Bill Gates is not a believer in Bitcoin and does not own any cryptocurrency. He has long been a skeptic, describing it as a speculative asset based on the "greater fool theory". Gates believes Bitcoin is wasteful due to energy consumption, anonymous, and volatile, urging average investors to avoid it.
Bill Gates has made it clear—he's not a fan of cryptocurrency. And he's not just skeptical; he flat-out thinks it has no value. "None," he told The New York Times in a January interview. That's a pretty bold stance coming from one of the most successful tech minds in history.
Despite this, Musk never entirely abandoned Bitcoin. He has repeatedly described himself as a supporter of “crypto in principle”, often distinguishing between its technological merits and its environmental footprint.
Ricardo Benjamín Salinas Pliego, a billionaire from Mexico and one of the three richest people in the country, has put 70% of his wealth in bitcoin.
Key Takeaways. The IRS treats cryptocurrency as property, meaning that when you buy, sell or exchange it, this counts as a taxable event and typically results in either a capital gain or loss. When you earn income from cryptocurrency activities, this is taxed as ordinary income.
In American president Donald Trump's first term, he had opposed cryptocurrency, calling it "not money" and "based on thin air". He had told Fox Business in 2021 that Bitcoin "seems like a scam" to compete with the U.S. dollar. In his second presidency, Trump campaigned for digital assets.
Meta $META (META) co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg is ambitious about experimenting with cryptocurrency. His company once ventured into cryptocurrency development with a project called Diem, initially known as Libra.
A programmer named Laszlo Hanyecz famously bought two pizzas with 10,000 Bitcoin on May 22, 2010, marking the first real-world commercial use of the cryptocurrency, a day now celebrated as "Bitcoin Pizza Day". At the time, the Bitcoin were worth around $41, but today that amount would be worth hundreds of millions, making it arguably the most expensive pizza purchase ever, though Hanyecz has stated he has no regrets, as it demonstrated Bitcoin's utility.
About 480–500 million people now own Bitcoin globally. Fewer than 1 million wallets hold 1 BTC or more. Around 150,000 wallets hold 10 BTC or more. Owning 0.1 BTC already puts you in the top 10% of Bitcoin holders.
A $1,000 Bitcoin purchase on Aug. 20, 2020, would be worth roughly $9,784 five years later. The bull run included a roughly 75% drawdown by the end of 2022 -- followed by another strong rebound. Bitcoin may trend higher from here, but risks remain, and there may be sharp price corrections.
Bitcoin price prediction by 2040
Based on your prediction that Bitcoin will change at a rate of 5% every year, the price of Bitcoin would be $97,556.55 in 2027, $118,580.60 in 2031, $151,342.23 in 2036, and $193,155.30 in 2041.
Bitcoin is a risky investment with obvious high volatility, and generally should be considered only if you have a high risk tolerance, are in a strong financial position already and can afford to lose some or all of your investment.
Despite extreme volatility, Bitcoin's price has skyrocketed 1,060% in the past five years as I write this. This monster gain would've turned a $10,000 initial capital outlay in October 2020 to a whopping $115,700 on Oct. 6.
The New Liberty Standard Exchange recorded the first exchange of Bitcoin for dollars in late 2009. Users on the BitcoinTalk forum traded 5,050 bitcoins for $5.02 via PayPal, making the first price mediated through an exchange a bargain basement price of $0.00099 per bitcoin.
Government incentives and financial stability concerns mean cryptocurrencies are not going to replace fiat currencies in the vast majority of countries despite their growing popularity, even if stablecoins will create greater competition for traditional currencies in countries characterized by monetary instability.