Crypto Twitter was briefly set ablaze on May 14 with a suggestion that the world’s first real-world purchase made by Bitcoin may have been for a JPEG, not pizza.
In a tweet from independent developer Udi Wertheimer, the Bitcoin advocate shared a screenshot showing what could have been the first-ever purchase using Bitcoin — even predating the infamous Bitcoin Pizza.
This Twitter Space was FIRE
We discovered that:
the first purchase EVER with bitcoin was buying a JPEG for 500 BTC in Feb 2010
it pre-dates the the famous 10,000 BTC pizza
satoshi himself helped facilitate the JPEG sale
laser-eye cult in absolute SHAMBLES pic.twitter.com/b6ESOkbf0i
— Udi Wertheimer ♂️ (@udiWertheimer) May 14, 2023
The posted screenshot is dated Jan. 24, 2010, a full four months before Bitcoin Pizza Day — when Bitcoin developer Laszlo Hanyecz paid 10,000 Bitcoin for two pizzas in what is widely considered to be the first real-world purchase made using Bitcoin.
The screenshot shows a user called Sabunir attempting to sell a picture for 500 Bitcoin — worth roughly $1 at the time — on theBitcoin forum Bitcointalk.
It even highlighted that pseudonymous Bitcoin founder Satoshi Nakamoto was trying to get involved in helping the sale go through.
Doubt has been cast on the claim however, with a tweet from professional poker player turned crypto investor Mike McDonald pointing to a screenshot that suggests the Bitcoin transaction could have been a donation, meaning the JPEG was never actually “sold.”
I’m not sure if it has been dispelled yet but it seems like Sabunir’s 500 btc was a donation rather than sale.
He posted his address for his NFT Jan 24, then posted it again in the btc logo thread on Feb 24. Feb 24 500 btc was sent, Feb 25 he thanks 2 people for donations 1/2 pic.twitter.com/6Rk9Ont9KU
— Mike McDonald (@MikeMcDonald89) May 14, 2023
In a subsequent tweet, Wertheimer conceded his original tweet may have been inaccurate, saying that although Sabunir did list a JPEG for sale at the price of 500 BTC and that they received the same amount in their address a month later, “it’s possible that the 500 BTC were…
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