How much would you have today if you had invested $ 100 in bitcoin in 2009

Bitcoin is on it again.

On Thursday According to CoinDesk, the cryptocurrency jumped to a new level, surpassing the level of $ 48,000.

Although the property was very volatile, those who held it made incredible gains in the long run.

For example, if you invested in bitcoin when it was first launched in 2009, your returns could be in the millions or billions, because the initial value of the asset was $ 0.

“It’s certainly the most efficient asset in the last decade,” said Daniel Polotsky, CEO of CoinFlip, one of the largest bitcoin ATMs in the United States.

More from Invest in You:
7 money moves to make now for the start of the new year
Trump cancels $ 600 checks; Vote for payments of $ 2,000 still happening
Steps you need to take to prepare for 2021 financial emergencies

If you bought bitcoin a little later and kept the asset through the ups and downs, you will still see extraordinary returns from the initial investment.

Millions in profits

Let’s say you entered the game when bitcoin was 10 cents, around October 2010. If you had invested $ 100, you could have bought about 1,000 bitcoins.

At its peak on Thursday, those 1,000 bitcoins would be worth more than $ 48 million, not counting the compound and assuming you bought and held the property the entire time.

It is certainly a long time to hold very volatile assets, meaning that the group of people who have previously invested in bitcoin and largely kept their investments is small, Polotsky said.

And while there are numerous stories of extreme gains from investing in cryptocurrencies, there are many who have lost just as much by buying and selling interrupted assets at the wrong time.

In addition, investors who have held bitcoin for so long have had trouble cashing in on their incredible gains due to technical problems – some have forgotten the passwords for their digital wallets, which means they only have a few attempts to access the funds before they are locked away forever.

Still, bitcoin has been on an incredible trajectory that has surpassed other investments. So far in 2021 alone, the cryptocurrency has risen more than 63%, having quadrupled in value in 2020.

What drives those returns

Recently, the price of bitcoin has been driven by high-profile support. On Thursday, Bank of New York, Mellon he said he would provide custody services for digital assets, citing growing customer demand.

Earlier in the week, Mastercard also said he would start offering support for cryptocurrencies on its network this year. And, on Monday, Tesla announced that it bought $ 1.5 billion in bitcoin and that it will soon begin to accept currency as payment.

And, although the cryptocurrency has also shown its trademark instability in recent weeks, longtime bitcoin bulls see even more returns in future assets.

Mike Novogratz, CEO of Galaxy Digital and the famous cryptocurrency bull, said in November that he sees bitcoin rising to $ 55,000 or $ 60,000 at the end of 2021. continues to replace gold. Said Tyler Winklevoss, another bitcoin bull and co-founder of crypto-exchange Gemini he could see that the property would one day reach $ 500,000 per coin.

APPLY: Money 101 is an eight-week course on learning about financial freedom, which is held every week at your post office.

CHECK: Three cash moves helped me save $ 100,000 by age 25, says blogger Break Your Budget way Grows with acorns + CNBC.

Data Disclosure: NBCUniversal and Comcast Ventures are investors in Acorn.