Financial and investment advisory giant The Motley Fool has announced it will invest $5 million into Bitcoin 

BTC

$23,133

 with the expectation that it will rise to $500,000.

Announced earlier today via a blog and Twitter post, the firm stated it won’t be “buying overpriced ETFs” but will be “buying Bitcoin directly.” Currently ranked fifth globally in the investing category, according to SimilarWeb, and with 87 million website visits per month, The Motley Fool outlined three core reasons behind the purchase: Bitcoin is a better store of value than gold, it's an effective hedge against inflation and it has the potential to become a transactional asset.

The firm will be investing in Bitcoin through its 10X real-money portfolio as one of 40 assets that it predicts will provide a 1,000% return over the next 15 years. The firm has recommended the digital asset as a core holding to all its 10X members and has provided time for them to purchase BTC before The Motley Fool initiates its own purchase. It added that in the coming weeks the company "will also be separately buying $5 million in Bitcoin on our own balance sheet."

Due to the long-term commitment, the announcement explains that volatility is of little concern.

“While Bitcoin may very well continue to be volatile in the short term, we think it has 10x potential from today's levels over the long term as part of a diversified portfolio. We plan to hold this Bitcoin investment for many years.”

Should the company’s prediction prove true, it will see Bitcoin passing $500,000 within the next 15 years. The Motley Fool says it has a solid track record with its investments.

The Motley Fool has so far named 10 of the 40 investment picks for the 10X portfolio, with the others being cloud computing company Appian Corporation, Swiss biotech firm CRISPR Therapeutics, cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, e-commerce platform Etsy, genetic testing platform Fulgent, insurer Lemondate, social media platform Pinterest, mobile gaming platform Skillz and video communication firm Zoom. It is worth noting that many of these stocks have already been recommended in the firm’s other, more basic investment services.

The advisory firm has been aware of cryptocurrencies for years now, with a 2017 analysis suggesting that Bitcoin’s biggest competitor was not Ethereum but Litecoin.

Fun fact: The second-most visited site users go to from The Motley Fool website is that of the Internal Revenue Service.

The headline has been updated. The $5M investment will be added to company's balance sheet rather than to the 10X portfolio.  The dollar amount allocated to the portfolio has not been disclosed but Motley Fool said it will be a "core holding".