Bitcoin Celebrates Pizza Day as Price Surges to New Heights

Bitcoin enthusiasts are celebrating Bitcoin Pizza Day with fervor as the cryptocurrency reached a new all-time high on Wednesday, entering price discovery mode. The original cryptocurrency is trading above $110,000 for the first time ever. This milestone coincides with the crypto community’s celebration of the anniversary of Bitcoin’s first real-world transaction.

Is Bitcoin Now a Safe Haven Asset?

Bitcoin’s rally to record highs occurs amidst tectonic shifts in how financial markets perceive traditional assets.

U.S. Treasury bond yields are rising, with the 30-year bond yield briefly exceeding 5% this week, following Moody’s downgrade of U.S. sovereign debt and ongoing debates in Congress over a new tax bill that could add billions to the government deficit.

The correlation between Bitcoin’s price and U.S. stock markets is also declining. While Bitcoin reached new all-time highs, the S&P 500 lost 1.61% on Wednesday. Institutional and retail investors are increasingly viewing Bitcoin as a portfolio diversifier and a hedge against macroeconomic uncertainty.

Henry McVey, Head of Global Macro and Asset Allocation at KKR, noted earlier this week that asset managers are seeing both their offensive (stocks) and defensive (government bonds) assets decline in value simultaneously. “During risk-off days, government bonds are no longer fulfilling their role as ‘shock absorbers’ in a traditional portfolio,” McVey added.

Bitcoin has decisively outperformed major U.S. stocks in 2025. The leading cryptocurrency is currently up 18% year-to-date, while the S&P 500 closed trading on Wednesday at 5844.61, down 0.41% from its opening levels for 2025. Gold, the classic safe haven, has also reached new all-time highs this year above $3,200 per troy ounce and is rebounding after a brief pullback.

How High Can Bitcoin Go?

The latest all-time high fuels the debate about Bitcoin’s long-term potential. Price predictions are no longer limited to crypto enthusiasts and long-term HODLers. Institutional analysts and asset managers are also joining the conversation.

Geoff Kendrick, Head of Digital Assets at Standard Chartered, projected on Tuesday that Bitcoin could reach $500,000 by 2029. Kendrick points to growing institutional and governmental interest, especially through indirect exposures via vehicles like MicroStrategy: “Quarterly 13F data (measuring future Bitcoin demand from institutions) is the best evidence of our thesis that BTC will attract new types of institutional buyers as the market matures, helping the price reach our $500,000 target,” Kendrick said.

“We believe that in some cases, MSTR holdings by government entities reflect a desire to gain exposure to Bitcoin where local regulations do not allow direct BTC holdings,” he added. Kendrick had previously projected a price target of $200,000 for BTC by the end of 2025 in February.

Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest also published very ambitious price targets for Bitcoin in April. David Puell, Research and Trading Analyst at the investment firm, set a base target of $710,000 for Bitcoin by the end of 2030, with an optimistic case of up to $1.5 million or more.

ARK’s price models consider adoption by institutional investors, Bitcoin’s role as digital gold, safe-haven demand in emerging markets, and increasing use in on-chain financial services. According to Puell, institutional investment is the biggest driver in their optimistic scenario, with Bitcoin potentially capturing a significant portion of the global market portfolio and gold’s market capitalization.

What is Bitcoin Pizza Day?

Every May 22nd, Bitcoin enthusiasts celebrate the first purchase of a real-world product with BTC. On this day in 2010, Laszlo Hanyecz, a programmer and early Bitcoiner based in Florida, made history by buying two Papa John’s pizzas for 10,000 BTC.

Hanyecz explained on CBS News’ 60 Minutes how that historic transaction occurred. He posted a question on the Bitcoin forum: “I’ll pay 10,000 bitcoins for a couple of pizzas.. like maybe 2 large ones so I have some left over for the next day. I like having left over pizza to nibble on later. You can either make the pizza yourself and bring it over to my house or order it for me from a delivery place, but what I’m aiming for is to get food delivered in exchange for bitcoins where I don’t have to order or prepare it myself, kind of like ordering a ‘pizza delivery’.” Someone accepted that offer, ordered and paid for the pizza with their credit card, and received the bitcoins from Hanyecz, who received the pizza at his home in exchange.

That transaction, worth around $25 at the time, forever established Bitcoin as more than just a digital curiosity, validating its potential as a medium of exchange with real-world value.

Bitcoin Pizza Day has since become a legendary event in crypto culture, celebrated annually worldwide. Every year on May 22nd, Bitcoin enthusiasts gather at community events to eat pizza. It serves as a reminder of Bitcoin’s humble beginnings, its astonishing journey towards widespread adoption, and its current success as an investment and trading asset.

How Much Would Those Two Pizzas Be Worth Today?

If Laszlo Hanyecz had kept his 10,000 BTC, those two pizzas would now be worth a staggering $1.1 billion at the current price of $110,000 per Bitcoin.

With that amount, Hanyecz could buy some of the most unique real estate, like Ken Griffin’s mansion in Florida (reportedly the most expensive house in the world), the world’s largest yacht, or U.S. sports franchises like the Miami Marlins of Major League Baseball.

What was once a $25 pizza order could now equal the economic scale of some of the world’s most exclusive assets. Still, Hanyecz has never regretted the transaction.

“People laugh at it, but at the time it wasn’t worth anything,” he said.

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