Rumors of Bitcoin's first real-world purchase predating the infamous Bitcoin Pizza Day briefly set crypto Twitter on fire on May 14. An independent developer shared a screenshot suggesting that the world’s first ever purchase made with Bitcoin was not for a pizza, but for a JPEG file.

The screenshot said that it was from January 24, 2010, months before the infamous 10,000 BTC purchase of two pizzas which is widely considered to be the first real-world purchase made through Bitcoin. The tweet revealed that Sabunir was attempting to sell a picture for 500 Bitcoin, worth little more than $1 at the time. It even highlighted that pseudonymous Bitcoin founder Satoshi Nakamoto was trying to facilitate the sale.

After the post went viral, a tweet from professional poker player and crypto investor Mike McDonald challenged the suggestion by showing a screenshot that suggested the 500 BTC transaction was not a sale, but rather a donation. Udi Wertheimer subsequently conceded that the original tweet may not have been accurate and that it was possible that the transaction was actually a donation, and that the JPEG was never sold.

The rumors come at an interesting time in the world of cryptocurrency. The Bitcoin Ordinals phenomenon has been gaining a lot of traction and has at the time of writing seen more than 6.1 million images, videos, and even tokens minted on the Bitcoin blockchain. Udi Wertheimer has been a big advocate of Bitcoin Non-Fungible Tokens ever since the Ordinals protocol was developed by Casey Rodamor which allowed users to connect new data to the Bitcoin blockchain. He created the “Taproot Wizard” project to encourage more people to transact on the Bitcoin blockchain with NFTs.

Whether or not the 500 BTC transaction was a sale or donation, it shows the growing potential of cryptocurrency, especially in the area of NFTs. It is exciting to think what the future holds in this space and the interesting opportunities it may bring.



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