If you aim to retire within the next 25 years, you will likely need about $100,000 per year.
Since earning that solely from a typical 9-5 job is tough, some crypto enthusiasts have sketched a Bitcoin-backed retirement plan.
The plan shows how much Bitcoin you’d need today to sell later and generate $100,000 per year starting in 2050.
For instance, the chart suggests a 15-year-old aiming to retire at 40 should already hold 1.03 Bitcoins.
A 25-year-old who wants to retire by 50 in 2050 would need 0.91 Bitcoins.
Bitcoin could help you retire earlier (illustration by Cheng Xin/Getty Images)
The required holdings fall with age: 0.79 BTC for 35-year-olds, 0.67 BTC for 45-year-olds, 0.53 BTC for 55-year-olds, and 0.33 BTC for 65-year-olds.
The decline reflects a simple fact: older retirees generally need less money to cover the remainder of their lives.
Because cryptocurrency remains volatile, take the figures cautiously.
The chart assumes annual inflation and goods price rises of about 7%, and that Bitcoin’s price continues to climb.
In short, by 2050 you might need more than $100,000 per year to live on, which translates to holding more Bitcoin today.
Reaction on Reddit split the crypto community.
“This feels delusional but I’ll take it,” one user wrote on the r/Bitcoin thread.
“Feels too good to be true? Welcome to Bitcoin,” another posted.
“It’s just an estimate somebody came up with to set their target on how many Bitcoins to buy. It’s pretty good in my opinion,” a third added.
One commenter admitted nervousness: “Love it but the thought of having $2-5mil on a USB stick for 15 years is nerve racking! I’d be scared to plug it back in incase it’s waiting to be hacked.”
If you wonder whether the risk can pay off, look at Kristoffer Koch‘s story.
Koch invested $27 in Bitcoin in 2009 at age 25, buying 5,000 BTC and then mostly forgetting about it.
He cashed in 2013 and used the proceeds to buy a flat in Oslo.
Speaking to local media, he said: “Not in my wildest dreams could I have imagined that they would have soared like this.”
Had he waited longer, that holding would be worth about $594.5 million today.
Kristoffer’s Bitcoins helped him to buy a flat (KristofferKoch/Chesnot)