Since Satoshi Nakamoto mined the first Bitcon block on Jan. 3, 2009, the crypto asset has led to substantial gains for investors given its meteoric rise in the last week alone.
The price of Bitcoin (BTC) reached parity with the U.S. dollar almost ten years ago today, a milestone lauded by many as another step towards adoption. With Bitcoin currently fluctuating between $32,000 and $34,000, however, the price of the cryptocurrency is now the same as that of a Model 3 Tesla, which retails for upwards of $30,000.
A #bitcoin now buys you a Tesla. So, when will you accept it, @elonmusk? pic.twitter.com/RONfVvH9i1
— Documenting Bitcoin (@DocumentBitcoin) January 3, 2021
Institutional players with millions to purchase Bitcoin are also gaining billionaire status only a few days into 2021. Business intelligence firm MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin bet from August and September is paying off well, with the original $425 million investment now worth more than $1.2 billion at the time of publication.
Assuming Tesla CEO Elon Musk is still HODLing his 0.25 BTC, the billionaire’s crypto portfolio is now worth roughly $8,100, with Bitcoin’s market capitalization closing in on the car manufacturer’s. According to data from AssetDash, Bitcoin is now the ninth largest asset by market cap at $611 billion behind e-commerce giant Alibaba and Tesla.
The 1,125,150 BTC connected to Satoshi Nakamoto, meanwhile, has been valued at much more than $1 billion for some time. However, the current bull run now makes the Bitcoin creator among the top 40 richest people in the world, with his holdings worth roughly $37 billion — just behind British businessman Len Blavatnik according to the Bloomberg billionaire index.
As the price of Bitcoin breaks new ground with each passing day, social media interest has likewise set new records. According to Josh Frank of The TIE, the total tweet volume about Bitcoin has passed that of the 2017 bull run to reach 140,000, with more than 70,000 unique Twitter handles posting about the crypto asset.
At the time of publication, the price of Bitcoin is $32,780, having risen 21% in the last 7 days. The cryptocurrency passed $34,700 to reach a new all-time high earlier today.
