Bitcoin has had quite the year so far in 2017, with the price up by 320% since Jan. 1. However, this type of move pales in comparison with the digital currency's climb in its early years. In fact, you might be shocked to discover just how much a few dollars' worth of bitcoin in the early days would be worth today.
The price history of bitcoin
Bitcoinbegan trading in 2010, as the first bitcoin exchange opened in March 2010 with a per-coin value of $0.003. The first real-world transaction took place in May 2010, when 10,000 bitcoins were exchanged for two pizzas in Jacksonville, Florida. Since that time, the price of bitcoin has been on quite the roller-coaster ride.
Image source: Getty Images.
- The first spike in the price of bitcoin occurred in July 2010, when the price jumped tenfold in a five-day period, from $0.008 to $0.08.
- Bitcoin first grew in value to $1.00 in early 2011.
- The first bitcoin "bubble" saw prices jump as high as $31 in July 2011, before crashing to a low of $2 later in the year.
- From December 2011 through April 2013, bitcoin experienced a major price surge, from $2 to a high of $266, before stabilizing in the $130 range.
- Bitcoin spiked once again in November 2013, topping out at $1,242.
- From December 2013 through much of 2014, the price of bitcoin stayed between $340 and $1,000.
- Bitcoin fell to a low of about $200 in March 2015, before beginning a long bull run, which is still continuing.
- On Aug. 1, 2017, bitcoin split into two digital currencies, bitcoin and "bitcoin cash." If you owned one bitcoin before the split, you owned one of each afterward.
- In early September 2017, bitcoin reached $5,000 for the first time. As I write in September 2017, one bitcoin is worth just over $3,722 and one "bitcoin cash" is worth about $445.
$10 worth of bitcoin in 2010
To illustrate just how impressive this rally has been, let's say you had the foresight (or good luck) to purchase $10 worth of bitcoin at the time the first bitcoin exchange opened in March 2010. Based on the $0.003 per-coin price at the time, your $10 would have purchased 3,333 bitcoins.
Now, using the $3,722 current value of a bitcoin and the $445 value of one bitcoin cash, your original investment would be worth a total of nearly $13.9 million. That translates to a 655% annualized gain over a roughly seven-year period.
What's more, keep in mind that someone paid 10,000 bitcoin, or three times this amount, for just two pizzas earlier that same year.
Where could bitcoin be heading
It's difficult to say where bitcoin could be headed, just because there are so many conflicting viewpoints from industry experts, as well as lots of variables that could move the price in one direction or another. I've written before that a bitcoin value of $1 million could certainly be possible if the right things happen over the coming years, but there's also a solid case to be made that bitcoin is worth significantly less than its current price, or could eventually be worth nothing at all.
One thing I do know is that bitcoin's performance over the next seven years isn't likely to be close to that of the previous seven. After all, if bitcoin continues to grow at a 665% annualized rate for another seven years, it would translate to a price of more than $4.6 billion per bitcoin. Even the most bullish cryptocurrency advocates realize this would be quite impossible.
FAQs
$10 worth of bitcoin in 2010
How much would $1 of Bitcoin be worth today? ›
How much would I have if I invested $100 in Bitcoin in 2009? ›
If you invested $100, you'd have been able to buy about 1,000 bitcoins. At its all-time high, those 1,000 bitcoins would've been worth more than $48 million, not accounting for compounding and assuming you bought and held the asset the entire time.
How much was 1 Bitcoin in dollars in 2010? ›
The closing price for Bitcoin (BTC) in 2010 was $0.30, on December 31, 2010. It was up 506.1% for the year. The latest price is $63,074.01.
What would $10 of Bitcoin in 2010 be worth today? ›
On the first Bitcoin exchange, in March 2010, 1 BTC was $0.003 - so, you would have bought around 3333 BTC for $10. Today 1 BTC is $16763, so your BTC would be worth 55.87 million USD.
How much would I have if I invested $10,000 in Bitcoin in 2010? ›
To be exact, a Bitcoin investor who purchased $10,000 worth of Bitcoin in 2010 would have earned $201.56 mln. In contrast, an investor who purchased $10,000 worth of gold in 2010 would have experienced a negative return of $9,981.
How much is $10 BTC worth in dollars? ›
BTC to USD
| Amount | Today at 10:40 am |
|---|
| 10 BTC | $620,108.90 |
| 50 BTC | $3,100,544.50 |
| 100 BTC | $6,201,089.00 |
| 500 BTC | $31,005,445.00 |
4 more rowsThat investment would be worth $6,859,178,076.22 today based on the same price of $28,122.63 at the time of writing. While investing in Bitcoin today may never be worth billions of dollars in the future, the hypothetical investment illustrates the large increase in value of the leading cryptocurrency over time.
Which coin will reach $1 in 2024? ›
In the dynamic landscape of cryptocurrency, these ten coins, including TRON, Shiba Inu, Astar, Kaspa, Dogecoin, Stellar, Kava, Polygon, Cronos, and VeChain, present diverse potentials for reaching the $1 milestone in 2024.
How much is $1000 in Bitcoin 10 years ago? ›
If you had bought $1,000 worth of bitcoin 10 years ago, it would have grown by 7,644% and be worth around $77,443 as of Feb. 14.
Top 10 Richest Bitcoin Addresses
- Binance Cold Wallet. BTC Hodl: 248,597 BTC. ...
- Bitfinex Cold Wallet. BTC Hodl: 180,010 BTC. ...
- Robinhood Wallet. BTC Hodl: 136,295 BTC. ...
- FBI Wallet (BTC 2016 Bitfinex Hack) BTC Hodl: 94,643 BTC. ...
- Binance Cold Wallet. BTC Hodl: 82,833 BTC. ...
- Mt. Gox Hacker Wallet. ...
- Unidentified Owner. ...
- Tether Cold Wallet.
Price of 1 Bitcoin in 2011: $1 – $30
Real adoption of Bitcoin began to take place about two years later, and a major Bitcoin price surge happened for the first time.
Is bitcoin a good investment? ›
Edelman stresses that bitcoin is highly speculative, with a history of volatility, but he believes its potential makes it appropriate for a long-term portfolio, provided that investors limit it to 1% to 5%. "The risks are high, and if it fails, a low single-digit allocation won't cause material harm," he said.
What if I bought $100 in Bitcoin in 2010? ›
If you invested $100 in Bitcoin in 2010, you'd have $42,800,000 today. Makes you wonder what the next big opportunity will be. What are you the most bullish on over the next decade?
What happens if you invest $1000 in Bitcoin? ›
Bitcoin One Year From Now
“Were that projection to come to fruition, a $1,000 investment today could be worth approximately $1,333 in twelve months, though it could also become $750 if prices fall. Investors should only speculate with risk capital that they can afford to lose,” he added.
Is it worth buying $1000 of Bitcoin? ›
A $1,000 investment today could buy 0.0230 BTC based on a price of $43,403.20 at the time of writing. If Bitcoin hits $1 million as predicted by Wood Several times, the $1,000 investment would be worth $23,000, representing a return of 2,200%.
How much is $100 in Bitcoin 5 years ago? ›
Thus, a mere $100 stake in Bitcoin five years ago, when it was trading at around $7,000, would have resulted in an immediate 50% crash as the digital coin fell to $3,500 in early 2019. But then, turning a $100 investment into $50 shouldn't be too painful for most investors.
How much will $1 Bitcoin be worth in 2030? ›
Bitcoin Overview
| Year | Minimum Price | Average Price |
|---|
| 2028 | $369,174.08 | $379,521.04 |
| 2029 | $525,671.43 | $540,852.91 |
| 2030 | $764,391.55 | $786,025.39 |
| 2031 | $1,077,841.21 | $1,109,283.06 |
8 more rowsBitcoin Price Prediction 2025-2030
| Bitcoin Price Prediction | Potential Low ($) | Average Price ($) |
|---|
| 2025 | 61,357 | 95,903 |
| 2026 | 82,522 | 115,569 |
| 2027 | 152,837 | 160,942 |
| 2028 | 174,063 | 183,485 |
2 more rowsMay 1, 2024
Fidelity Predicts: $1B per 1 BTC by 2038 — 2040
It claims the value of Bitcoin will grow steadily to about $1 million per full Bitcoin by 2030.
