The beginning of cryptocurrency starts with the creation of Bitcoin. We had become used to banks and financial institutions but Bitcoin wanted to change that. The goal became to eliminate that middle man.
For investors of all backgrounds, the price of Bitcoin has become daily viewing. It has also become one of the most talked about investment types perhaps ever. Let’s take a brief look at the history of bitcoin, its rise, its fall, and where it stands today.
A history of volatility
Going back and taking a look at its creation can help investors get a better idea about Bitcoin. Its first valuation in 2010 saw each coin worth a mere $0.09. Within a year, prices rose drastically. The first crash would come in 2014, with some investors losing millions.
From there, the rises would continue. Investors were riding high in May 2017 when prices surged, Bitcoin topping out just a hair over the $20,000 mark. Before investors knew what happened, the price had dropped below $7,000. If that weren’t crazy enough,
Bitcoin would continue to see a resurgence, topping out at nearly $69,000 per coin by November 2021, falling nearly $20,000 by the next month. A peripheral look at the history of Bitcoin will show the massive rises and dips in the cryptocurrency.
Holding off the competition
As is the case with any new creation, Bitcoin did not remain the only option for long. There were pre-Bitcoin currencies that looked similar to cryptocurrency while having major differences. That said, Bitcoin became publicly known shortly after its creation in 2009 and remained the only option for two years.
Beginning in 2011, with the idea of encrypted, decentralized currencies beginning to catch on, alternative options began appearing. These are generally known as altcoins. Litecoin and Namecoin were among the first to emerge and it was mere trickles before the dam burst.
Today, cryptocurrencies are commonplace with more than 1,000 in circulation. New coins pop up all the time. Most of them disappear before they are even known to the average investor.
The future of Bitcoin
The future of Bitcoin has a mix of certainty and the unknown. Almost 15 years after its creation, Bitcoin isn’t going anywhere. There is also a growing trend of Bitcoin becoming a more viable source of payment as many retailers and banks are accepting it as a currency type.
There are even signs of the major financial players backing not only Bitcoin but cryptocurrencies in general. That backing by financial powers has been what was needed to stabilize Bitcoin and protect it from the precipitous falls and meteoric rises that it was once known for.
That said, the completely decentralized future that was envisioned with the creation of Bitcoin is not quite here yet. Prices will continue to be and flow and there is little question that Bitcoin will remain the preferred option for investors everywhere.
The price of Bitcoin today
The price of Bitcoin today (4/24) is $27,436. The price has come down nearly $3,000 in just a week’s time, illustrating the volatility of the investment. Within a given day, Bitcoin has shown the propensity to rise or fall rapidly in short order.
The price has remained somewhat steady in the last 30 days. It began at $27,466, hitting a peak of nearly $31,000 per coin at its peak. Since then, it has come back down to right where it began, or thereabouts. A good strategy for investing in Bitcoin is looking at the big picture instead of reacting with every rise and fall.
