Staggering amount of money you’d have if you invested $1,000 into Bitcoin 15 years ago

If you're one of the many people who rolled your eyes when Bitcoin was first announced, chances are you've kicked yourself a few times over the years.

Allow us to make that worse, when you realise just how much cash you could have bagged if you'd invested $1,000 15 years ago.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, and of course we all know what an insane success it went on to be, but at the time, Bitcoin all sounded like a made-up fantasy. Even now, when there are new cryptocurrencies coming out, it's natural to treat them with suspicion.

For every Bitcoin success, there's also a flop - remember the 'Hawk Tuah' girl's $HAWK token? Exactly.

Even Lily Allen missed out on becoming a billionaire, when she turned down a bitcoin payment in 2009, so it's not just you.

Ever wish you'd been an early adopter of Bitcoin? Here's how much that could have made you (Getty Images)

Bitcoin debuted in January 2009, and by February 2011 it broke the $1 milestone. Like any currency, it can fluctuate, but there are many people out there with major regrets or remorse over failing to invest or cashing out too soon.

In the early days of the currency, one man even traded 10,000 bitcoin for 2 pizzas worth £25. Ouch. That many coins would be worth a painful amount now too, so we hope the pizza was good.

So, just how much could you have earned if you'd taken the risk and invested $1,000 in Bitcoin 15 years ago?

Of course, it all counts on the fact you'd have been able to hold your nerve all this time, too, without selling it. Worse, you could have been one of the unfortunate souls who threw theirs away, or forgot the password.

Last year, according to Bankrate, if you'd invested $1,000 into Bitcoin back in 2010, you'd - brace yourself - have a massive $1.62 billion (£1.21 billion) in your wallet.

Time is of the essence too, as Bankrate also calculated the profit you'd have made if you'd invested five or 10 years ago, too. If you'd splashed the cash in 2016 instead, it would be worth around $496,927.

That's still a major improvement from $1,000, but it's not $1.6 billion, is it...

Cryptocurrency can be risky business, for every success story there's someone else who wasted it on pizza (Getty Stock)

How about five years ago? Well, you'd now be sitting on a $9,689 investment, which isn't to be sniffed at in this cost-of-living crisis.

Only time will tell if it keeps surging, and if those five and 10-year investments will reach the same heady heights as the 15-year investments.

Time to get back to browsing luxury holidays and criticising million dollar mansions on property sites.