How much you could have made if you invested in Bitcoin

The price of Bitcoin has broken through the $4,000 mark, reaching $4,200 on 13 August.

Local exchange Luno had the rand price of Bitcoin listed as R61,200 at the time of writing, which is a substantial increase since the start of 2017.

Even with the price of Bitcoin showing strong growth in recent years, however, many South Africans are hesitant to invest in the cryptocurrency.

There are many reasons for this, chief among which is the lack of regulation and non-involvement of governments and central banks.

Investment firm Citadel said the difficulty in evaluating Bitcoin as a traditional currency lies in its lack of central authority, domiciled area, or any linked economic fundamentals.

It said it will not, and cannot, invest in Bitcoin, and likened its rise in price to that of BlackBerry.

International investors are no different, with Bloomberg stating that even as investors are lured by the price gains of Bitcoin, the biggest institutions are reluctant to get involved – raising concerns about liquidity.

Huge growth

Whether you think Bitcoin is the best thing since touchscreen smartphones or would not touch it with a bargepole, there’s no denying its massive growth in value.

The table below shows how much you would have grown a R50,000 investment if you had put it in Bitcoin in recent years. Pricing is taken from CoinDesk.

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