Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple (AAPL)Apple Inc, revealed to CNBC in a recent interview that he purchased Bitcoin when it was priced at $700 per coin. Given Wozniak's position, it is natural that he had an early view into the emerging cryptocurrency when it was just beginning to take off. Bitcoin has almost tripled since the beginning of the year, reaching highs of $3000+ per coin on June 11, and about $2760 as of this writing. While there are questions about the long-term sustainability of the currency's value, as of this writing there is no doubt that Wozniak has made incredible profits off of his purchase. How much money would you have made if you followed the Apple co-founder into an investment in Bitcoin?
Size of Wozniak's Holdings Unknown
If you, like Wozniak, bought Bitcoin when it was at $700, you would see returns in the area of $2000 per coin today, or over 3.8x your original investment. It is difficult to assess exactly how much money Wozniak has gained on his investment, however, because he did not disclose exactly how much of the digital currency he acquired when it was priced at $700 per coin. With about 80% of the 21 million total Bitcoins now in circulation, the potential for massive returns on investment is certainly high.
However, there is reason also to believe that Wozniak may not have made such an incredible fortune off of his initial Bitcoin investment. The reason for this is that he suggested he entered into a Bitcoin position out of curiosity more than anything else.
"I Did it so I Could Play With Bitcoin"
Wozniak explained to CNBC that he first gained interest in Bitcoin when it was priced at $70. Had he actually purchased at that point, his investment would now be worth over 38x. After attempting to buy some of the currency at that point, Wozniak gave up because he didn't have the correct type of special bank account. "Eventually, I got some of them at the $700 stage and it went down to $350. I didn't invest, I did it so I could play with Bitcoin."
Wozniak's interest in the currency seems to have been for the purposes of experimenting with a new way of making financial transactions. He was curious about how it would be to attempt to shop with Bitcoin at restaurants, hotels, and stores. "It's not that easy to do yet, but it's getting there. I was just playing around trying out how to buy and sell stuff and I didn't care I lost a ton of money, but now I'm way up," he explained.
The tech titan's interests also focus on blockchain technology. He is a proponent of the technology, saying it "probably has a lot of good security and traceability."
source: Investopedia