Benzinga - Investors who bought leading cryptocurrency Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) years ago likely enjoyed a strong 2024 that saw the approval of Bitcoin ETFs and new all-time highs reached on several occasions in March.
A YouTuber begged people to put $1 into Bitcoin in a video shared on May 9, 2013. Here's a look back at the video and how much viewers could have made following his advice.
What Happened: YouTuber Davinci Jeremie launched several videos about Bitcoin prior to 2013, including those calling for viewers to buy $1 in Bitcoin.
His most famous video was one from May 9, 2013, titled "Bitcoin update – just buy $1 worth of bitcoin please!"
In the video, Jeremie told viewers Bitcoin "is more than just a payment system." The YouTuber praised Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto in the video and said the cryptocurrency could remain free and open and accomplish many things in the future.
"It is a freedom provider for the rest of humanity," Jeremie said.
Jeremie recognized many viewers were skeptical of Bitcoin, but he suggested investing a small amount of money and putting it into Bitcoin, then placing the investment aside for years.
"I suggest you take one fricking dollar, one dollar, buy some Bitcoins."
The YouTuber said it's just a dollar so if the investment goes to zero, you're not out much.
"It's just a dollar, get some Bitcoins."
Jeremie said he knew most viewers wouldn't take his advice.
"You're going to be thanking me."
Fast forward to 2024 and listening to Jeremie's advice could have netted huge returns for anyone who listened to his YouTube video.
Bitcoin traded between $109.60 and $115.78 on May 9, 2013, the date the video aired on YouTube, according to data from Statmuse.
Investing $1 at the time could have purchased 0.0086 Bitcoin based on the day's high price. Today that $1 investment would be worth $516.26 based on a price of $60,029.90 for Bitcoin at the time of writing.
This marks an incredible return of 51,526% over the past 11 years.
Investors who felt more risky and invested $1,000 could have turned their investment into $518,484.25 over the past 11 years.
Related Link: If You Bought $1 Worth Of Bitcoin At Launch, Here’s How Much You’d Have Today
Why It's Important: While it may be easy to look back at Jeremie's advice today and celebrate it at the time cryptocurrency was still considered a risky trade to many.
The key to Jeremie's video was the relative small investment amount he proposed. In the video description he mentioned buying Bitcoin "for the price of a lotto ticket" and holding it for 10 years.
The hypothetical investment illustrates how a small investment can grow over time. The small amount also shows the risk/reward profile illustrated by Jeremie who told viewers that if Bitcoin went to $0 they were only out the $1 they put into the cryptocurrency.
Jeremie has grown his following on YouTube to 519,000 subscribers thanks to his previous call on Bitcoin. The content creator also has over 600,000 followers on Instagram.
Benzinga recently wrote that Jeremie has been advocating for Shiba Inu (CRYPTO: SHIB) when asked by followers about the meme coin.
Read Next: If You Invested $1,000 In Bitcoin At The Last Bitcoin Halving, Here’s How Much You’d Have Today
Photo: Mc_Cloud via Shutterstock
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