Summary of the Latest and Biggest Bitcoin Crashes
1. March 2024: 16.5%
Last on our list of top 5 Bitcoin crashes is the cryptocurrency’s most recent crash, which saw the asset drop from a new all-time high of $73,750 on March 14, 2024, down to $61,538 on March 20, 2024.
But why did Bitcoin crash after seeing such a positive run?
The most recent Bitcoin crash was attributed to several factors, including a negative impact of Ethereum on market dynamics following the blockchain’s most recent Dencun upgrade and the diminishing likelihood of the release of an Ether spot ETF by May 2023.
2. May 2022: 24.3%
Between May 2, 2022, and May 24, 2022, the token value fell by 24.3% from $38,472 to $29,101 respectively.
The dip in Bitcoin’s worth came at the same time as the crash of Terra’s algorithmic stablecoin, UST, and its sister cryptocurrency LUNA.
Later, in November 2022, the BTC price saw another massive dip, falling by 14% following the collapse of FTX.
3. May 2021: 40.4%
In May 2021, BTC saw another major price movement, losing over 40% of its value in just two weeks and falling from a high of $58,000 on May 10, 2021, down to $34,700 by May 24, 2021.
The 40.4% drop was said to have been a reaction to a new government policy announcement in China that restricted the mining and trading of Bitcoin with the aim of preventing and controlling financial risks.
In addition, that same month, Tesla suspended vehicle purchases using BTC, which could have further pushed the Bitcoin crash.
4. March 2020: 45.9%
In March 2020, the Bitcoin price witnessed another massive crash, falling from a high of $10,313 on February 15, 2020, to $5,573 on March 14, 2020.
Of course, the pandemic was one of the main reasons why BTC saw a 45.9% drop in value during that time when major global economies were dealing with the blow of the pandemic.
This tends to exacerbate Bitcoin’s downfall, thus forcing miners to sell their holdings, which could have been what happened in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Throughout 2020, the Bitcoin value found it hard to recover and only started to gain some traction by the end of the year.
5. December 2017 – February 2018: 56.9%
In December 2017, the Bitcoin value saw massive gains, surging by more than 165% between mid-November that year and hitting its then-all-time high of $17,760 on December 20, 2017.
However, following a pretty successful year, the token’s price started to decline, first losing around 10% of its value in just eight days and then continuing a fall and dropping down to $15,000 before plunging to $7,600 by February 8, 2018, and losing over 56% of its past gains.
The Bottom Line
Bitcoin’s tumultuous journey, punctuated by significant price crashes, underscores the complex interplay of factors shaping the cryptocurrency market.
From regulatory shifts to global economic crises, external events have exerted substantial influence on Bitcoin’s value.
However, amidst these challenges, BTC continues to display remarkable resilience, aided by technological innovations and its continuously expanding adoption.