Time and again I hear people complain that it used to be much easier to make money with Bitcoin. On January 3, 2009, the first fifty bitcoins were created. Anyone who bought ten bitcoins in August 2013, for example, only had to pay $1,000 back then. By October 2016, ten bitcoins already cost $9,000. Compared with today's value of $90,000, though, those purchases were real bargains. Investing in Bitcoin still makes sense today. Everyone has to decide for themselves, however, whether to treat bitcoins as a store of value like gold, or to trade the digital currency as a day trader in order to earn daily profits. Day trading has the drawback that you have to invest a lot of time to be successful.

What is the sensible way to do it?

Anyone who wants to buy bitcoins should buy small portions, so-called satoshis, at regular intervals. The advantage is that you can act relatively independently of big price swings and aren't hit as hard by them as someone who buys today at an unfavorable price and then spends a long time kicking themselves because, had they waited a few weeks, they would have paid much less for their shares. One way to invest in Bitcoin is to spend ten percent of your paycheck on bitcoins every time. There are various websites on the internet that reward viewers of ads with a few satoshis. There is also the option of taking part in cloud mining. The advantage is that you don't have to provide the computing power of your own computer to mine the cryptocurrency, but instead take part in mining it with a fixed amount.

investing in Bitcoin

What are the chances of price gains?

If you assume that cash is increasingly disappearing, then in the near future there will probably be either a state-run, centrally controlled digital currency or a decentralized cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin. With a centrally controlled currency, the government can see what I spend my money on. If I'm a journalist and write an online article against the government, I might draw its displeasure, and it would be possible for my account to be frozen for a certain time. I would have no way of receiving or sending money. That isn't a pleasant thought for me, which is why I prefer decentralized cryptocurrencies, which give me a certain freedom and the chance to be my own bank. The more people put their money into bitcoins and pay for goods with them, the higher the value of Bitcoin will be.