(NewsNation) — Bitcoin is often hailed as digital gold, and on social media, it can feel like a modern-day gold rush.

Bitcoin, a form of digital currency that can be traded online without relying on traditional banks, has skyrocketed in value since its humble beginnings in 2009.

Bitcoin has skyrocketed in value since its humble beginnings in 2009, sparking interest among those looking to make money.

Newcomers may wonder: Is it too late to get in on the action?

Claim: It’s not too late to make money with Bitcoin.

The Bottom Line: While Bitcoin offers interesting possibilities, its newness, volatility and lack of backing by physical assets make it a risky investment, even as its price has soared in recent months.

Bitcoin is a form of digital currency that can be traded online without relying on traditional banks. It began circulating in 2009 and its value has soared in recent years.

One Bitcoin is currently changing hands for around $110,000 — roughly quadruple its value just two years ago.

Earlier in 2024, the cryptocurrency briefly touched $150,000, a level it hasn’t reached since November 2021.

At times, Bitcoin’s price movements have appeared to be more influenced by crypto-enthusiasm on social media than by so-called “market fundamentals.”

Those are the tangible economic indicators investors use to gauge the stock market, such as inflation, interest rates and employment data.

In that sense, making money with Bitcoin requires more attention than simply ‘set it and forget it’ investing.

Where Bitcoins come from and how trading works:

The Bitcoin protocol was created by an unknown person or group called Satoshi Nakamoto.

The currency’s existence began with a 2008 white paper titled “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System.”

That paper was published on the Cryptography Mailing List, a forum for academics and researchers interested in cryptography.

Later that year, the Bitcoin software was released as open-source code and the first Bitcoins were mined.

Miners use powerful computers to solve complex math problems, which are then recorded in blocks on the blockchain.

It’s a decentralized, secure digital ledger that isn’t controlled by banks or governments.

“There is truly revolutionary technology underlying these cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, that allow money and value to flow outside of a government-sponsored fiat currency,” said Jennifer Schulp, director of financial regulation studies at the Libertarian-leaning Cato Institute.

However, Schulp said she worries that viewing it all as, ‘how do you make a buck in the quickest way possible’ is not beneficial to the long-term innovation that can be seen from this space.

Bitcoin is the biggest name in town when it comes to cryptocurrencies.

It’s also more valuable than Costco, Walmart and Netflix combined, with a market cap of over $2 trillion as of this writing.

Like stocks, the value of Bitcoin fluctuates from one day to the next.

You can purchase a Bitcoin (or fractions of a Bitcoin) with U.S. dollars through an online cryptocurrency exchange like Coinbase or a more traditional investment broker like Robinhood.

That transaction is then recorded on the blockchain.

Unluckily for those looking to get rich quick, there are no Bitcoin scams on TikTok despite the platform’s popularity among crypto-enthusiasts.

At least, none that weren’t quickly shut down.

Earlier in 2024, TikTok banned crypto content in a bid to prevent scams and quickly went viral. The move sparked outrage among those in the crypto community.

After backlash, TikTok reversed course and said it would allow content related to cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.

Still, the platform updated its community guidelines to prohibit content that promotes scams or claims to offer "unrealistic" investment advice.

It remains to be seen how those rules will be enforced in practice.

As for crypto-influencers, they can be helpful to the extent that they educate people about the technology.

However, Schulp said she’s not sure if it’s a good thing for digital assets to have so much attention focused on them as a get-rich-quick scheme.

"I think it’s beneficial to have people thinking about the underlying technology and less attention on, 'what’s the quickest way to make a buck?'" she said.

Why making money with Bitcoin is harder than it seems:

The price of Bitcoin could go up or down. Nobody knows.

That’s true of other investments like stocks or gold, but Bitcoin has a few additional risks.

It’s largely unclaimed and if it were lost, it couldn’t be printed by a central bank to bail out the system.

Historically, it’s also been more volatile than traditional asset classes.

If you bought Bitcoin at its November 2021 high, for example, your investment would have been worth roughly half as much about three months later.

On the other hand, buying in early Feb. 2024 would have resulted in a significant gain after only a month — about 60%.

It’