 10,000 Bitcoin (BTC) he received in 2010 for two Papa John’s pizzas on a cross-country U.S. road trip after running out of cash. The clip circulated on crypto social media and was reposted by Blockstream CEO Adam Back.

On May 22, 2010, developer Laszlo Hanyecz transferred 10,000 BTC to cover two Papa John’s pizzas that Sturdivant ordered on his credit card. The exchange is recorded as the first documented commercial use of Bitcoin and is observed annually as Bitcoin Pizza Day. At the time the coins were worth about $41.

Sturdivant described treating the coins as spending money rather than an investment. ‘I never considered the BTC an investment,’ he said. He added that when the road trip left him short on cash, the Bitcoin filled the gap and that he has no regrets about spending the coins.

Adam Back reposted the clip. Days earlier he had encouraged followers to add to positions. The repost renewed debate in the crypto community over whether Bitcoin should be used for everyday transactions or held as a long-term store of value.

For price context, Bitcoin reached about $126,000 in October 2025, which would have placed the original 10,000 BTC at roughly $1.26 billion. On Pizza Day 2026, Bitcoin traded near $77,787, giving the 10,000 BTC a notional value of about $777.87 million. The initial 10,000 BTC payment was worth about $41 in 2010.

The resurfaced clip brought attention to early use of Bitcoin for real-world purchases during the network’s first years, when transactions were experimental and participants tested practical applications.