Bitcoin as a peer-to-peer payment system

Yesterday, the world celebrated Bitcoin Pizza Day, a commemorative date that recalls the first time the asset was used to make a payment for a useful good, in this case, two family-sized pizzas from Papa John's. However, what stayed in the minds of many was the value paid by Laszlo, the programmer who ordered the pizzas, which would be worth millions of dollars today, considering the current market value of each Bitcoin.

Nevertheless, this way of thinking is somewhat mistaken because thirteen years ago, that same value could be easily replaced, and the currency was still in active development in the market. It was just a $41 transaction, the cost of the two pizzas, representing the first publicly known transaction for the acquisition of a commercial good using Bitcoin. At that time, the programmer simply wanted to enjoy a good meal and successfully used Bitcoin to make the payment.

The focus here should be on the act of the transaction itself, not the amount of Bitcoin used. The commercial exchange gesture made in acquiring the food (pizza) motivated people to increasingly believe in the Bitcoin market. After all, it could be used as a means of payment for consumable goods and for transactions between parties. Bitcoin Pizza Day represents the practical use that Bitcoin played on that day, proving Satoshi right in envisioning it as a viable means of commercial payment.

It is important to understand that at that time, Bitcoin served that purpose, and Laszlo paid only a few cents in transaction fees, meaning he paid a reasonable price for the pizzas considering their current market value. Today, the amount he spent would be extremely high, and the pizzas themselves have become expensive when using Bitcoin for payments. If Bitcoin was created to be a payment system, today that system is corrupted because if we were to pay for those same two pizzas using Bitcoin, we would spend an additional $5 to $8 just in transaction fees to make a $41 payment.

Laszlo paid $41 for the pizzas, not $265 million as many mistakenly think. Back then, the 10,000 Bitcoins were just a dream becoming a reality, and Laszlo helped the world bring real-world use to Bitcoin. This gesture, resulting in the transaction, reminds the Bitcoin and crypto community in general that Bitcoin was created to be a peer-to-peer payment system without intermediaries, and Laszlo was a key figure in the ecosystem's development.

The transactional movement that stemmed from the pizza purchase cemented the curiosity and development of many industries that are now part of Bitcoin's decentralized economy, which has emerged with a market value in the billions of dollars. This represents Satoshi Nakamoto's dream, as he always wished for Bitcoin to be a viable payment method.

But today, this means of payment has become a store of value and contradicts everything in the white paper! However, the currency has paved the way for a powerful trading market and created an economic system never before seen by humanity. While the payment system may be compromised, the history reflects the development, and Laszlo paid only $41 worth of Bitcoin for his pizzas, not millions.

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