2. November 2013

Arguably the most famous decline in Bitcoin’s history.

Toward the end of 2013, the price of a single Bitcoin was about to reach $1,200 — modest by today’s standards but a big deal at the time. In the preceding weeks, a United States Senate hearing had buoyed the market by concluding that Bitcoin held great promise, and even China’s Central Bank had offered cautious approval.

But it wasn’t to last. China then concluded that Bitcoin was not a currency and began to impose restrictions. The bear market certainly wasn’t helped by the devastating implosion of Mt. Gox back in 2014, which saw roughly seven percent of all Bitcoin in circulation vanish. At the time, they would have been worth an eye-watering $473 million. Other distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks added to the crisis of confidence.

The warning signs first flashed on Nov. 19, 2013, when prices halved in a single day — tumbling from $755 to $378. Although they rallied soon afterward, the end of the month signaled the start of a slump that wouldn’t end for more than a year.

Toward the end of the correction, in January 2015, prices slumped to a paltry $150 — and the ramifications have lingered for years. Overall, prices tumbled by 87 percent over the 411-day ordeal.