If I'd invested in Bitcoin since 2012
$1,000 put into Bitcoin at the end of 2012 would be worth about $4,789,442 today — a 4,789× return, or roughly 88.1% a year. Change the amount below to run your own number.
You'd have
$4,789,442
from $1,000 invested — up 478844%.
The story behind the number
Bitcoin since 2012 has been a white-knuckle rollercoaster. $1,000 put in at the end of 2012 grew to $4,789,442 — a 4,789× return, or about 88.1% a year. That beat the S&P 500, which turned the same $1,000 into $5,209 — you'd have come out roughly 920× ahead of simply buying the index.
The ride mattered as much as the destination. The strongest single year was 2013, up 5506%; the worst was 2014, down 49%.
Holding on took nerve: the position fell as much as 76% from its 2017 peak to its 2019 low, before climbing back above that high by 2020. Inflation takes a bite, too — consumer prices rose about 44% over the period, so in today's money the result is closer to 3,316× what you put in.
Common questions
- How much would I have if I'd invested $1,000 in Bitcoin in 2012?
- $1,000 invested in Bitcoin at the end of 2012 would be worth about $4,789,442 today — a 4,789× return, or roughly 88.1% per year.
- What were the best and worst years for Bitcoin since 2012?
- The best year was 2013, up about 5506%. The toughest was 2014, when it fell about 49%. Across the window, 64 of 143 years finished lower than they started.
- What was the biggest drop along the way?
- The steepest decline was about 76%, from a peak in 2017 to a low in 2019, with the value recovering above its prior high by 2020.
- Would I have done better in S&P 500?
- No — the S&P 500 turned $1,000 into about $5,209 over the same window, while Bitcoin reached $4,789,442. Bitcoin came out ahead.
The chart above shows the whole journey, not just the destination. Try switching to a bit each year to see how spreading your buying would have changed the outcome — or skip the latte to find out what a small daily habit could have grown into instead.
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