If you look at Bitcoin price history, you will find that it is peppered with small corrections to huge crashes. Up to 80% price correction in a matter of a month!
So if you want to know about the historical Bitcoin’s price corrections and Bitcoin crashes, then here are the details.
Bitcoin Price Crash History (2012-2023) & Bitcoin Price Correction History (2012-2023)
- Fall of -42.9% – During 12-27 January 2012 (when BTC prices fell from the then All-Time-High of $7 to $4)
- Fall of -56.3% – During 17-19 August 2012 (when BTC prices fell from the then All-Time-High of $16 to $7)
- Fall of -32.7% – During 6-7 March 2013 (when BTC prices fell from the then All-Time-High of $49 to $33)
- Fall of -35.1% – During 21-23 March 2013 (when BTC prices fell from the then All-Time-High of $77 to $50)
- Fall of -82.6% – During 10-12 April 2013 (when BTC prices fell from the then All-Time-High of $259 to $50)
- Fall of -49.9% – During 19-19 November 2013 (when BTC prices fell from the then All-Time-High of $755 to $378)
- Fall of -86.9% – During 30 November 2013 to 14 January 2016 (when BTC prices fell from the then All-Time-High of $1163 to $152)
- Fall of -34.0% – During 10-25 November 2017 (when BTC prices fell from the then All-Time-High of $1350 to $891)
- Fall of -33.0% – During 25-27 May 2017 (when BTC prices fell from the then All-Time-High of $2760 to $1850)
- Fall of -38.6% – During 12 June -17 July 2017 (when BTC prices fell from the then All-Time-High of $2980 to $1830)
- Fall of -40.3% – During 2 September-15 September 2017 (when BTC prices fell from the then All-Time-High of $4980 to $2972)
- Fall of -29.6% – During 8-12 November 2017 (when BTC prices fell from the then All-Time-High of $7888 to $5555)
- Fall of -83.6% – During 17 December 2017 – 15 December 2018 (when BTC prices fell from the then All-Time-High of $19,666 to $3220)
- Fall of -60.8% – During 26 June 2019 – 12 March 2020 (when BTC prices fell from the then All-Time-High of $12,867 to $5040)
- Fall of -52.4% – During 14 April 2021 – 9 June 2021 (when BTC prices fell from the then All-Time-High of $64,706 to $30,681) – Ongoing
The above data is taken from the image below (source)
So as you can see, Bitcoin is indeed notorious for huge crashes. Like 50-80%. It is, therefore, not for the faint-hearted. And many times, it is after the so-called Crypto Bubbles or more specifically, Bitcoin bubbles. Do read this wiki entry (link) about price bubbles in the cryptocurrency market.
That is about the Bitcoin Crash 2013, Bitcoin Crash 2016, Bitcoin Crash 2017, Bitcoin Crash 2018, Bitcoin Crash 2019, Bitcoin Crash 2020, and finally, the Bitcoin Crash 2021-23.
There was one bigger price correction, even before Bitcoin went mainstream. From June to November 2011, Bitcoin went from $29 all the way down to a mere $2. A crash of crash -93%. But such a catastrophic fall hasn’t been repeated though we have had 3 instances of 80% or more falls.
By the way, whenever the Bitcoin prices go down, people end up using the words crash and correction interchangeably. Though both have different meanings in conventional finance.
I think if we keep a definition of 10% price fall in a day as a definition of crash, then the biggest crash in Bitcoin’s history was on 10th April, 2013, when Bitcoin BTC prices collapsed over 73.1% in just 24 hours (from $259 to a low of $70). More recently, in the unforgettable March 2020 when the pandemic spread worldwide, Bitcoin prices fell 40% on 12th March 2020 – from $7969 to $4776.
And what about the Altcoins and their price history? They too follow a similar trajectory as Bitcoin due to high correlation many times. But unlike Bitcoin, many altcoins never recover from the crash.
Will Bitcoin crash in the future?
Ofcourse it will. And if your plan is to hold Bitcoin for 10 or more years, then you will experience many such crashes.
When? I don’t know. Nobody can predict.
And is there a new Bitcoin crash coming? I don’t know. Nobody knows.
Bitcoin is known to be a highly volatile asset. So its price will definitely fluctuate significantly over a relatively short period of time when compared to other traditional assets like equity and debt.
By the way, I have written more useful articles on Bitcoins and cryptocurrency investing. If you want, you can read them using the below links:
- Should you invest in Bitcoins in India?
- Is Bitcoin legal in India?
- What Portfolio percentage to invest in Bitcoin?
- How about monthly Bitcoin SIP?
- Bitcoin Vs Mutual Funds
- Which Altcoin other than Bitcoin to invest in?
- Bitcoin Vs Ethereum: Which to choose?
- How to split portfolio allocation % between Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Altcoins?
- What is HODLing in Bitcoin?
- Bitcoin Vs. Gold
- Should you Buy & Hold Bitcoin for 10 Years?
So that was about Bitcoin crashes history till 2023. I hope that gives you some idea about how volatile the cryptocurrency is and how it can impact your Bitcoin investment value. Also, this highlights that crash in Bitcoin prices is nothing new. So if you do decide to invest, be prepared for what has already happened in past.