Key Points
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In eight of the past 10 years, Bitcoin has been the top-performing asset in the world.
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Bitcoin now has support from financial institutions, Wall Street banks, and big institutional investors.
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Bitcoin could hit a price of $1 million by the year 2030.
When it comes to investing in cryptocurrencies, not many people think of adopting a long-term buy-and-hold strategy. After all, coins can soar and collapse in value in very short periods of time, volatility is extremely high, and short-term momentum seems to be the only thing that matters.
However, there’s one cryptocurrency that you can safely buy and hold for decades. Yes, I’m talking about Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC).
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Strong historical track record
Let’s start with Bitcoin’s unmatched track record of success. In eight of the past 10 years, it has been the top-performing asset in the world. And, in many years, it hasn’t even been close. In 2024, for example, Bitcoin gained 125%. The year before that, Bitcoin returned 157%.
Triple-digit percentage returns are apparently the norm rather than the exception. That’s why Bitcoin’s performance in 2025, in which it is up less than 20% for the year, seems to be a major disappointment. As soon as Bitcoin hit the $100,000 price level last December, many investors expected it to double in value within a 12-month period. Yet, with just two months left in the year, Bitcoin is still trading for just $113,000.
Dazzling future prospects
Admittedly, past performance is no guarantee of future results. So it would be asking a lot for Bitcoin to deliver the same kind of performance during the next decade that it delivered during the past decade.
Image source: Getty Images.
Nevertheless, many investors expect Bitcoin to hit the $1 million mark by the year 2030. Brian Armstrong, chief executive officer of of Coinbase Global, thinks Bitcoin is going to $1 million. Jack Dorsey, the co-founder and head of Block, thinks Bitcoin is going to $1 million. Cathie Wood of Ark Invest thinks Bitcoin is going to $1 million. And Eric Trump, son of President Donald Trump, thinks “there is no question” that Bitcoin is going to $1 million.
Even more incredibly, a price tag of $1 million may be significantly undervaluing Bitcoin. According to Michael Saylor, founder and executive chairman of Strategy, Bitcoin is going to hit a price of $21 million within the next 21 years.
Strong institutional support for Bitcoin
In the past, predictions like these would have been best taken with a grain of salt. But here’s the thing — financial institutions and Wall Street banks are now embracing crypto at an unprecedented rate. As the pace of institutional adoption builds, Bitcoin seemingly has no place to go but up.
In some cases, even veteran Bitcoin doubters are embracing crypto. For example, Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, has been a longtime skeptic of Bitcoin. But in October, JPMorgan Chase announced that it would soon be accepting Bitcoin as collateral for some loans. Trump, too, used to be a Bitcoin skeptic, and now he wants to transform the U.S. into a Bitcoin superpower.
At the same time, Bitcoin treasury companies — companies that do nothing but buy and hoard Bitcoin — are now accumulating the world’s most popular cryptocurrency at an unprecedented pace. Strategy, for example, now holds 640,808 coins on its balance sheet. That’s equivalent to 3% of all Bitcoin in circulation.
Bitcoin’s cyclical nature
Yet, it’s important to point out one fundamental feature of Bitcoin that many investors would like to ignore: It is a highly volatile asset that tends to move in four-year cycles. Roughly speaking, three out of every four years are boom years. The other year? It’s typically a bust.
For example, Bitcoin lost 64% of its value in 2022, 74% of its value in 2018, and 58% of its value in 2014. Major declines seem to happen every four years. This is most likely due to the Bitcoin halving, which takes place every four years and reduces the rate of supply growth by half.
And that’s what makes me a bit nervous right now. If the four-year Bitcoin halving cycle hypothesis is correct, then Bitcoin is due for a major retreat soon. It’s quite possible that Bitcoin could once again lose 50%, 60%, or even 70% of its value in 2026 (which would be heading into the final year of the four-year cycle). Peter Schiff, a longtime Bitcoin bear, thinks it is eventually going to zero.
So, if you are thinking about investing in Bitcoin for the long haul, you need to be prepared to buy and hold through extreme volatility and bone-rattling nosedives that occur with alarming regularity. In short, you need to have diamond hands. Buy Bitcoin and never let go. It might just be the best long-term investment you ever make.
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JPMorgan Chase is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Dominic Basulto has positions in Bitcoin. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin, Block, and JPMorgan Chase. The Motley Fool recommends Coinbase Global. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.