How Much Is Bitcoin Worth?

On Sep. 10, 2023, 1 BTC was worth approximately $25,758. There were more than 19.48 million bitcoins circulating, giving it a total value of over $500 billion. This is much less than in 2021, when its value reached more than $64,000—giving it a total value of about $1.2 trillion at the time.

Bitcoin and the Money Supply

To get a sense of how much of the world's money is in bitcoins, we must determine the total amount of money. As it turns out, this is not the easiest question to answer. Such a calculation might take into account dozens of categories of wealth, including banknotes, precious metals, money market accounts, and debt. Luckily, Credit Suisse has already done the work—the bank calculated total global wealth to be $454.4 trillion at the end of 2022.

That leaves Bitcoin at about 0.11% of the estimated total value of wealth globally.

Bitcoin vs. Gold

How does Bitcoin compare to gold? After all, some people still consider gold to be the safest of safe haven assets. It is certainly the standard to which other currencies must be compared. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that about 244,000 tons of gold had been mined as of Sep. 10, 2023. There are 32,000 ounces of gold in one ton, and the price of gold per ounce was about $1,919.08 as of the market close on Sep. 8, 2023. So, the total value of all gold can be estimated as:

( 244,000 tons of gold x 32,000 ounces per ton ) x $1,919.08 per ounce = $14.98 trillion.

In total, the value of all Bitcoin was about 3.4% of the value of all above-ground gold reserves.

Other Cryptocurrencies

Bitcoin is the largest and best-known cryptocurrency in the global economy. However, it is far from the only one. If we combine Bitcoin with Litecoin, Monero, Ethereum, and all other significant cryptocurrencies, the total value comes to roughly $1.04 trillion (as of Sep. 10, 2023). That was about 0.23% of the value of all money.

The Bottom Line

Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency, one of the thousands of new digital or virtual currencies available globally. It can be used as a store of value, a way to exchange value, or as a speculative investment. Its value changes daily, sometimes tens of dollars or more. It is a volatile asset that changes its market capitalization and percentage of total money almost daily.

The comments, opinions, and analyses expressed on Investopedia are for informational purposes online. Read our warranty and liability disclaimer for more info. As of the date this article was written, the author does not own bitcoin.