Bitcoin has reached a major milestone: on Wednesday night, the price of the digital currency exceeded the six-figure threshold for the first time.

According to CoinMetrics, that number was around $99,000 as of Friday morning. However, during the day on Thursday, the value rose to as much as $103,844.

Here’s a look at how much a $1,000 investment in Bitcoin would be worth one, five or 10 years ago, based on the digital currency’s Dec. 5 mid-morning price of $101,564, according to CNBC calculations.

If you invested a year ago

• Percentage change: 130%
• Total as of December 5th: $2,305

If you invested five years ago

• Percentage change: 1,272%
• Total as of December 5th: $13,717

If you invested 10 years ago

• Percentage change: 26,738%
• Total as of December 5th: $268,384

Here you can see the comparison with the S&P 500 index, which is often viewed as a benchmark for the entire stock market.

• Percentage change since one year: 33%
• Percentage change since five years: 95%
• Percentage change since 10 years: 193%

A possible reason for the increase could be the acceptance of Bitcoin by some of Wall Street’s most important institutions.

Several major investment firms, including Invesco, BlackRock and Fidelity Investments, launched the first spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds in January. Because an ETF tracks the price of an underlying asset or index, Bitcoin ETFs provide a way to invest and profit from potential price movements without owning the cryptocurrency itself.

With the availability of Bitcoin ETFs, a larger number of investors can gain access to Bitcoin. And as demand increases, so does the price, Douglas Boneparth, president of Bone Fide Wealth and a member of CNBC’s Financial Advisor Council, told CNBC Make It on Jan. 5.

The value of Bitcoin has fluctuated wildly in recent years. The virtual currency reached an all-time high of $69,000 in November 2021, but lost around 75% of its value following the collapse of FTX, the largest crypto exchange at the time, in November 2022.

However, it has since steadily recovered and is up around 125% year-on-year, according to CoinMetrics.

While Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency, not all cryptocurrencies are Bitcoin. Experts warn against using Bitcoin’s price movements to predict how other cryptocurrencies or meme coins might behave.

Cryptocurrencies are considered speculative assets and are susceptible to unexpected increases and losses in value. Unlike stocks, which represent partial ownership of a company, cryptocurrencies are not backed by an underlying asset. That’s why experts often warn against investing more than you’re willing to lose.

If you want to “try your hand at crypto investing,” you should consider purchasing a Bitcoin ETF through your brokerage account, James Royal, Bankrate’s principal investment and asset management analyst, told CNBC Make It in May.

“The annual fees are reasonable and, in most cases, cheaper than actually purchasing the cryptocurrency itself, and you are purchasing a coin that attracts interest from institutional investors, so demand may remain robust,” he said.

If you feel like you absolutely must have cryptocurrencies in your portfolio, make them a small portion of your investments, Brian Vendig, president of MJP Wealth Advisors in Westport, Connecticut, told CNBC Make It in January.

“I would say 1% on the more conservative side and no more than 5% of your overall portfolio if you are a growth-oriented investor,” Vendig said.

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