If You Invested $100 In Bitcoin In 2010, You’d Be Worth $72 Million Now

By: Henry smith via viralthread.com

Unless you’re well-acquainted with the world of financial technology, there’s a fairly good chance you wouldn’t have heard of Bitcoin.

Launched in January 2009, Bitcoin is a special type of cryptocurrency, a currency that relies on cryptography; unlike most currencies that can be influenced by external factors, one of the key aspects of Bitcoin is that it’s completely decentralized, giving Bitcoin holders complete autonomy over their funds, and protecting against financial perils such as covert fees or identity theft.

So far, however, Bitcoin has failed to replace the conventional banking system. As a technological currency in its infancy, there are still many unaware of its existence, and there are still features that need to be ironed out before Bitcoin truly hits the mainstream.

Bitcoin isn’t quite accepted all over the world yet, but that doesn’t mean the cryptocurrency hasn’t skyrocketed in value since its conception. In fact, had you invested in Bitcoin back near the start, today, you might be in for quite a significant windfall.Back in 2010, the world saw its very first transaction with the use of Bitcoin.

May 22 marks the seven-year anniversary of Bitcoin Pizza Day, where Florida programmer Laszlo Hanyecz used Bitcoin to indirectly buy two pizzas from Papa John’s, which set him back 10,000bitcoins (BTC). In the intervening years, though, the currency has skyrocketed.

For that initial pizza order, Hanyecz calculated one bitcoin to be worth around 0.003 cents, but before long, the likes of Wikileaks, Zynga and even Dell were accepting Bitcoin as a viable currency. Today, data from CoinDesk showed that Bitcoin has risen remarkably in value, surpassing the $2,000 mark over the weekend and showing no signs of stopping.

At time of writing, one bitcoin is worth around $2,300.00; for reference, the price of gold, considered to be one of the most stable currencies, is only $1,253.60, and if the volatile Bitcoin can gain some stability, it may be able to rival the yellow metal as the de facto alternative currency. If you were invested in Bitcoin from the beginning, that risky investment will have now paid off quite handsomely.

On Bitcoin Pizza Day, Laszlo Hanyecz spent around $30 to have two pizzas ordered from Papa John’s, setting him back 10,000 BTC. If Hanyecz spent 10,000 BTC on pizzas today, those two cheesy pies would be worth a staggering $22.5 million. Additionally, if you had invested only $100 in Bitcoin back in May of 2010, you would now enjoy dividends of $75 million.Bitcoin’s newfound worth is down to a number of factors; in Japan, the currency has now been accepted as legal currency.

This development has boosted trading in yen, accounting for 40 percent of all bitcoin transactions. Political unrest all over the world has caused people to look for a safe and stable asset, and has driven the demand for Bitcoin in the process. Finally, a debate over the technology behind bitcoin (known as the blockchain) has been resolved; there were fears that the code could be used for a rival currency, but now, the community has come to a compromise.

Although the perfect time to buy bitcoins was probably seven years ago, there’s every chance that the currency will keep on rising; if you’d like to learn how to invest in Bitcoin, this handy tutorial will help you learn how to buy the digital currency.