Change bitcoin to aud

You may have heard success stories like the one about a man who bought $27 in bitcoin in 2009 and then found his purchase to be worth almost $900,000 a few years later. But, bitcoin’s value doesn’t always go up.

Imagine if you had bought a thousand bitcoins in late 2013 — when the cryptocurrency was worth more than $1,100 a pop — and then watched its value plummet below $200 in just over a year. Again, in late 2017, bitcoin peaked at nearly $20,000 before losing more than half of the value in the weeks that followed.

It’s tough to predict exactly how much bitcoin will be worth in the future. Let’s explore how bitcoin has grown over the years and where it might be headed.

What to consider before buying bitcoin

Bitcoin hit a new high of nearly $20,000 in mid-December 2017.

However, it’s a notoriously volatile currency, and it’s difficult to know what bitcoin will be worth even a week from now, let alone a year from now. To have a shot at predicting the price, you need to know how the cryptocurrency is bought and sold, and what factors affect the price of bitcoin.

However, there might be two factors to consider above all others.

First, only 21 million bitcoin will ever be created. Throughout 2017, the number of bitcoin in circulation increased from about 16 million to 17 million, but it will slow down as it gets closer to the 21 million limit. The final bitcoin isn’t due to be mined until the year 2140.

This finite supply and its popularity increasing more quickly than its availability is thought to keep prices increasing.

Second, it’s important to remember that bitcoin is now just one cryptocurrency among hundreds. Although it’s the most valuable, bitcoin’s overall cryptocurrency “market share” is declining. Competing cryptocurrencies can offer some features that bitcoin can’t, and many people think another currency will eventually overtake bitcoin.

Bitcoin mining: Is it worth mining bitcoin?

Many bitcoin proponents speculate that its limited supply will only increase the value of the cryptocurrency in the long run and is its greatest strength. But, critics say that this will be its undoing.

They point out that inherent scarcity is a useful way of controlling value but might be too impractical for bitcoin to ever become the standard global currency.

To judge for yourself whether it’s worth buying bitcoin, you may want to look at the history of its ups and downs to better understand the factors affecting its value.

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