Bitcoin (BTC 4.02%) currently carries a market cap of $2.2 trillion. This helps it rival the valuation of some of the largest and most dominant businesses on the face of the planet. Getting to this point has been the direct result of this digital asset's price skyrocketing historically.
But where will this leading cryptocurrency's price be in 2030?
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Expect the gains to continue
I wouldn't be shocked if Bitcoin's price reaches $500,000 per coin in five years. This would be a much lower return than the 973% gain posted since early September 2020 (as of Sept. 2). Rising 349% from today's price of $111,4000 over a five-year stretch translates to an annualized return of 35%. This outcome would be fantastic, and it would almost certainly outpace the stock market.
Despite rising confidence that Bitcoin's price will be markedly higher five years from now, investors shouldn't expect the same gains from the past to repeat themselves going forward. Bitcoin is maturing, which means the remaining upside will start to diminish over time. Nonetheless, Bitcoin investors should still be bullish.
Scarcity matters
One of the main reasons to believe that Bitcoin's price can get to $500,000 is because of its scarcity. There will only ever be 21 million units of Bitcoin in circulation, as its inflation rate is enforced by a halving event that occurs roughly every four years. Unless all stakeholders, including nodes, miners, users, and developers, as well as the expanding infrastructure that supports Bitcoin, want to undermine the network's value, this hard supply cap won't be altered.
In a world that's characterized by ever-increasing amounts of government debt and supply of fiat currencies, investors will continue to gravitate toward a decentralized and digital asset whose supply can't be influenced by those in power.
