Bitcoin is volatile, but its ability to store value over the long term is what counts..In 2011, I had a conversation with a potential bitcoin buyer. Bitcoin had just spiked from $1.00 to $14.00 – its biggest increase. He decided not to invest. He was sure bitcoin had reached its peak. .“I can’t believe I missed it,” he said. A couple months later, when bitcoin had crashed to $3, I met someone else who said that they couldn’t believe that it was dead. .Back then, it was hard for anyone to imagine bitcoin reaching $1,000 in value. But, as I write this today, 1 bitcoin is worth roughly CDN$43,000 after crashing from an all-time high of around $81,000 earlier this year..Because bitcoin prices are so volatile, it’s easy for many would-be buyers to fall into a 2011 mindset, wondering if it’s too late to invest and, ultimately, pass on bitcoin..You have not missed the bitcoin boat..In fact, I believe there’s never a bad time to buy as much bitcoin as you can afford. And you don’t need to be a millionaire to invest; you can buy a fraction of a bitcoin today and add to your holdings every month, much like you would contribute to a savings account..Because, as I shared previously, cash is not king when it comes to saving money..The point of money is to take the value you’ve created with your time, labour, and capital, and store it to use at another time and place. But cash is terrible at storing value, for one simple reason: governments print more dollars all the time and end up destroying their value..It’s a huge problem in Canada. On April 22, MP Pierre Poilievre tweeted that our central bank has bought $302 billion of the $354 billion in new of the new federal debt taken on since 2020, pointing to the government’s penchant for “paying bills with printed cash”..Money printing is out of control in this country. We need to go back to the principles of sound money – and bitcoin is the obvious answer..Though you can trade bitcoin in any country in the world, it’s not controlled or manipulated by any one government. And key to retaining its value; it’s scarce. There will only ever be 21 million bitcoins and, with only 3 million left to be issued over the next 120 years or so, there will not be a meaningful influx to the market again..That’s not to say bitcoin prices will be smooth and steady..There’s a good chance bitcoin will crash hard in the next 18 months. One of the currency’s biggest strengths – its lack of regulation – is also one of its thorns, in that it’s prone to wild fluctuations. The price could rise to $300,000 and then crash at $100,000. We just don’t know. But investing in bitcoin is still your safest bet if you want to store value over the long term. I cannot stress “long term” enough..If you’re looking to buy bitcoin and sell it in six months or a year, you’re taking a gamble you may not win. The whole point of bitcoin is not to make a small profit – it’s to protect against the government eroding the value of your wealth..However, if you’re willing to store your wealth in bitcoin and wait five years, it’s unlikely you will lose. I’m confident saying that because there’s never been a time in the history of bitcoin that you couldn’t put money in, wait five years and be massively up in value relative to Canadian or American dollars. .Many supporters of government fiat currency will say you should not invest more than you can afford to lose, be it in bitcoin or anything else. But I look at the opportunity differently..Personally, I only leave in dollars what I can afford to lose..Between the money-printing and excessive inflation we’re seeing in Canada, our dollars are losing value every minute of every day. That’s why CEOs of major companies around the world, including MicroStrategy, Tesla and Square, are replacing cash with bitcoin on their balance sheets. By holding the world’s leading cryptocurrency, they’ve found a better way to generate long-term returns and hedge against inflation..Even compared to gold, bitcoin wins..In a recent interview with Stansberry Research, hit television show Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary praised bitcoin’s ability to store value..“Clearly, if you’re looking for a hedge against inflation or against fiat currency risk, which is now becoming a concern globally because of all the printing presses going on in Europe and the U.S., the thing to have held for the last 24 months has not been gold, it’s been bitcoin.”.The coming months and years will be no different. Whether companies, forward-looking governments or individuals buy bitcoin and wait, I believe they’ll inevitably do better than any other investing strategy they could possibly choose..Rest assured, the bitcoin boat has room for plenty of us, and despite what some might think, it hasn’t passed us, yet..Guest Column from Dave Bradley, Chief Revenue Officer at Bitcoin Well.@bitcoinbrains.Sponsored by Bitcoin Well
