Think about it. The year is 2010 and you are racking your brain about the perfect gift for your investor friend that “has everything.” You decide against trinkets, gift cards, engraved silver whatevers and wind up purchasing something called Bitcoin, launched into existence the year prior. You buy a single Bitcoin for $0.39, cheaper than a cup of coffee at the diner down the street where you and your friend meet every Thursday morning to talk shop. You present your gift and both have a laugh. The next year, you have another laugh, realizing your gift is now worth $1. But later that year (2011), the price bubbles up, bursting at around $31. This continues over the next few years, watching the price bounce between $2 and $1,042 up through 2016.
This week, you met your friend at the same diner you always do on Thursday mornings. This time, you again shared a laugh, remembering your $0.39 gift 7 years ago. With a single Bitcoin hovering around $16,500 today, your friend takes care of the bill.
Gifting a single Bitcoin this holiday season is going to set you back a lot more than $0.39. But hey, your friend is worth it, right?
Disclaimer: This post is in no way a solicitation to invest in Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies or anything else. It’s also not that great of gift advise … but it’s better than socks.
Tired of reading about Bitcoin? Why not watch this Bloomberg video that does a nice job covering where Bitcoin could be headed in 2018.
Historic Bitcoin prices cited in this post can be found here and here.