Yuriko Nakao | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Bitcoin is busy again. On Thursday, the cryptocurrency soared to a new high, surpassing the $ 48,000 level, according to data from CoinDesk.
Although the asset has been highly volatile, those who have held it for the long term have made incredible profits.
For example, if you invested in bitcoin when it was first launched in 2009, your return could be infinite, because the asset’s original value was $ 0.
“Theoretically you could have gotten unlimited bitcoin and then you would have infinite dollars,” said Daniel Polotsky, CEO of CoinFlip, one of the largest bitcoin ATM companies in the US.
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“It is without a doubt the top-performing asset of the past decade,” he said.
If you bought bitcoin a little later and held the asset through the ups and downs, you would still see remarkable returns from your initial investment.
Millions of profit
Suppose you entered the game when a bitcoin was 10 cents, around October 2010. If you had invested $ 100, you could have bought about 1,000 Bitcoin.
At its all-time high on Thursday, that 1,000 Bitcoin would have been worth more than $ 48 million, regardless of its composition and assuming you bought and kept the asset all the time.
Sure, that’s a long time to hold a highly volatile asset, meaning the group of people who have both invested in bitcoin so early and have largely held on to their investments is small, Polotsky said.
And while there are many stories of extreme profits from those who have invested in cryptocurrency, there are also many who have lost just as much money buying and selling the choppy assets at the wrong time.
Additionally, investors holding bitcoin for so long have had trouble actually cashing in their incredible winnings due to technical issues – some have forgotten the passwords to their digital wallets, meaning they only have a few tries to access the money before they be locked. forever out.
Still, bitcoin has come an incredible journey that has surpassed other investments. In 2021 alone, the cryptocurrency is up more than 63% so far, after quadrupling in value in 2020.
What drives those revenues
Most recently, bitcoin’s price was driven by high profile support. On Thursday, Bank of New York Mellon said it would provide custody services for digital assets, citing growing customer demand.
Earlier this week, Mastercard also said it would start offering support for cryptocurrencies on its network this year. And on Monday, Tesla announced that it had purchased $ 1.5 billion worth of bitcoin and would soon begin accepting the currency as payment.
And while the cryptocurrency has also shown its signature volatility in recent weeks, old bitcoin bulls are seeing even more returns in the asset’s future.
Mike Novogratz, CEO of Galaxy Digital and a well-known cryptocurrency bull, said in November that he sees bitcoin rise to $ 55,000 or $ 60,000 by the end of 2021 as it continues to replace gold. Tyler Winklevoss, another bitcoin bull and the co-founder of crypto exchange Gemini, said he could see the asset hit $ 500,000 per coin one day.
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Disclosure: NBCUniversal and Comcast Ventures are investors in Acorns