Bitcoin has been rebounding from its recent lows and has just hit $71,000

Bitcoin has climbed back up to $71,000 this week, after a few turbulent weeks for the cryptocurrency. 

It was invented in 2008 after someone using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto published a white paper. 

The cryptocurrency has a built-in limit of 21 million coins, with more than 90 percent of that already mined.  

When it was launched, Bitcoin – or BTC – was virtually worthless, but since then it’s enjoyed a wild ride when it comes to value. 

Click the star icon next to supercarblondie.com in Google Search to stay ahead of the curve on the latest and greatest supercars, hypercars, and ground-breaking technology

Bitcoin has hit some wild highs and lows over the years

Last year, Bitcoin hit record highs, first smashing through $100,000 for the first time, and then seeing that rise even further to $125,000 in the fall. 

But this year has been a bit of a bumpier ride for the crypto coin.

It started the new year trading at around $90,000 and held pretty steady until early February, when it slumped to $62,000. 

Since then, it’s largely sat between $64,000 and $69,000. 

However, last week it finally rose above $71,000 and then onto $74,000. 

These volatile rises and falls have been a feature throughout Bitcoin’s life, but it’s still a solid investment. 

“Bitcoin is 15-16 years in existence and over any rolling period Bitcoin has outperformed every asset class,” Fundstrat’s Tom Lee said during the recent Future Proof conference. 

“You’ve never lost money holding Bitcoin for three years.”

A report for Bloomberg noted that behind the BTC price rises and falls, there’s another clear trend coming through: Wall Street is ‘building around crypto regardless’. 

The report claimed that big financial companies have been building their systems around cryptocurrency, even when it’s not performing very well. 

Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken recently got a master account at the Federal Reserve, making it the first digital-asset firm to do so, which will allow the company direct access to the US banking payment system.

Meanwhile, US regulators, including the SEC and CFTC, have both submitted new frameworks that will make crypto rules clearer.

Here’s how much you’d have today if you invested $100 in BTC in 2010

While Bitcoin has failed to hit the same highs as last year, it’s still been a very smart investment for some. 

Erik Finman became a millionaire at 18 after investing $1,000 when he was just 12 years old, while another early investor saw a staggering 31,250 percent return on his $5,000 investment. 

So how much could you have made?

Well, if you had invested $100 in October 2010, when it was around $0.10 per coin, you’d have nabbed yourself 1,000BTC. 

At today’s current valuation, that $100 would now be worth $69,938,960. 

If only we’d have all listened to the guy who urged us to invest, right?