Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies surged in price over the last few years, leading to keen interest from institutional and everyday investors.

The price of Bitcoin is volatile, however, and for every story of investors who doubled or tripled their money, there are many with almost nothing.

If you purchased even a small amount of Bitcoin before the big price jump in 2017 and held on to it, your investment would have paid off handsomely.

This is especially true for those who were interested in the technology when it was launched – even if they had bought only a few rands worth of Bitcoin at the time.

To see the growth, we looked at what would happen to your cryptocurrency wealth if you purchased just R1 worth of Bitcoin in 2010, and how much it would be worth in rand today.

Rand values reflect the US dollar-rand exchange rates for each year.

2010 – R1

BTC = $0.003

Historical prices for Bitcoin at this time are difficult to find, but luckily, we have the famous Bitcoin Pizza Day to reference.

In 2010, Laszlo Hanyecz purchased two Papa John’s pizzas for 10,000 Bitcoins, valuing the cryptocurrency at $0.003 per token.

Based on the historical US dollar-rand exchange rate for 2010, if you purchased R1 worth of Bitcoin at this point, you would have 45.66 BTC to your name.

2011 – R92

A single Bitcoin was worth around $0.30 in January 2011.

The cryptocurrency’s price is on its way up, and at this point your investment is worth R92.

2012 – R1,879

A single Bitcoin was worth $5.10 in January 2012.

Public awareness of Bitcoin improved slightly in 2012, and regulated exchanges began to appear.

Your R1 investment is now worth R1,879.

2013 – R5,150

A single Bitcoin was worth around $13.30 in January 2013.

Bitcoin’s market cap reached $1 billion this year, and payment portals began to appear.

Your investment is now worth R5,150.

2014 – R376,050

Bitcoin was worth $771.15 in January 2014.

This year saw the first huge jump in the cryptocurrency’s value and resulted in much wider mainstream attention.

Your investment is now worth R376,050.

2015 – R165,929

Bitcoin was worth around $310.60 at the beginning of 2015.

The cryptocurrency saw a major price drop this year, largely attributed to the Mt. Gox hack.

Your investment is now worth R165,929.

2016 – R307,311

In January 2016, Bitcoin rallied back to $434.22 after dropping in 2015.

Bitcoin’s hash rate continued to improve and governments began to look at implementing blockchain technology.

Your investment is now worth R307,311.

2017 – R595,127

Bitcoin was worth $949.30 on 1 January 2017.

Your investment is now worth R595,127, and your ability to hold on to it is about to be tested by a major Bitcoin price spike.

2018 – R7,739,735

The price of Bitcoin was $13,670.60 at the beginning of 2018.

The previous year saw a popular frenzy around all varieties of cryptocurrency.

Your investment is now worth R7,739,735.

2019 – R2,456,920

Bitcoin’s price dropped down to $3,849 on 1 January 2019.

This followed a significant crash when the “crypto bubble” burst in 2018.

Your investment is now worth R2,456,920.

2020 – R4,685,616

By 1 January 2020, Bitcoin’s price had rallied to $7,242.04.

If you managed to hold your Bitcoin throughout the rollercoaster detailed above, the R1 you invested in 2010 would have been worth R4,685,616.

Now read: The Bitcoin exchanges to watch in 2020