Bitcoin price history overview

A glance at the Bitcoin price history reveals that the recent crypto market sell-off is not the worst the cryptocurrency has experienced in its short history. After months of unusual stability at around $6000, the past two weeks have seen the crypto market bleed so severely such that BTC fell below $4000 on Sunday. The price of Bitcoin marked a 13 month low.

According to Bitcoin price history, the current value is a far cry from its price just a year ago. The crypto coin was trading at $9,823 on its way to setting an all-time high record.

The slump is definitely not the gift crypto hodlers hoping for this holiday season. Interestingly, talk of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is more hushed this time around compared to last year.

However, the latest price action is nothing new but just another episode in the many booms and burst bitcoin episodes.

To get a clear picture of the Bitcoin price history, we are going to take a look at how the latest crash stacks up to other major slumps Bitcoin has experience in the past. We will also have a look at the network growth and other metrics that predict investor interest.

Where do we currently stand looking at the chart of Bitcoin price history?

As of the time of writing, Bitcoin is currently trading at $4,043. Given that its all-time high was almost $20,000, it means this is an 80 percent drop. It’s a hard drop but still not Bitcoins worst in terms of percentage and by looking at the above chart displaying the Bitcoin price history.

First major crash according to Bitcoin price history

The first major crash the top crypto coin experienced came in June of 2011. It tumbled from $39 to just above $2 by November of the same year. That was a 93 percent drop. It would shortly be followed by an 83 percent drop between April 10 and 12, 2013. The price fell from $259 to $45.

However, the April 2013 crash would act as a precursor for one of the most devastating events in the history of Bitcoin. After the hack of Mt. Gox crypto exchange, BTC started a 411-day tumble that saw it crash 85 percent. The slump was from an all-time high of $1,151 to $177. This happened between November 30, 2013, to January 14, 2015.

Interestingly, on the eve of the Mt. Gox crash, there was a spike in the network transaction volume. On Nov. 29, 2013, BTC experienced a record 102,000 transactions. However, after attaining this benchmark, the activity on the network dropped steadily. By December 31, 2013, the number of transactions on the network had fallen to 41,476. This has been the lowest it has ever been since then. The coin wouldn’t see a six-figure transaction again until January of 2015. It’s a period that coincided with the end of the crash period.

The transaction volume was also affected during the 2011 crash. By June 13, 2011, the transaction volume exceeded 12,000. However, it fell to 4,700 by the end of November the same year- representing a 60 percent decrease. It wasn’t until May 2012 when the network saw transaction volumes that exceeded 12,000.

Interestingly, past crashes and corrections within short periods have not experienced a prolonged decline in transaction volumes which has become the hallmarks of bitcoin price history of the bear markets. However, with the current crash, the pattern seems to be repeating itself.

In December 12, 2017, Bitcoin recorded 450,000 transactions. But, a Christmas eve sell-off saw that figure cut to almost half to 228,000. Then on January 3, 2018, it revisited 450,000. Then after the market had bled out by the end of January, the transactions dipped by 68 percent to average between 130,000-150,000 by spring of this year.

However, since then the volumes have bounced back to a daily average of 250,000-300,000.

Other factors (other than Bitcoin price history) that show interest among investors

A closer look at the Bitcoin price history reveals that other metrics can be used to gauge investor interest. So far we have seen that the massive spikes in volume that come before or coincide with each crash always predict the mass sell-off that sends BTC into freefall. As things heat up, transaction volume matches the price until both reach critical mass.

From this point, the buyer’s euphoria transforms to seller’s frenzy, and then interest dies down. After this, the network enters a period of relative dormancy.

Outside the network and the markets themselves, it’s also possible to find other measures that reveal community enthusiasm. One good example is google trends for the word Bitcoin. It measures the number of queries when it comes to bitcoin on the Google search engine over some time. Comparing the bitcoin price history with Google search trends, there is always a correlation on its price.

The results are also tied to the performance of the market. So, during bear markets, it means there is less interest and vice versa during bull markets.

The crash that followed the Mt. Gox hack saw interest in Bitcoin on Google searches fall by 85 percent. Interestingly, this crash has seen a 93 percent drop in interest from peak hype recorded in late October of this year.