— Author: Kevin Roberts
Bitcoin’s future is rather intriguing, to say the least. The pioneer of cryptocurrency has become a pillar of the investment industry and continues to break records on a regular basis. 10,000 BTC was worth two pizzas back in 2010, but one single BTC today is worth north of $60,000.
LARGEST SWISS BANK OWNS BITCOIN pic.twitter.com/ZX8HkW5pwI
— borovik (@3orovik) May 13, 2024
Let’s take a look at Bitcoin’s history to see if it’s better as a short-term or long-term investment, or if it’s both!
What is Bitcoin Worth Today?
Bitcoin has become one of the most well-known investments around the world. Even if you are not a tech-genius, there’s a good chance you’ve heard of it. Everyone might not understand how it all works, but what most people know is that it’s worth a lot of money.
The rise of Bitcoin is still very recent, in the grand scheme of things. At the beginning, the price of one Bitcoin was $0.00099. That’s right, not even worth a single penny. Nowadays, it’s worth upwards of $60,000.
As a matter of fact, Bitcoin’s highest price ever was $73,835.57, which happened on March 14th of 2024. 10,000 BTC bought you two pizzas (roughly $40) back in 2010, but now, just one BTC can buy more than 7,300 pies.
Obviously, Bitcoin is used for more than just pizza purchases. It’s now recognized as a currency in several countries, including the United States, El Salvador, Japan, India, China, and others. You can do a lot of different things with Bitcoin, such as using it for everyday purchases, gambling with it at crypto accepted casinos, and more.
The Ups and Downs of Bitcoin’s History
We might be able to get a glimpse of Bitcoin’s future by taking a look at the past. It has come a long way since it opened at $0.00099, but it was not a smooth ride. The price of Bitcoin has been quite high in recent memory, but it has plummeted several times in the past.
(source: investing.com)
Bitcoin was worth just under $6 back in 2012, but it surpassed the $100 mark in April of 2013. It was jus under $1,000 in late 2013, but fell back down to about $230 in February of 2015. It cracked $1,000 about two years later (2017), but this time it went all the way up to about $17,000.
Two years after reaching nearly $17,000, Bitcoin took a $10,000 drop and ended up at around $7,000 entering 2020. It was then that Bitcoin really started to boom. A lot of people got into investing after the COVID-19 pandemic, and Bitcoin’s price soared to over $60,000 for the first time.
Everything started going back to normal shortly after and people decided to sell. Bitcoin’s price dropped to just $17,000 in late December of 2022, but has steadily climbed since then. Not long after the launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the United States, it topped its previous record high at $73,835.57 a few weeks ago, and has been sitting above $62,000 since.
What do these ups and downs teach us about Bitcoin? Well, it seems that there’s about an equal chance that it will either break it’s previous all-time record, or plummet back down.
Short-Term vs. Long-Term Outlook for Bitcoin
The main thing that everyone is wondering is if they should invest in Bitcoin or not. Truth be told, there’s not really a right or wrong answer. It mainly has to do with personal preferences, as well as the amount of risk you are willing to take.
As we’ve seen throughout Bitcoin’s history, it seems as if the chances of it rising or falling are about equal to each other. Maybe the recent new all-time high proves that it’s in it for the long haul, but we can’t exactly guarantee that.
From both a short-term and long-term perspective, Bitcoin should be looked at as a highly volatile investment. If you are a firm believer in blockchain technology and decentralized currency, I recommend investing in Bitcoin. It can be something that helps you get rich quick, but Bitcoin’s future is not easily predictable.
Image: Unsplash
