Since its inception in 2009, bitcoin, the world’s oldest cryptocurrency, has attracted the attention of fans, investors, scammers, and, more recently, regulators.
For many of its acolytes, it’s not just a new form of currency but a groundbreaking technology that introduced the world to the concept of decentralisation and established the bedrock for an entirely new type of economy— the cryptocurrency market. For others, it was a way to make a quick buck, and while some of these early investors did manage to join the coterie of bitcoin millionaires, many more lost hundreds or even thousands of dollars trying to predict its price movements
Bitcoin, known for its volatility, has been the subject of many price predictions that sometimes seem quite extreme.
Some of the industry’s most prominent figures have offered predictions that underscore Bitcoin’s potential. Notably, Cathie Wood, CEO of Ark Invest, predicted that bitcoin could reach an astounding $1.48 million by 2030. Senior Analyst Nicholas Sciberras from Collective Shift points out that this prediction reflects bitcoin’s meteoric rise.
“One of the biggest bulls, Cathie Wood of Ark Invest, believes bitcoin is heading not just to $1 million but to $1.48 million by 2030. It’s difficult to put any price target out there, as the sky could become the limit depending on the level of adoption and external factors in the market.”
Bitcoin has indeed come a long way since its first recorded price when it was worth less than a cent. One bitcoin is now worth roughly $45,000. The idea that bitcoin could one day be worth a million dollars per unit, as Sciberras points out, “really shows how far we’ve come”. However, bitcoin’s journey is far from over, and while meteoric highs are possible, so too are catastrophic lows.
Bitcoin’s Price History
Bitcoin’s journey from being a virtually unknown digital asset to the most valuable crypto coin by market capitalisation has been nothing short of spectacular. It all started in 2009, with the release of the Bitcoin white paper by the pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto. Back then, bitcoin was valued at less than a cent, a far cry from the heights it would later achieve.
The early years of bitcoin were marked by steady growth, punctuated by periods of rapid price appreciation, known as ‘bull runs’. However, there were also periods of uncertainty, as Sciberras points out. “During 2014-17 we saw many bitcoin ‘forks’ proposed that split the bitcoin community.” Hard forks are changes to the underlying ‘rules of the game’.
These forks represented crucial junctures in bitcoin’s history, with various factions in the community attempting to change Bitcoin’s direction. Despite contentious debates, bitcoin has persisted in its current format. As Sciberras explains: “Bitcoin surviving these attempts to change it is a core contributor to where BTC is now, increasing its confidence and resilience. It has weathered many storms and attempts to change it, with Bitcoin forks now a distant memory, combining for less than 1% of bitcoin’s total market cap.”
