U.S. Employees Need Over 2 Years of Wages to Buy One Bitcoin

An employee in the U.S. private sector would need approximately 12 months of full-time wages to purchase one Bitcoin, according to estimates that exclude taxes and living expenses.

This calculation is based on a September 2026 estimate, which puts the required work at 2,127 hours.

In contrast, in July 2025, it was estimated that buying one BTC would require 394 full-time workdays, equivalent to about 1.6 years.

Since the series began on October 12, 2009, with New Liberty Standard paying Martti Malmi for BTC, the required hours have fluctuated, ranging from less than a second in the early days to its current estimate of 2,127 hours.