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Bitcoin became widely known due to its skyrocketing value in 2017. While the masses were sorting out what was happening, the price of the first cryptocurrency fell by more than 2.5 times. And such volatility for the first cryptocurrency is not the largest. History remembers cases when the BTC rate collapsed by more than 80%. In this article, we have collected for you the most massive falls of bitcoin in its entire history.
A bit of history
The first official bitcoin exchange rate was set on October 5, 2009. From that day on, the coin appeared on the New Liberty Standard exchange, and its value was $1 = 1,309.03 BTC.
The first BTC transaction took place on May 22, 2010, when Laszlo Hanech purchased two pizzas for 10,000 BTC. Already this year, the rate of the first cryptocurrency has grown significantly, reaching a record $0.5 at that time. After such a growth, the coin was expecting the first major fall – in just a few days, the price collapsed by 50%.
2011
Already at the beginning of 2011, the rate of the coin was equal to $1, and by the middle of it it had grown to $32. In the same year, the first high-profile scandal in the cryptocurrency industry occurred. The Mt.Gox hack caused BTC to drop to $3. It was the biggest drop in bitcoin in its history.
2012
There were two falls the following year. In January 2012, BTC dropped from $7.5 back to $3. After a meteoric rise in the following months, the price plummeted again in August by 57%, from $16 to $7 dollars.
The end of 2012 was marked by the fact that during this period the first cryptocurrency bank Bitcoin Central appeared, which received an official license. This event had a very positive impact on the development of bitcoin and its course.
2013
In a short period of time, after the start of Bitcoin Central, the BTC rate rose to $266. At that moment, an event occurred again that collapsed bitcoin one and a half times. After the arrest of the Silk Road company and a prison term for its head in the form of 6 years in prison, BTC sank from $755 to $480.
The arrest of Silk Road also had a positive impact on the first cryptocurrency. The news, which spread all over the world, aroused interest in bitcoin among people around the world. By the end of 2013, the price of BTC had overcome the psychological mark of $1,000.
2014 – 2016
The rapid growth was replaced by the same rapid and protracted decline, which lasted more than two years. During this time, Bitcoin has fallen in price by more than 80%, from $1160 to $190.
It was at this time that the industry began to actively develop, and only traders earned on the cryptocurrency market.
Only at the beginning of 2017, the price of the coin was able to again overcome the $1,000 mark.
2017
So far, this is the most successful year for the cryptocurrency market in its entire history. Throughout the year, the price of the first cryptocurrency, as well as other coins, was constantly growing. By the summer, 1 BTC was worth $3,000, $6,000 in the fall, and $10,000 at the end of November. On December 17, 2017, Bitcoin reached its all-time high of $20,000.
It was in 2017 that everyone learned about bitcoin.
2018
By February 2018, the price of the first cryptocurrency had dropped to $6,000. Throughout the year, the exchange rate fluctuated slightly, but in November, a rapid fall in bitcoin happened – in just a couple of weeks, the coin lost half its value, falling to $3,000.
2019
The most memorable BTC decline this year took place at the end of September: in just a few hours, Bitcoin dropped from $10,000 to $8,000.
Menacing course unfolded and at the end of November. For the week from November 18 to November 24, the price of bitcoin showed a negative trend for seven days. Within a week, the rate fell by $1420. The capitalization of the entire cryptocurrency market fell below $200 billion with a Bitcoin dominance index of 66.2%.
Possible reasons for the collapse, some observers associated with the capitulation of the miners, who sell all the mined coins and refuse to hold them for the future to ensure profitability. There is also an opinion that the rate collapsed due to fake news about the closure of the Binance office in Shanghai by the police.
But contrary to forecasts, bitcoin was able to rise and on November 29th it is trading at around $37600 per coin.