The worst day in Bitcoin's history - an 81% drop in two hours. This is a lesson every Bitcoin holder needs to understand:
At the beginning of 2013, everyone thought Bitcoin seemed to be the future of currency. The price skyrocketed from $13 to $266 in just three months.
Everyone was talking about it. Investors were extremely excited. The hype at that time was real.
At that time, Mt. Gox was the largest Bitcoin exchange in the world, handling 70% of global Bitcoin transactions.
If you want to buy and sell Bitcoin, you cannot avoid Mt. Gox. However, Mt. Gox was not prepared for the pressure. The infrastructure was very fragile, the code outdated, and the servers could not handle the surge in traffic.
On that day, Mt. Gox crashed due to a surge in trading volume.
Orders could not be processed, and the website was unresponsive. People could neither buy nor sell; their assets were trapped on the exchange, caught in a dilemma. At first, people waited, refreshed their screens, hoping the exchange would return to normal.
But the freeze lasted a long time. Panic began to spread, and various rumors circulated rapidly:
- Will Mt. Gox go bankrupt?
- Is this the end of Bitcoin?
- Will their investments disappear forever? Fear gradually turned into despair.
Some traders tried to find ways to sell their Bitcoins on other platforms.
They didn't care about the price at all; they just wanted to get out as quickly as possible. As panic spread, the price of Bitcoin began to fall rapidly.
In just a few hours, the price of Bitcoin plummeted from $266 to $50, a drop of 81%.
Wealth for countless individuals vanished in an instant, dreams shattered, and the screen was filled with red numbers.
The entire cryptocurrency world fell into chaos.
But the key is: Bitcoin did not perish.
Despite the chaos and the 81% drop, Bitcoin showed remarkable resilience. Those investors who held on during the panic witnessed extraordinary returns.
By the end of 2013, Bitcoin not only recovered its price but soared to $1,100.
This was not just a rebound but a declaration: Bitcoin will continue to exist and evolve. This crash left an important lesson for every trader.
- High volatility is the price of seizing opportunities.
- Do not blindly trust centralized exchanges.
- Security is crucial.
- In the cryptocurrency space, resilience is the key to success.
Will similar events happen again?
The answer is yes - and it is still happening.
The cryptocurrency market is still extremely volatile, and exchanges may still fail.
However, the infrastructure today is stronger, and traders are more experienced. You can protect yourself by:
- Diversifying risk across multiple exchanges.
- For long-term held assets, use cold wallets for storage.
- Mentally preparing for extreme volatility.
Imagine if on April 10, 2013, Bitcoin's price dropped 81% in just a few hours, what would you do?
These moments will test your belief and psychological endurance as a trader.
