Bitcoin: returns since 2011

Bitcoin is the first and largest cryptocurrency, launched in 2009, with a supply capped at 21 million coins. It produces no cash flow and has no measurable intrinsic value, so its price is set by supply and demand alone. That is why its history holds both legendary multiples and drops of more than 80%.

Our closing-price series runs from September 2011, in U.S. dollars. Anyone asking "had I invested in bitcoin" gets the honest arithmetic here: the full multiple, and the worst drawdown along the way.

The supply schedule that caps bitcoin at 21 million coins also cuts the issuance rate in half about every four years, the "halving," and the 2012, 2016 and 2020 events each preceded a large run and a brutal pullback. The next chapter opened in January 2024, when U.S. regulators approved spot bitcoin ETFs and pensions, advisors and ordinary brokerage accounts could hold it without touching an exchange. Whether that wider access dampens the old boom-bust rhythm or simply scales it up is the open question the table below cannot yet answer.

Descriptive, educational content computed from official public data. Not investment advice. Past performance does not guarantee future results.