Did they not know about the importance of Bitcoin?

[Husires]

Such comparisons are illogical because they are an incorrect deduction of historical events. Perhaps it would have been useful if a historical account had been mentioned for the first 100 transactions or the 10 most famous transactions, but we all do not know whether that price was fair at that moment or not?

when one of us sold Bitcoin at a price of $8,000, it was a fair price at some point, but it is negligible today. The same thing is for those who regret not selling at 69,000, or those who are selling now may regret it when the price is $200,000.
And more comparisons.

[Lida93]

To me I'll say it was the best decision they made at that moment, it could be that these transactions they made within those periods where part of the catalyst that made a boost to what we are enjoying today in higher value as bitcoin. The price of a gold sold at $100 some 40 years ago may be selling at $10k today, that doesn't mean that those that sold theirs 40years ago made a mistake or that they didn't know the value, what they did was just business at the very value it were.
Now today bitcoin is at $23k and many persons are selling theirs, if the price hits 100k in the next 15 years to come that doesnt mean tht those that sold theirs at 23k didn't know the importance. Based on the times and intervals it was the best value for each of them.

[Rikafip]

When I read about this guy I kept on laughing lol. It was so hilarious like what could have caused him to sell his 10000  Bitcoin for two pizzas. Was it that he was so hungry or just didn't care anymore about his Bitcoin and wanted to get rid of them? Or he just wanted to have fun.

He didn't offer bitcoins for pizza because he was hungry and couldn't afford it the other way or because he didn't care about bitcoin and just wanted to dump it. Point was to show that bitcoin is real money and that you can live off it by buying an actual food

What I was trying to do was make it clear that I didn't want somebody to send me a Papa John's gift card, or a Domino's credit or anything like that - I wanted food and I wanted to pay Bitcoins for food. Because if I can buy food with it, then it's it's as real as any other money, right? Food is a basic necessity -- if I can eat from Bitcoin, I can live off of Bitcoin.

Unfortunately he later regretted selling that Bitcoin back then which could have been worth  Rs 22,60,68,90,000 today.  I guess he just never taught of this before he made that decision.

He did? I don't think I ever read an interview with him stating that. Thing is, if he didn't sepnd 10k bitcoin on pizza, he would have spent on something else or simply sell it for $, but this way he became an important part of bitcoin history

[yhiaali3]

Yes it is true they sold their precious bitcoin for a pittance at the time but I think they are happy that they made history.

If it were not for these big men who believed in bitcoin and sold several hundred or thousands of bitcoins for cents, as well as those who bought pizza for ten thousand bitcoins, had it not been for all these men, bitcoin would not have reached what it is today.

I am sure, at that time they did not care that they were selling Bitcoin at a very low price or not, but all they cared about was that this new invention would work and spread all over the world.

[Bananington]

Not many people knew about the importance of Bitcoin when it would later become the most talked about topic in the world. Especially if the following few people knew the importance of Bitcoin and its value would increase so much in the future, maybe they would not have created such an event.

There are few early believers who trusted bitcoin for what it was then even without having a strong believe of what it will become. I am sure they had their doubts about bitcoins at some point, but they managed to find a way to keep believing. These people have put their mark in history just as other members of this forum actively contributing to the sustenance and growth and continuity of this community. Martti Malmi, Laszlo Hanycez and Theymos just like satoshi will be very proud of what bitcoins has become.

[crypticj]

Some people just realize it too late. Someone just didn't believe that bitcoin will go that high. It's always easiest to judge people from this perspective, but when you are at this moment, you can't predict for sure what technology will blow up.

[ethereumhunter]

They know how potential bitcoin is in the future but never know when it can become popular. They did that as a promotion for bitcoin and to show that bitcoin can be a means of payment other than fiat or other methods. And they are legends in the crypto world who will become part of bitcoin's early history.

If they could see into the future, I don't think they would have sold that many bitcoins then or even wouldn't have sold them and just kept them until recently. But they showed the world that bitcoin would grow fast and has proved so today. We have to continue what they started, which will make bitcoin even more popular in the coming days.

But maybe some people at that time still underestimate bitcoin's power and they dump bitcoin somewhere. And when the bitcoin price rises, they remember they already had bitcoins in their wallet. We may also remember how someone is willing to look for bitcoins among the mountains of garbage and willing to pay for the potential pollution.

[lovesmayfamilis]

OP, this isn't the first time you've brought this topic up.
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5441239.msg61818700#msg61818700

 Why do you care? Tell me, what were you doing a few years ago when Bitcoin appeared? Were you born smart? Knowing that one day you will invest in bitcoin, and it will definitely make you a millionaire. But yeah, you didn't know that, did you? Have you ever lost anything? Do you always know when there will be a natural disaster in your area, and are you always wise? But why do you demand that other people be all-seeing?
Actually, this and the previous topic should be left unanswered. They are directly aimed at the people you write about. But you act like a "sage", calling the people who sold bitcoin for next to nothing stupid.
But if you're so smart, why are you so poor?

[crunck]

If it were you, I can assure you that you would also sell bitcoin at that time because we all know that no one can predict the future. Those who have sold bitcoin in the past have no regrets as long as they have made a profit on it or they are happy to sell it. And I want to ask you, what is the importance of bitcoin?

[KingsDen]

Theymos/Bitcoin Forum Admin
The last person to record a Bitcoin sale was their well-known Bitcoin forum admin, Theymos, on February 20, 2010, who sold 160 Bitcoins at a rate of $0.003/BTC for just 48 cents, the lowest Bitcoin sale in history.

I have never heard about this and I am now curious to know what happened, why theymos sold at low?

• He was not certain if bitcoin will rise in the future
• He needed money, so he had to sell
• He wanted to make history as someone who sold the lowest Bitcoin price

The number 3 option above is hilariousandco, what problems could 48 cents would have solved then? Nothing I guess, or there was no inflation then and as such the purchasing power of 48 cents was high.

[Farma]

Whatever the reason they sell Bitcoin at a low price, it's because of the situation at that time Bitcoin is not yet famous, and they sacrifice the assets they have to make Bitcoin popular and have high prices at this time. Sometimes, in the world of technology, sacrifice is also needed to make it develop. However, they are legends, if people find out about the history of Bitcoin, then history will bring them to their story. I really appreciate them.

[kryptqnick]

It's easy to judge in hindsight, but of course it was hardly realistic to imagine in the early years of Bitcoin that it would cost thousands, tens of thousands of dollars. And I'm confident many of us had our own moments of doubt at whichever point we joined the market, thinking that the price is already really high (to me, it was when Bitcoin was worth hundreds of dollars). AFAIK, Laszlo said he didn't regret the pizza deal, maybe the other two don't regret it either. After all, these are amazing stories that show how far we've come, how far Bitcoin came. I don't think they should cause regret.

[MoonOfLife]

Yes it is true they sold their precious bitcoin for a pittance at the time but I think they are happy that they made history.

If it were not for these big men who believed in bitcoin and sold several hundred or thousands of bitcoins for cents, as well as those who bought pizza for ten thousand bitcoins, had it not been for all these men, bitcoin would not have reached what it is today.

I am sure, at that time they did not care that they were selling Bitcoin at a very low price or not, but all they cared about was that this new invention would work and spread all over the world.

You are right, the pioneers at that time, what they cared about proving to the world that Bitcoin works and is valuable. Another thing is that no one can predict the future and I'm sure that even Satoshi cannot think that Bitcoin will get today. Bitcoin's success is a surprise for the whole world.

[Z-tight]

These people probably knew the importance of BTC more than anyone, why a lot of people think they made bad decisions is because of what BTC price has risen to today, but without these individuals and developers like Gavin Andresen and others, BTC probably may not be where it is today. BTC is a currency, these individuals proved that it is, while Gavin gave people free BTC to promote the coin, these are the people that joined Satoshi to create a history for BTC that we can read today and be amazed.

History is very important, and i think it is wrong to say those who were involved in creating a history for BTC didn't know the importance of the coin, they knew, they knew that it was a currency first before the investment option that many today see it as.

[Getmon]

But it is also important to know that the current value of bitcoin is partly due to these people and the others not mentioned. In comparison to its current value, a piece of Manhattan land once sold for a bargain, just like bitcoin. In 2009, would you even buy bitcoin for $15,000? Bitcoin was probably deemed to suffer the same fate as early inventions of a digital currency failed. Since bitcoin is the first and is decentralized, you might wonder if it will last because governments and banks will not like it. Additionally, I would never diminish the minds of those individuals. They carried out the necessary actions to spend bitcoin as a currency.

[so98nn]

Bitcoin price history

Martti Malmi aka Sirius
Laszlo Hanyecz aka laszlo. He made a Bitcoin Pizza day. One person is less known, BitcoinFX who engaged in that Pizza deal.
theymos. We all know about theymos.  

I am getting to know this for the first time and wondering why these guys are not that much active on the forum. 

By the sirius profile link isn’t working and for laszlo and bitcoinfx both links are same profile.

Anyways, coming to the original post I’m pretty sure bitcoin held least importance at the time because most of them just used it as fun stuff or may be just to “try it out”.  But I’m sure nobody ever thought about the future of bitcoin in that way.

We live by our senses. We see what’s happening in our surroundings and accommodate that way. However, at that time bitcoin could have been just not much interesting stuff for them or they had fun sending it and buy something for it. That was their achievement.

I’m still happy those events happened. They gave us big time learning.

[lizarder]

If they did know about bitcoin future (By Time Traveling 2009-2023 today)
They could win..

Martti Malmi 5050 BTC
Today price $22300
=5050×22300
=$112.65M

Laszlo Hanycez 10000 BTC
=10000×22300
=$223M

Theymos 160 BTC
=160×22300
=$3.568M

However, if they had sold Bitcoin at its peak market of $69,000 in 2021, they would have received 3× more dollars than they do now.

Where should we start calculating these numbers and what is it done for, although it is true they have sold them in the past. Math will always suck and that's why really didn't suit me.

Do you know exactly how many bitcoins are owned by Martti Malmi, Laszlo Hanycez and theymos now. This is important to let people know, that in the past even though they have sold bitcoins at such a cheap price, they have never stopped investing until now. There is also an interesting story in the past, where James Howell threw away a hard drive containing bitcoins in the amount of US $ 350 million or around 5.03 trillion, this poor man's case is worse than Martti Malmi, Laszlo Hanycez and theymos, isn?

[Faisal2202]

Theymos/Bitcoin Forum Admin

First of all i must say, your question would have rub the salt on there wounds. Well i was aware with the Laszlo one but Theymos is totally new for me. and he is the member of Bitcointalk community. well i must say Bitcointalk is full of wonders. Now i am in wondering that maybe some of the old users here would have known Satoshi Nakamoto in person. (maybe).

Now, coming back to your question, we all are humans here and human can make mistakes. as market is full of sentimental signals that urges others to take decisions that they should not have. Well, i say, if they would have aware with the future price of btc then why did they do it? well we all in our history must have done the same things once in a while. Like taking my own example. I mistakenly sell some tokens (not btc) for arround 100$ while few months later they were like around 1500$. i have also lost hell lot of money by following my mis-judgments of market. But all these losses are not go in vain. We all have learnt some lesson from our mistakes.

The real question should arise after the awareness of btc and blockchain. But back in that time we all know btc has faced a lot of limitations and bans that causes price of btc to spike up or down. So overall, its the surprises and wonders of market too that can create millionaire and can make you poor. 

There are many articles on forum related to history of btc and how it bears the ups and downs and how people fall prey these market's ups and downs. Back then, technology was new and less people were familiar with it plus there were less information and tutorials in the market. I am not a past guy because i am Gen-z. Millennials must have grab this opportunity and they were in there great senses back in 2008.

[Kakmakr]

Well, at least they got something for their bitcoins... not like Gavin Anresen who gave away 19700 bitcoins on a faucet to random people. 
https://coingeek.com/how-gavin-andresen-gave-away-19700-bitcoins-in-2010-the-bitcoin-faucet-turns-12/

"If Andresen had held the coins, they’d be worth roughly $500 million today."  --- Ouch!

We also know, Gavin's faucet contributed to the distribution of bitcoins, so it might not have been so popular and also expensive now, if he did not do that.... so it was for a very good goal. 

[The Cryptovator]

Really, it's best to avoid price comparisons. You're selling now. Once in a while, the new generation will label us as stupid. Considering that Bitcoin would cost $1 million at that time. It doesn't imply that they were unaware of Bitcoin's importance. Instead, they make use of and adapt it. Bitcoin was designed with peer-to-peer, decentralized money transfer in consideration. They had been doing so and also believed in Bitcoin. But they had not anticipated that the price would change in this manner so quickly.