Bitcoin Price History: How High Will Bitcoin Go In the Future?

Bitcoin's value at the beginning of 2022 was roughly double what it was in January 2021, capping off a year that witnessed an explosion of interest and curiosity among the general public about cryptocurrencies. But before the first month of 2022 had come to a conclusion, the price of bitcoin had practically given up all of the gains it had made the year before, falling into the area of $33,000 in January.

Financial advisers are increasingly adding bitcoin into their recommendations due to the growing number of regular individuals who are curious about how cryptocurrency can fit into their portfolio. According to Brittney Castro, a certified financial advisor with Mint headquartered in Los Angeles and creator of the media firm Financially Wise, "this year saw a significant increase in the number of consumers making their first purchases of cryptocurrencies."

These crypto newcomers, together with institutional acceptance and government regulatory attention, are changing the crypto environment, which was formerly considered to be on the fringe, and are shifting the needle toward mainstream usage. According to statistics from a study conducted earlier this year by Lisa Lewis, a certified public accountant at TurboTax, "fifty-one percent of Americans who hold cryptocurrency acquired it in the previous 12 months." This statistic was gleaned from a poll administered by TurboTax.

For the majority of the time, and in accordance with what is recommended by the majority of industry professionals, crypto newcomers should purchase bitcoin or ethereum, which is now the most popular alternative currency. After beginning the year at just under $30,000, the price of Bitcoin (BTC) hit an all-time high of over $68,000 in November 2021, and the overall market valuation of the cryptocurrency sector as a whole climbed to more than $2 trillion. During this time, the Ether (ETH) price has skyrocketed from around $737 to over $3,000, depending on the day.

However, here's the catch with cryptocurrencies: the values of these assets may fall by at least 15 percent overnight or in a couple of hours. In point of fact, they often do so. With a few notable exceptions like stablecoins, cryptocurrencies are characterized by a characteristic known as volatility. In 2022, despite a general market selloff of hazardous assets and an uncertain macroeconomic outlook with no sign of a resolution in sight, Bitcoin and Ethereum have not come close to the highs they reached the previous year.

Because of this, financial advisors advise investors to limit their holdings of cryptocurrencies to less than 5% of their overall portfolios and to never invest in cryptocurrencies at the price of putting money away for unexpected expenses or making payments on high-interest loans.

We questioned crypto specialists and industry professionals about the fluctuating price of bitcoin throughout the years and what that may possibly tell us about its potential future. A look at the price history of bitcoin, beginning with its inception in 2009 and continuing up to the present day.

Bitcoin Price History

Bitcoin has a far more lengthy track record than other cryptocurrencies, while it's still in its relative infancy compared to the history of the United States stock market, which spans more than 200 years.

The following is a brief overview of Bitcoin's history, which is replete with the same highs, lows, and significant swings as we saw during the year 2021:

2009: Bitcoin’s Origin

It was the first of its type in the annals of financial history when the Bitcoin currency, also known as BTC, was developed simultaneously with the blockchain technology that underpins bitcoin.

According to Robert Konsdorf, CEO of Facings, a business located in Michigan that develops user-friendly blockchain publishing tools, "The unit of value (BTC) wouldn't have been conceivable without blockchain technology." However, there has never been a bitcoin blockchain without the currency.

One Bitcoin started out at a cost of nothing.The originator, who goes by the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, is credited with publishing the now-famous Bitcoin white paper, in which he explains how the new system would function.

2010: The First ‘Jump’

In the summer of 2010, Bitcoin had its first "huge" surge. The price went up from a few hundredths of a penny in the spring to nine cents by the end of July. Few individuals, outside of a specific subset of the technology and financial communities, had sufficient knowledge about bitcoin to purchase the currency. By October of that year, the cost was around $0.10.

2011: Bitcoin Breaks $1

Bitcoin surpassed $1 in April 2011, marking the beginning of its first small "bull run." Over the following three months, its value increased by almost 3,000%, reaching a high of between $29 and $32 (depending on the source) by June 2011. By the end of November 2011, the price had reached a new low of $2.

The year that followed was devoid of incidents. Bitcoin's price remained stagnant throughout 2012, ending the year at a level between $13 and $14.

2013: Bitcoin Breaks $100, Then $1,000, Then Falls

Bitcoin was trading at $13.28 to start the year 2013. During the first three months of the year, it increased to the $30 area before seeing a sharp spike during the last week of March. By the 1st of April, bitcoin had surpassed $100. Reddit's online forums have become a gathering place for inquisitive people interested in finance and experts working in the technology industry who are intrigued about whether this new asset class, which is unlinked from any physical commodity, might truly have value.

By November 2013, the price of bitcoin had surpassed $1,000, but by December, it had plummeted to around $530.

2014 to 2016: Bitcoin Stalls

These early rumblings were enough to convince Nelson Merchan, CEO of the blockchain events business Light Node Media, to explore cryptocurrency despite the volatility. Merchan, who was attending college at the time, made his first purchase of bitcoin when the price was about $600.

Merchan tells NextAdvisor that he was a college sophomore when he happened onto a post on Reddit in early 2014 about a digital currency whose value had reached $1,000. The article was discussing bitcoin. "If individuals are prepared to spend $1,000 for digital money, there's definitely something more to this," went through my head.

Merchan went on to do further research on bitcoin, specifically focusing on its one-of-a-kind supply structure. "I found out that there was only going to be 21 million BTC ever in existence," she said. Because of this, I said to myself, "OK, if it's already at $1,000 and there's only ever going to be 21 million made in the world, that's going to be massive." "We've never actually seen a currency of any form have a constrained supply quantity," he adds. "We've never seen anything like that."

However, according to Merchan, the subsequent two years needed a great deal of patience. The bitcoin price remained mostly unchanged and didn't reach $1,000 again until 2017. Merchan did not feel comfortable informing his pals about his odd investment since he did not know what the future would hold.

"There wasn't a lot of curiosity about this cryptocurrency issue among the general public. The problem is that once you understand cryptography, you don't really want to introduce other people to it. I've seen some very horrific situations, such as people encouraging others to invest while they themselves lose all of their money.

2017: Bitcoin Breaks $1,000 and Kicks Off a Bull Run

After experiencing price swings of $100 to $900 over many years, bitcoin eventually crossed the $1,000 barrier again in January of 2017. The ecstatic bull run phase began as a result of this event. By midway through May, they had already reached $2,000, but by December, they had risen to well over $19,000.

In what seemed like a single night, he saw his original contributions, which he believes to have been less than $15,000 each, increase to the millions. Merchan had to readjust his lifestyle in response to the sudden increase in his net worth, but he did so while retaining a healthy degree of skepticism about his newly discovered source of money.

Merchan adds, "I'm a big believer that if it's not in cash, you don't really have that money because anything can drop drastically overnight in crypto." "I'm a big believer that if it's not in cash, you don't really have that money because in crypto, anything can drop quite As one investor put it, "if you have a million dollars in the bank (in crypto), you have to be extremely cautious because if your monthly costs continue to climb and the market drops 50%, now you really have to tighten your belt."

As it turns out, having a mentality similar to Merchan's, which is focused on the long term, will be required for Bitcoin's next phase.

2017 to 2019: More Ups and Downs

The cryptocurrency sector began to gain traction as a result of widespread media attention and the dramatic increase in bitcoin's price. While international politicians, governments, mathematicians, economists, computer professionals, and financial experts increasingly explored cryptocurrency regulation and mainstream acceptance, thousands of new altcoins were created.

During this time period, the price of Bitcoin mostly fluctuated in a sideways pattern, with a few brief periods of increased value. The highest point ever reached was roughly $17,527 in January of 2018. In December of 2018, the price dropped to a low of around $3,236.

Merchan recollects, "I went from having millions of dollars in crypto to having a couple of hundred thousand," while referring to his cryptocurrency holdings.

The price of one bitcoin was around $7,200 at the end of 2019.

2020: The Coronavirus Pandemic

The outbreak of the coronavirus caused the economy to shut down and stoked worries of inflationary pressure on the U.S. dollar, which caused the price of bitcoin to start climbing more quickly in the right direction. By the year's end, bitcoin's price had risen by more than 300 percent since January of 2020.The price at the end of the year was around $29,374, which was the most it had ever been.

2021 to Present

The value of Bitcoin more than doubled in 2021, but it saw a significant decline in January 2022 that wiped out virtually all of the gains it had made the year before. In the first half of 2021, the price of bitcoin skyrocketed to an all-time high of over $64,000. However, during the summer of that same year, the price fell back down to below $30,000. Bitcoin reached an all-time high of more than $68,000 in November, but by January 2022, it had dropped to less than $35,000.

Bitcoin came close to reaching $50,000 in March, but it was unable to do so and has been on a downward trend ever since, maintaining a price of about $20,000 throughout the summer. Bitcoin's performance in recent months has increasingly been correlated with that of the stock market, and as a result, Bitcoin has suffered alongside the stock market in the face of high inflation, rising interest rates, and reduced investor confidence.

Some industry watchers continue to predict that the price of a bitcoin will climb beyond $100,000, stating that it is more a question of when than if this will occur.

How High Will Bitcoin Go in the Future?

When bitcoin was at an all-time high in 2021, analysts predicted that it would reach a price of $100,000 within five years. However, they now believe that this milestone will not be reached until much later. They forecast an increase of $28,000 for the rest of the year 2022, and they anticipate a peak of $100,000 in the years 2023 and 2024. When we go even farther into the future, to the year 2030 and beyond, there is a broad variety of projections; some people believe that it may still be worth millions of dollars at some time in the future.

Predictions on Bitcoin's price, and the price of cryptocurrency in general, are mostly just educated guesses at this point. Therefore, financial advisers advocate just investing the amount of money in cryptocurrency that you can afford to lose. Or, you might just rest in the knowledge that if you invest in traditional low-cost index funds and ETFs, you could already be investing in cryptocurrency, although in a roundabout fashion. This is an alternative to the first option. Several well-known corporations, such as Tesla and Square, are either already investing in cryptocurrency or developing strategies to integrate blockchain technology into their company operations. For instance, the electronic signature provider DocuSign has been experimenting with integrating Ethereum for the purpose of creating more powerful smart contracts.

What Drives Bitcoin’s Price?

Bitcoin's high value may be attributed to the fact that there are only 21 million coins in circulation, but the number of people looking to buy them keeps growing. A number of people have also used the term "inflation hedge" to refer to it.

People working in a wide variety of businesses feel that blockchain technology, which is the foundation upon which cryptocurrencies are created, has the potential to revolutionize their respective fields and increase transparency.

According to Dave Abner, global director of business development at Gemini, one of the most well-known cryptocurrency exchanges, "[Bitcoin has] captivated the imagination of investors." He argues that institutional investors perceive a chance to engage in the bitcoin market since the amount of bitcoin that is now being purchased and traded is significant enough. Bitcoin's market valuation is currently about $900 billion.

What Do Investors Need to Know About Bitcoin?

To a greater extent than anything else, Abner urges users to determine what kind of investor they are and to only purchase bitcoin in a manner that is compatible with the long-term strategy they have developed. He uses the well-known value investor Warren Buffet as an example of someone who has decided not to participate in the cryptocurrency market because he feels it is inconsistent with his overall strategy. Buffet has opted not to participate in the cryptocurrency market.

"Fear of missing out" is what Abner refers to when he argues that individuals suffer from FOMO. "A lot of people start thinking, 'What am I missing?'"

Before you make an investment in cryptocurrency just because others are doing it, you should first take a look at your portfolio.

That's all for today, see ya tomorrow! If you want more, be sure to follow our Twitter (@croxroadnews)

DISCLAIMER: None of this is financial advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Please be careful and do your own research.

You May Also Like

• How To Mine Dogecoin: A Step-By-Step Guide

• Crypto Arbitrage: How It Works & Trading Strategies

• What Is a Crypto Fear and Greed Index?

• What Are Crypto Best Use Cases?

• What is the Bitcoin Halving?