The best time to buy bitcoin was 2009. The second best time to buy bitcoin is today. There’s a common saying about any type of investment that’s performed well — “The best time to buy was yesterday. The second best time to buy is today.”

2009

Short of knowing Satoshi Nakamoto himself, you probably didn’t even have a chance at mining or buying bitcoin when it first launched.

Hal Finney worked alongside Satoshi to get bitcoin up and running in January 2009 and was on the receiving end of the first ever bitcoin transaction. But, most of us were not Hal. We also aren’t any of the other early bitcoin developers and users so not too many people could have bought bitcoin the first few years it existed.

Buying bitcoin early on was difficult, even with the existence of early (albeit plagued) exchanges such as Mt. Gox and BitInstant. The process was cumbersome and relied heavily upon trusted these third parties. Mt. Gox and BitInstant would ultimately fail in relatively spectacular fashion, making way for a new generation of more user-friendly exchanges.

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Consistency Is Key

Like with any investment, it’s time in the market, not timing the market. You can’t think back about how much money you would’ve made had you bought bitcoin ten years ago. You can, however, develop a consistent, steady strategy for investing over time.

It’s time in the market, not timing the market.

Dollar cost averaging is a simple investment strategy where you buy a smaller, fixed amount at a recurring interval over time. It’s a way to potentially reduce the impact of volatility and smooth out your cost basis if you’re long on an investment.

No Magic Formula

There’s no magic formula for the perfect time to buy bitcoin. At the end of the day, it comes down…