Published date: 2021/06
Profit of 27% available if someone bought and sold bitcoin when public interest among Brits was at its highest
Investment of £1,000 would have returned £272 profit in three months
New research has revealed that if someone followed the British public’s interest when buying and selling bitcoin this year, they would have made a 27% profit – equivalent to £8,602.37 profit on one bitcoin, or £272.80 for someone who originally invested £1,000.
The analysis bymoney transfer experts RationalFX calculated what return someone could expect if they invested in the cryptocurrency when internet searches for “buy bitcoin” were at their highest, and then sold it when searches spiked for “sell bitcoin”.
Based on daily Google search trends for this year, searches for “buy bitcoin” compared to “sell bitcoin” were at their highest on Monday 8th February, when the price of one Bitcoin closed at $44,716.69 (£31,534.21).
This was the date that Tesla announced it had bought $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin, and that it would start accepting it as a payment method for its products.
Then on Wednesday 10th March, searches for “sell bitcoin” were at their highest compared to “buy bitcoin”, when the cryptocurrency closed at $56,915.17 (£40,136.58).
Therefore someone who chose to invest on the first date and sell on the second date would have made 27% profit. That equates to $12,198.49 (£8,602.37) profit for one full bitcoin, or £272.80 if someone had invested £1,000.
The study also found that lucky investors could have made even more money speculating on the cryptocurrency in 2021, if they happened to choose the right dates.
Bitcoin’s lowest point this year was $28,154.11 (£19,854.28) on Monday 4 January, while it reached its highest price on Thursday 15 April, when it went up to a high of $64,801.79 (£45,698.22).
As a result, if someone had bought and sold on those dates, they would have made a 130% profit of $36,647.68 (£25,843.94) in three months. For someone who invested £1,000, they would enjoy a profit of £1,300.
Conversely if someone had invested in bitcoin at its high point this year, and sold it on Thursday 20 May, when it dropped as low as $30,201.96, they would have suffered a 53% loss. That equates to losing $34,599.83 (£24,399.80) for one full bitcoin, or £530 for someone who originally invested £1,000.
Commenting on the study, a spokesperson for RationalFX said: “Excitement about cryptocurrencies continues to grow, and these figures show that plenty of people are following news about bitcoin closely. The potential profits can look very tempting, but the volatility of the price and the possible losses will put off plenty of would-be investors too.”
Bitcoin has been traded since 1 October 2013, and reached its lowest ever price of just $83 on 3 October 2013. If someone chose to invest in one bitcoin at that point, and then sold it at its highest ever price, of $64,801.79 on 15 April earlier this year, they would have made a 776% profit.
That equates to a profit of $64,718.45 (£45,950.10) on one bitcoin, or if someone had invested £1,000, they would have made a massive £776,668.15.
The research was carried out by RationalFX, which is one of Europe’s leading international payment providers, helping businesses and individuals to streamline their bank-to-bank transfers with smart global payment solutions.
Market-Ready or MVP? Our experience at Siege | The Financial Technologist
By Claude Goulet, CEO of Siege FX
The DEI Discussions #WomenofFinTech | Katharina Lueth, CCO & Managing Director at Raisin
By Laura Weeks
Use cases for a Digital Pound | The Financial Technologist
By Claire Conby, Operations and Governance Lead at Digital Pound Foundation