If You'd Invested $500 in Bitcoin 5 Years Ago, Here's How Much You'd Have Today

Key Points

• Bitcoin has been more than a 10-bagger over the past five years.

• There have been some big catalysts, such as the emergence of Bitcoin ETFs.

• The environment has become much more supportive of cryptocurrency growth.

• 10 stocks we like better than Bitcoin ›

I won't keep you in suspense. If you had invested $500 in Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) five years ago, you'd have about $5,238 today. In other words, you would have more than 10x returns.

Image source: Getty Images.

Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue »

There are some very good reasons why it has been a particularly strong five-year period for the leading digital currency, including but not limited to:

• Bitcoin is easier than ever to invest in. Not only have cryptocurrency exchanges grown and become generally safer, but new ones have emerged and there are more places to buy Bitcoin, such as PayPal and Block's Cash App.
• Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) finally gained regulatory approval, further improving access for both retail and institutional investors. The popular iShares Bitcoin Trust is one major example.
• In more recent history (since the election), the regulatory environment has become much more crypto-friendly. For example, it was recently clarified that banks can serve as cryptocurrency custodians.
• The stock market has been rather turbulent for much of the last five years, including the 2021 speculative asset boom and 2022 bear market, and this led many investors to seek other stores of value.

This is not an exhaustive list. The key takeaway is that Bitcoin's popularity has continued to grow -- especially among institutional investors -- and the regulatory environment is becoming much more accommodating.

Should you invest $1,000 in Bitcoin right now?

Before you buy stock in Bitcoin, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Bitcoin wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $657,110!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,093,751!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 1,064% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 190% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of September 22, 2025

Matt Frankel has positions in Block and PayPal. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin, Block, and PayPal. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2027 $42.50 calls on PayPal and short September 2025 $77.50 calls on PayPal. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.