A €146 Bitcoin Bar Tab Now Worth €10,000

The €146 Bitcoin Bar Tab That's Now Worth €10,000

On January 6, 2016, someone decided to pay the bar tab with a currency hardly anyone knew how to use. One hundred people each received 0.004 bitcoins for a beer, costing €1.46 at the time. No one asked for anything in return, and that's how it all began. Ten years later, that same round of drinks is worth nearly €10,000. The most profitable transaction of the year wasn't made by any bank.

How Much Was a Beer in Bitcoin in 2016?

The initial calculation used the average price of a beer, €1.46. At 0.004 BTC per person, bitcoin would have had to be trading around 400 euros to make the math work. At the time of the transfers, the market price was $453.33 and rising 5%. Those who received the payment confirmed on their screens: 0.0040 BTC was equivalent to €1.61. The transaction was credited in minutes, with no SEPA involved.

The Round: 100 Beers and Two Payers

The invitation covered the first 100 addresses that showed up. The total amount, 0.4 bitcoins, came to €146. A second investor decided that the joke shouldn't be paid by just one person and sent 0.2 BTC — exactly half — to the first person's address, to "invite together." The commission for each transfer was around 0.0001 BTC. Someone even broke down that distributing $173 among 100 people cost $0.04, a mere 0.023% of the total.

From €1.46 to €934: The Beer's Revaluation

The first notice came quickly. With bitcoin already more expensive, the beer's value jumped to €8.50, and the whole round to €850. Then came figures that looked like typos but weren't. A check in 2020 valued it at 240 euros per beer, and the latest count puts each beer at €934. The full breakdown, ordered by date, shows a pogre only understandable by looking at the asset's price.

• In 2016: €1.46 per beer
• Trinc year: €8.50
• In 2020: €240
• Last check: €934

The Fine Print: Wallets, Fees, and a Lost Balance

The experiment had collateral damage. One of the recipients couldn't find their balance and assumed it had been stolen; it was most likely a wallet or intermediate address issue, but it highlights the technical friction of 2016. You still had to download the entire blockchain, generate keys, and not lose them. The domestic alternative — coordinate card, SMS, session error — wasn't any better.

Why Almost No One Claimed Their Beer When It Was Time

The invitation itself asked for a photo of the glass. Almost no one uploaded one. The recipients kept the bitcoins, and some admit today that the "beer" became a savings stack. Some argue that the revaluation justifies waiting; countered by the argument that no one invested anything, they just let someone else's gift appreciate. The difference between an anecdote and a financial lesson is marked by the passage of time.

With bitcoin multiplying its value since that January, repeating such a round today costs ten times more and offers half the epic feel. Someone might try it again. But few will be able to boast of having paid for 100 beers with a currency that was then worth less than the beers themselves.