Here’s how much you’d have after a year.

The first time I bought cryptocurrency was in November 2017. It was a craze that I didn’t fully understand. I remember sitting at lunch with 8–10 friends talking about Ethereum, Bitcoin, and Litecoin.

I had no idea how any of it worked, but I remember looking at the price charts.

The price of one Bitcoin had gone from around $1,000 at the beginning of 2017 to over $10,000 by November. Ethereum had similarly impressive gains, moving from $10 per coin in January to $400 in November. Litecoin had gone from $4 to $70 per coin.

At that time, I didn’t have a ton of extra cash, and I didn’t understand crypto at all, so I bought around $50 of Ethereum and $25 of Litecoin. Bitcoin seemed too expensive for me.

After a month I forgot I had it.

Six months ago I figured out that I had made a Coinbase account and figured out how to log back in. I had around $120 from the $75 I invested 3 1/2 years ago.

I could’ve had a lot more if I continued investing in 2018, 2019, and 2020. But I don’t want to get stuck on coulda, woulda, shoulda’s.

I’d rather focus on the future and making smart investments.

Since crypto can still be volatile compared to stocks and bonds, the best thing you can do is spread out your investments and leave them alone. I have a friend that makes a lot of money day trading Bitcoin, but they also spend all day studying and making educated trades.

I would not recommend investing in something you don’t understand.

Spend 15-20 hours learning about crypto, the Blockchain, and Bitcoin before you open your wallet.

I decided to see how much you’d have if you bought $100 worth of Bitcoin every month for a year. $50 on the 1st and $50 on the 15th.

Since the price of Bitcoin moves up and down every day, this won’t be an exact number, but an accurate estimate. I’m getting these prices from Coinbase, and I’ll also include the $2 fee that Coinbase charges to buy Bitcoin with cash.

I’ll start with November 1st 2020 and go from there until October 15th 2021. You’d make a total of 24 investments and buy $1.200 worth of Bitcoin over a year:

November 1st 2020

1 BTC = $13,737.11

$48 of Bitcoin = 0.0034941 BTC

Total Bitcoin = 0.0034941 BTC

Total Invested = $50

Total worth = $48

November 15th 2020

1 BTC = $15,955.59

$48 of Bitcoin = 0.0030083 BTC

Total Bitcoin = 0.0065023 BTC

Total Invested = $100

Total worth = $103.75

December 1st 2020

1 BTC = $18,778.45

$48 of Bitcoin = 0.0025561 BTC

Total Bitcoin = 0.0090584 BTC

Total Invested = $150

Total worth = $170.10

December 15th 2020

1 BTC = 19,443.19

$48 of Bitcoin = 0.0024687 BTC

Total Bitcoin = 0.0115271 BTC

Total Invested = $200

Total worth = $224.12

January 1st 2021

1 BTC = $29,413.29

$48 of Bitcoin = 0.0016319 BTC

Total Bitcoin = 0.013159 BTC

Total Invested = $250

Total worth = $387.05

January 15th 2021

1 BTC = $36,754.60

$48 of Bitcoin = 0.0013059 BTC

Total Bitcoin = 0.0144649 BTC

Total Invested = $300

Total worth = $531.65

February 1st 2021

1 BTC = $33,534.39

$48 of Bitcoin = 0.0014313 BTC

Total Bitcoin = 0.0158962 BTC

Total Invested = $350

Total worth = $533.07

February 15th 2021

1 BTC = $47,935.66

$48 of Bitcoin = 0.0010013 BTC

Total Bitcoin = 0.0168975 BTC

Total Invested = $400

Total worth = $809.99

March 1st 2021

1 BTC = $49,635.30

$48 of Bitcoin = 0.000967 BTC

Total Bitcoin = 0.0178645 BTC

Total Invested = $450

Total worth = $886.71

March 15th 2021

1 BTC = 55,629.08

$48 of Bitcoin = 0.0008628 BTC

Total Bitcoin = 0.0187273 BTC

Total Invested = $500

Total worth = $1041.78

April 1st 2021

1 BTC = $58,726.47

$48 of Bitcoin = 0.0008173 BTC

Total Bitcoin = 0.0195446 BTC

Total Invested = $550

Total worth = $1147.78

April 15th 2021

1 BTC = $63,229.04

$48 of Bitcoin = 0.0007591 BTC

Total Bitcoin = 0.0203037 BTC

Total Invested = $600

Total worth = $1283.78

May 1st 2021

1 BTC = $57,859.28

$48 of Bitcoin = 0.0008296 BTC

Total Bitcoin = 0.0211333 BTC

Total Invested = $650

Total worth = $1222.75

May 15th 2021

1 BTC = $46,771.01

$48 of Bitcoin = 0.0010262 BTC

Total Bitcoin = 0.0221595 BTC

Total Invested = $700

Total worth = $1036.42

June 1st 2021

1 BTC = $36,684.99

$48 of Bitcoin = 0.0013084 BTC

Total Bitcoin = 0.0234679 BTC

Total Invested = $750

Total worth = $860.92

June 15th 2021

1 BTC = $40,158.06

$48 of Bitcoin = 0.0011952 BTC

Total Bitcoin = 0.0246631 BTC

Total Invested = $800

Total worth = $990.42

July 1st 2021

1 BTC = $33,510.93

$48 of Bitcoin = 0.0014323 BTC

Total Bitcoin = 0.0260954 BTC

Total Invested = $850

Total worth = $874.48

July 15th 2021

1 BTC = $31,872.49

$48 of Bitcoin = 0.001506 BTC

Total Bitcoin = 0.0276014 BTC

Total Invested = $900

Total worth = $879.72

August 1st 2021

1 BTC = $39,859.18

$48 of Bitcoin = 0.0012042 BTC

Total Bitcoin = 0.0288056 BTC

Total Invested = $950

Total worth = $1148.16

August 15th 2021

1 BTC = $47,014.38

$48 of Bitcoin = 0.0010209 BTC

Total Bitcoin = 0.0298265 BTC

Total Invested = $1,000

Total worth = $1402.27

September 1st 2021

1 BTC = $48,834.27

$48 of Bitcoin = 0.0009829 BTC

Total Bitcoin = 0.0308094 BTC

Total Invested = $1,050

Total worth = $1504.55

September 15th 2021

1 BTC = $48,144.03

$48 of Bitcoin = 0.000997 BTC

Total Bitcoin = 0.0318064 BTC

Total Invested = $1,100

Total worth = $1531.28

October 1st 2021

1 BTC = $48,165.76

$48 of Bitcoin = 0.0009966 BTC

Total Bitcoin = 0.032803 BTC

Total Invested = $1,150

Total worth = $1579.98

October 15th 2021

1 BTC = $61,690.32

$48 of Bitcoin = 0.0007781 BTC

Total Bitcoin = 0.0335811 BTC

Total Invested = $1,200

Total worth = $2071.63

What it’d be worth today

I’m writing this on November 19th, so if you left your $1,200 investment sit, it’d be worth about $1944. That’s a gain of $744, or a 62% increase, without taking a big risk.

Of course, the price of Bitcoin will continue moving up and down.

That’s why I believe continuous smaller investments are a safe way to grow. If you look back on the numbers, there was only one time where the total worth was less than the amount invested.

Of course, investing in anything involves some inherent risk. And again, I don’t recommend investing in anything you don’t have some understanding of.

I don’t invent any money in Bitcoin that I’m not willing to lose. If Bitcoin dropped to $0 tomorrow, I’d definitely be disappointed, but it wouldn’t ruin my life or my financial wellbeing.

I also believe the numbers above are good proof that the price of Bitcoin is going to continue trending upwards for the foreseeable future. Some months it will drop, but the overall trend is upwards.

If you want to begin buying some Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, I’d recommend using Coinbase. You can receive $10 of Bitcoin for free, set up recurring investments, and get other coins for free.

I’ve earned $41 of crypto through Coinbase Learn & Earn. Basically, you’ll watch some short videos or slideshows that teach you about different cryptocurrencies, and get $3–5 of the coin you learn about.