What is the Bitcoin price today?
The price of Bitcoin, or 1 BTC, was $62,633.18 at 8:00 a.m. ET. The highest intraday price the original cryptocurrency reached in the past year was $73,835.57 on March 14, 2024.
Bitcoin price chart
The chart above retrieves data daily as of 8 a.m. ET and does not show any intraday highs or lows.
Bitcoin prices
*Yield comparisons are as of 8:00 a.m. ET.
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Bitcoin's all-time high was reached on March 14, 2024 and was $73,835.57 per Bitcoin. The lowest intraday price the cryptocurrency traded at over the past year was $24,780.17 on June 15, 2023. The original cryptocurrency is up 106.09% year-on-year.
BTC had very humble beginnings when it was introduced in January 2009. Fifteen years later, the world's first cryptocurrency has completely transformed global financial markets, amassing a global market capitalization of $1.24 trillion.
The cryptocurrency is also becoming a popular alternative to government-backed fiat currencies like the US dollar, which tend to lose value over time due to inflation.
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What is Bitcoin?
Bitcoin runs on a pioneering blockchain-based network operated by a group of global users. It allows anyone with internet access anywhere in the world to conduct financial transactions that completely bypass banks or other financial or government intermediaries.
Bitcoin's security system is based on its cryptography. All Bitcoin transactions are validated by miners who use high-performance computers to solve complex mathematical puzzles and create new blocks of verified transactions on the blockchain.
In the 15 years since Bitcoin's launch, it has inspired thousands of other cryptocurrencies. While many other cryptos have become enormously successful, Bitcoin remains the most valuable and popular cryptocurrency worldwide.
What determines the price of Bitcoin?
Because Bitcoin does not represent ownership of any tangible assets and does not generate income, revenue or cash flow, the price of Bitcoin is determined solely by supply and demand.
The Bitcoin network automatically releases new Bitcoins to miners every time they verify and add a new block of transactions to the blockchain. The total supply of Bitcoin is capped at 21 million BTC.
Given Bitcoin's fixed supply, demand is the most important variable that determines its price. This demand fluctuates largely based on investor sentiment.
The starting price of Bitcoin
The first recorded Bitcoin price came in late 2009, when users on the online forum BitcoinTalk exchanged 5,050 BTC for $5.02 via PayPal. The value of this transaction was about $0.00099 per BTC, or about a tenth of a cent.
Bitcoin halving dates
Every time 210,000 transaction blocks are added to the Bitcoin blockchain, the network automatically goes through a process called halving.
Bitcoin miners receive a set amount of BTC as a reward for their services to validate a block. But this reward is halved every time there is a halving. In other words, every four years or so, Bitcoin miners receive a 50% pay cut.
The Bitcoin halving is important to limit the supply of Bitcoin and theoretically support its price.
The next halving is expected in April 2024, when the block reward price will drop from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC.
Does Bitcoin Halving Increase the Price of BTC?
Since Bitcoin halvings reduce the supply of new BTC, they would theoretically be good for Bitcoin prices.
However, a halving does not directly impact the Bitcoin price. So it is not a guaranteed bullish catalyst. Historically, Bitcoin prices hit a cyclical bottom about a year before the halving, and then BTC prices continue to rise more than a year after the halving.
A History of Bitcoin Prices
The first online Bitcoin exchanges emerged in 2010. The price per coin rose from the $1 threshold in 2011.
From then on, BTC prices continued to rise, reaching the $1,000 mark at the end of 2013. Four years later, its popularity and trading volume skyrocketed.
In November 2017, Bitcoin hit $10,000 and peaked at over $20,000 about a month later. The rally was fueled in part by CME Group's announcement that it would launch the first Bitcoin futures contracts in December 2017.
Enthusiasm for the original cryptocurrency waned in 2018 when BTC prices fell below $4,000.
The next notable Bitcoin boom occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. This time, BTC's rise was fueled in part by government closures of sports facilities, casinos, and other leisure and entertainment venues, as well as multiple rounds of government stimulus packages Additional income provided many Americans with disposable income.
But rising interest rates dampened investor enthusiasm in 2022 and led to a move away from riskier assets like cryptocurrencies.
Falling crypto prices in 2022 highlighted excessive leverage among crypto lenders, hedge funds and exchanges. A series of layoffs and bankruptcies in the crypto industry weighed on Bitcoin prices in 2022.
However, it didn't take long for the original cryptocurrency to start recovering. Bitcoin's rally continued into 2023 this year. Investors are more optimistic about the US economic outlook and the potential to invest in several spot Bitcoin ETFs.
On March 14, 2024, Bitcoin reached an all-time intraday high of $73,835.57.
How to buy Bitcoin
Investors can buy Bitcoin on popular cryptocurrency exchanges such as Binance, Coinbase and Kraken.
Any investor who purchases Bitcoin directly must store their BTC in a wallet. It is similar to storing paper money in a physical wallet. In this case, Bitcoin investors store the privacy keys required to send or receive cryptocurrencies in the wallet.
Bitcoin wallets can be hardware wallets similar to USB sticks or software wallet apps that store BTC on a smartphone or other device.
Hot wallets are Bitcoin wallets that are connected to the internet. In contrast, cold wallets are not connected to the internet. Hot wallets are considered more convenient than cold wallets, but are riskier due to online access.
Read more: How to buy Bitcoin
Bitcoin ETFs
In addition to buying Bitcoin directly, investors can also indirectly speculate in the Bitcoin market through Bitcoin funds.
In January 2024, the SEC also approved several Bitcoin spot ETFs. These funds hold the cryptocurrency instead of crypto futures contracts and are traded on major US exchanges.
The approval of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds represents a resounding institutional endorsement of the cryptocurrency and marks a departure from its original reputation as a speculative and volatile asset.
The leading Bitcoin spot ETFs include Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), VanEck Bitcoin Trust (HODL), and Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC).
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What does BTC mean?
BTC is the unique ticker symbol for Bitcoin. It allows traders to easily identify the cryptocurrency in an exchange's system and distinguish it from other cryptocurrencies or products. One Bitcoin is equal to 1 BTC.
How much is 1BTC?
One BTC is equivalent to one Bitcoin with a current value of $62,633.18. While global central banks often increase the supply of fiat currencies such as the US dollar, the supply of Bitcoin is capped at 21 million BTC.
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