MARK-TO-MARKET: How do we define the legacy of Bitcoin?

Created in 2009, Bitcoin was heralded as the world's first cryptocurrency – a digital form of currency that exists only in electronic form. Thus, there are no physical banknotes or coins.

But over the past 16-plus years, Bitcoin – along with other cryptocurrencies – hasn't really caught on as a popular form of currency. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, only 1.9% of U.S. consumers use cryptocurrency as a form of payment. The Fed defines "payment" as either purchases or transfers of money to friends or family. Just 1.1% of U.S. consumers say they use cryptocurrency to actually purchase goods or services.

In a 2024 survey by the Pew Research Center, 63% of Americans say they have little to no confidence in the safety or reliability of cryptocurrency. Conversely, just 5% said they are either extremely or very confident.

Traditional currencies, like the U.S. Dollar or Japanese Yen, are considered centralized currencies. Each nation's central bank, such as the U.S. Federal Reserve, establishes monetary policy and manages the supply of money in their financial system. Cryptocurrencies, however, are decentralized currencies. No single government owns the cryptocurrency or provides regulatory control or oversight. The rules, structure, integrity and amount of currency are solely determined by the creators of each individual currency system. And in the realm of cryptocurrency, there are no restrictions on who can create them.

Perhaps the greatest challenge for cryptocurrencies is their price volatility. Within a single day, Bitcoin's price can quickly rise or fall by 5%-15%. In the 12 months from November 2021 to November 2022, Bitcoin's price fell 76%.

In the world of trade and commerce, buyers and sellers need stability of currency. For example, a U.S. $10 bill in your wallet or bank account will still be worth $10 the next day, week, month or year. That's why the U.S. Dollar is the world's de facto currency. The U.S. Dollar remains a symbol of global strength and stability. It is the most liquid currency and is readily accepted for trade around the globe. In fact, roughly 45% of all physical U.S. currency banknotes in circulation is located outside our country, including 80% of all U.S. $100 bills. 88% of all foreign currency transactions include the U.S. Dollar. The value of all U.S. currency held abroad totals roughly $1.05 trillion.

For better or for worse, the legacy of cryptocurrencies is less as an alternative form of currency and more of a high-risk investment. In its first few years as a digital currency, the value of a single Bitcoin was less than $0.10. By 2021, Bitcoin had risen to more than $60,000. In October 2025, its price had breached the $120,000 mark. Currently, Bitcoin's price is around $90,000.

The soaring price of Bitcoin triggered a flood of investor dollars seeking quick returns. In a recent study by Security.org, roughly 30% of American adults, or about 70.4 million people, own cryptocurrency as a type of investment. The most popular cryptocurrencies held as an investment are Bitcoin (74%), Etherium (53%) and Dogecoin (25%). Among non-owners of cryptocurrency, 47% said they would consider investing in cryptocurrency in the future while 6% say they will definitely purchase some within the next 12 months.

More importantly, the use of cryptocurrency as an investment has been heavily adopted by Wall Street. In early 2024, the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the first Bitcoin exchange traded fund. Since then, the SEC has approved many other cryptocurrency-related investment products that allow investors to gain exposure to cryptocurrency assets. Moreover, it brought the cryptocurrency industry into the world of traditional finance. It allowed pension funds, mutual funds and everyday investors to trade cryptocurrency assets through traditional securities.

According to cryptocurrency website CoinMarketCap, the global value of all cryptocurrencies is around $3 trillion. This is up 85% since January 2024. The number of individual cryptocurrencies has also exploded in recent years. In January 2020, there were about 18,500 unique cryptocurrencies. Today, there are more than 30 million. However, just a handful of these, such as Bitcoin, are heavily used or traded.

As history has shown, investing in cryptocurrencies can be a steep rollercoaster ride filled with its share of ups and downs. Fortunes have been made, and more than likely, many more have also been lost. But for now, at least, this seems to be their legacy.