Bitcoin in 2021: $29,374.15 Per Coin
Bitcoin started 2021 already at $29,000 and was heading to $69,000 by November. Tesla bought $1.5 billion in BTC. El Salvador made it legal tender. Inflation started showing up in grocery bills and gas prices. The Fed kept saying it was transitory. Retail investors flooded into crypto, NFTs, and meme stocks.
On January 1, 2021, one Bitcoin cost $29,374.15. At today's price of $73,071, that represents a 2x return. Here is what different investments would be worth.
The Math: $100, $500, and $1,000 Invested
$100 invested would have bought 0.0034 BTC, worth $249 today.
$500 invested would have bought 0.0170 BTC, worth $1,244 today.
$1,000 invested would have bought 0.0340 BTC, worth $2,488 today.
BTC price then: $29,374.15
BTC price now: $73,071
Return multiple: 2x
What This Actually Means for You
A 2.5x return in 5 years is solid, especially compared to a savings account losing purchasing power to inflation every year. But the real insight is not about this specific entry point. It is about the trajectory. Bitcoin has been the best-performing asset of the last 15 years, and its fundamental properties — fixed supply, decentralization, censorship resistance — have not changed.
The strategy that works is dollar cost averaging. Buy a fixed amount regularly. Do not try to time the market. Every four-year DCA window in Bitcoin's history has been profitable. Even people who bought near previous all-time highs and kept buying ended up well ahead.
Want to protect your savings from inflation? Bitcoin's fixed supply of 21 million coins means no central bank can dilute your holdings. That alone makes it worth understanding.
Run Your Own Numbers
Want to see what a custom amount would be worth? Use the What If calculator to plug in any amount and any date. Or try the DCA calculator to see what regular weekly or monthly purchases would have grown to. If you are new to all of this, start here.