The Great Bitcoin Purchase Debate
On May 14, 2023, Twitter exploded with excitement, or should I say, confusion, when a tweet suggested that the first real-world purchase using Bitcoin wasn’t, in fact, the legendary pizza transaction but a JPEG. Yes, folks, you heard that right—a crisp piece of digital art might just have out-pizza’d the pizza!
Digging into History
According to Udi Wertheimer, an independent developer and self-proclaimed Bitcoin enthusiast, the screenshot he shared dated back to January 24, 2010. It depicted a user by the name of Sabunir trying to sell a picture for 500 BTC, a price that would have been around $1 at the time. This was four months before the infamous Bitcoin Pizza Day in May 2010, where Laszlo Hanyecz famously traded 10,000 BTC for two margaritas of greasy delight.
Satoshi’s Role in the JPEG Saga
To make things even more intriguing, Nakamoto, the pseudonymous guru behind Bitcoin, reportedly tried to help facilitate this JPEG sale. Just imagine the world of crypto where the creator himself gets involved in haggling over pixel art—what a time to be alive!
The Plot Thickens: Donations or Sales?
However, not all that glitters is gold—or should I say, not every JPEG is fair game. Professional poker player turned crypto sleuth Mike McDonald threw some cold water on Wertheimer’s claims, suggesting that the 500 BTC was actually a donation, not a transaction. A donation? What a plot twist! Sabunir posted his address for the digital art on January 24 and then repeated the post in a different thread on February 24. Was it a desperate plea for art sales or a fundraiser for NFTs?
“I’m not sure if it has been dispelled yet but it seems like Sabunir’s 500 BTC was a donation rather than a sale.” — Mike McDonald
A Resolution in Sight?
Wertheimer himself conceded that while the JPEG was indeed listed for a whopping 500 BTC, the transaction might not have been as concrete as initially thought. Without confirmation from Sabunir, the jury is still out on what actually went down in those early days of Bitcoin.
The Rising Tide of Bitcoin Ordinals
This discussion comes amidst the Bitcoin Ordinals craze, where over 6.1 million images, videos, and funky tokens have been minted onto the Bitcoin blockchain. You’d expect to see someone selling their cat photo for 10,000 Bitcoin next, right? Wertheimer has been staunch on promoting Bitcoin NFTs and his project, Taproot Wizards, aims to position Bitcoin as a legitimate NFT ecosystem.
A Final Word
So, whether it was a JPEG or a pizza that cemented Bitcoin’s place in history, one thing’s for sure: the cryptosphere’s comfy couch is going to be filled with debates and theories for years to come. 🍕💻
