If You Bought $1 Worth of Bitcoin 5 Years Ago, Here's How Much You'd Have Today

Wondering why everyone in finance can't stop talking about Bitcoin? These numbers might clue you in.

Cryptocurrency is having a moment right now, and none is faring better than the OG crypto -- Bitcoin (BTC).

This digital currency has certainly seen its ups and downs over its short life. But the soaring growth it's currently experiencing has led to tremendous gains overall.

How much was BTC worth 5 years ago?

According to Coindesk historical data, the USD price of Bitcoin five years ago (on April 12, 2016) was $426.84 for one coin.

Thankfully, you can buy Bitcoin in fractions, so you don't have to fork over the full value of a coin.

If you bought $1 worth of the currency, you'd have 0.0023 BTC.

That doesn't sound like a lot -- until you do the math.

How much is BTC worth today?

The USD price of Bitcoin today (as of April 11, 2021) is $59,822.90 for one coin.

That's more than 140 times the price five years ago -- about 14,000% growth!

That little fraction of a coin doesn't sound so bad now, does it?

If you bought $1 of BTC 5 years ago, here's how much you'd have today

If you bought $1 worth of Bitcoin five years ago, you'd have $139.15 today.

That's not exactly something to call home about. But it is nearly all free money, which is worth celebrating no matter the amount.

Here's how much you'd have if you had invested more than a dollar.

• $100 five years ago would be worth $13,915 today.
• $1,000 five years ago would be worth $139,150 today.
• $5,000 five years ago would be worth $695,750 today.
• $10,000 five years ago would be worth nearly $1.4 million today -- enough to retire early in comfort.

Is Bitcoin a good investment now?

Like its successors in the cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin is booming right now. Its value is up 23x from a year ago and is almost constantly rising in value since spring of 2020.

Does that make it a good investment? Not necessarily.

Some investors made big bets years ago and earned millions of dollars in returns. But that was largely luck. Hoping to get rich quickly is never a good motivation for investing. No investment comes with guaranteed returns, and Bitcoin has seen more volatility than almost any other market.

More importantly, it's very young. Bitcoin has only existed since 2009.

We've seen unfathomable growth in the value of the currency over its life, but it has also experienced some devastating dips. The market doesn't have enough historical data to determine whether its overall growth will last long term.

That being said, Bitcoin remains a popular choice among investors. If you're planning on giving Bitcoin or any cryptocurrency a try, be safe. Only use money you can afford to lose.