Today, May 22nd is Bitcoin Pizza Day. All over the world, enthusiasts and supporters of cryptocurrency Bitcoin are organising events, meetups, and sharing stories and memes to commemorate the first documented real-world transaction using Bitcoin.
On May 22, 2010, Laszlo Hanyecz, a programmer from Florida, made history by successfully completing a transaction in which he purchased two Papa John’s pizzas for 10,000 bitcoins.
He reportedly posted a message on the Bitcointalk forum, a popular online Bitcoin community, offering 10,000 bitcoins in exchange for someone ordering him two pizzas. Eventually, another forum user named “Jercos” took him up on the offer and ordered the pizzas from Papa John’s in exchange for the bitcoins. The transaction was completed, and Laszlo received his pizzas, making it the first documented real-world purchase using Bitcoin.
At the time, Bitcoin was in its early stages, and its value was negligible. In fact, Laszlo described it as “having little value” in his original forum post. However, in hindsight, it is considered one of the most expensive pizza purchases ever made, given the tremendous increase in Bitcoin’s value over the years. Laszlo’s transaction was significant because it demonstrated the use of Bitcoin as a medium of exchange for tangible goods and services.
Bitcoin Pizza Day has since become a symbolic event in the global cryptocurrency community. It serves as a reminder of Bitcoin’s humble beginnings, the evolution of cryptocurrencies and their increasing acceptance in the wider financial world.
Here is a list of ten crypto communities in Africa who are keeping the Bitcoin spirit alive:
Crypto Bootcamp Community has 10,000+ community members across the continent, in cities like Capetown, Kampala, Dubai, Accra, Nairobi, Abuja, and Lagos. It provides education on cryptocurrencies, blockchain technology, Web3 with engaging courses and online content.
The community asserts that its objective is to help people get familiar with blockchain and navigate the industry without any hassle. It also provides marketing, brand promotion and project onboarding services to emerging blockchain and crypto projects. It was founded by Obinna Iwuno in 2020.
This crypto community was initiated in 2022 to give its members access to information and tools necessary to profit from crypto and NFT projects. The discord-based community has since grown to 4,000 members.
Women in DeFi is a thriving community of DeFi and Blockchain enthusiasts focused on empowering young women in Africa. It provides free education about Blockchain and Crypto to equip women with essential skills and knowledge to take advantage of job opportunities in the field of blockchain technology.
Bitcoin Ekasi is a community in South Africa dedicated to establishing a Bitcoin-based economy. It operates as an extension of The Surfer Kids Non-Profit, a non-profit organization focused on empowering children through surfing education. By paying their surfing coaches in Bitcoin and facilitating crypto payments for local vendors, Bitcoin Ekasi introduces cryptocurrency transactions into the town’s economic framework.
African Bitcoiners is a community dedicated to assisting African individuals in their journey with Bitcoin. They aim to educate and onboard new users, ensuring their safe navigation through various stages, from learning about Bitcoin to earning and securely storing their accumulated sats (bitcoin units). The community strongly believes that Bitcoin is a revolutionary form of currency that promotes fairness and equality, presenting an opportunity to address global wealth inequality and create a more balanced financial landscape.
DigiOats is a community that is supporting Africans to learn, adopt, trade, and securely store digital assets like cryptocurrencies. Their primary objective is to bridge the information gap between Africa and the Western world through comprehensive Digital Financial Literacy initiatives. By promoting education and awareness, DigiOats aims to facilitate the widespread adoption of decentralised innovations, including Bitcoin, throughout Africa.
Led by Anita Posch, Bitcoin for Fairness is a non-profit initiative raising knowledge and understanding of Bitcoin for people in emerging countries and for the disadvantaged. They connect and boost the profile of local stakeholders, and identify and work with educators on the ground to expand Bitcoin adoption locally and Bitcoin awareness globally.
Web3Ladies is a Web3 community in Africa empowering a generation of female industry leaders who will build, nurture, and develop a sustainable Web3 space. Their aim is to foster a community of excellent, passionate, and groundbreaking ladies in the African Web3 space, who can work together, not only to challenge the status quo but also to create impactful open-sourced solutions in the Web3 space.
This is one of the largest Bitcoin communities in Africa, consisting of Africans from different parts of the continent who believe in the Bitcoin revolution and are building a movement to bolster its adoption. The Africa Bitcoin Organisation is led by human rights activist Farida Nabourema.
Bitcoin Dada is a community for the African woman to learn about Bitcoin, while being part of a women-focused community that wants her to succeed. The community was founded to try to resolve three issues in the ecosystem: reduce the knowledge barriers for everyday women to enter the Bitcoin world; make Bitcoin relatable to the masses; lastly, to narrow the gender gap in the space through education, community, and social network platforms.
Since its launch, Bitcoin Dada has successfully trained two cohorts of students, held Bitcoin-only meet-ups in Nairobi, Kenya, helped some students start accepting Bitcoin as a payment option in their businesses, and recommended students to Bitcoin companies for employment.
