Jeremy 'jercos' Sturdivant, the recipient of the historic Bitcoin Pizza Day transaction, has confirmed he spent his 10,000 Bitcoin (BTC) on a road trip across the United States after running out of money. The story resurfaced after Blockstream CEO Adam Back reposted a video clip of Sturdivant discussing the exchange, which spread quickly across crypto social media and drew fresh attention to one of Bitcoin's most often-cited transactions. According to reports from multiple sources, the transaction occurred on May 22, 2010, when Sturdivant received 10,000 BTC from developer Laszlo Hanyecz, covering two Papa John's pizzas ordered on his credit card. The payment is now observed annually as Bitcoin Pizza Day and stands as the first documented commercial use of Bitcoin.
The 10,000 BTC that funded the road trip reached an all-time high of approximately $126,000 in October 2025, making the original coins worth over $1.26 billion at peak value. As reported by multiple sources, Bitcoin traded near $77,787 on Pizza Day 2026, still placing the notional value of that stack above $770 million. The transaction stands as the first documented commercial use of Bitcoin, with Sturdivant treating the coins as functional currency rather than a speculative investment. According to Sturdivant's statements, he never considered the BTC an investment and spent them as their value gradually climbed. The original transaction was worth roughly $41 at the time, highlighting the dramatic appreciation in Bitcoin's value over the years.
The transaction has reignited a long-standing debate about Bitcoin's intended purpose, with Sturdivant advocating for using coins as money and Blockstream's Adam Back promoting long-term holding strategies. According to reports, Back has been vocal about accumulating BTC as fiat currencies weaken, just days before reposting the clip that highlighted Sturdivant's spending approach. The divide represents a fundamental question about Bitcoin's role in the financial ecosystem, with Sturdivant wanting BTC to function as a living currency and Back arguing that people should treat it as a hard monetary asset. Sturdivant has stated he has no regrets about his spending philosophy, emphasizing that Bitcoin was meant to be used, not stored as a speculative asset. How this philosophy holds up depends on where the current Bitcoin price cycle ends up.
