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Bitcoin is only 10 years old, but the cryptocurrency has already seen its fair share of bear markets. The most recent one, which some are dubbing "crypto winter," worsened over the weekend. The cryptocurrency slid below $3,500 for the first time in 14 months, then later recovered toward the $3,900 level by Monday, according to data from CoinDesk. That brings its decline from last year's peak to more than 81 percent. That loss isn't the worst bitcoin has suffered, but the world's largest digital currency is getting close.

Way, way back in 2010

Bitcoin's current level is still well above the fraction of a penny price where it first began trading in 2010— and its early investors are mostly wealthier because of it. By June 2011, it had risen to a new all-time high of roughly $30. But by that November, the cryptocurrency was back below $2.50, tumbling more than 92 percent from their high. That year, volume was still low and the dozens of now popular trading exchanges like Coinbase didn't exist yet. Tokyo-based bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox was handling roughly 70 percent of all cryptocurrency transactions in the world. The site experienced its first of multiple hacks in 2011, and its eventual downfall coincided with what would be bitcoin's next bear market in 2013.

2013 through 2015

Two years later, most bitcoin trading was still done on the soon-to-be defunct Mt. Gox bitcoin exchange. During the two years leading up to 2015, Mt. Gox was effectively frozen out of the U.S. banking system for regulatory issues. It stopped trading, closed its website and filed for bankruptcy protection. Bitcoin first shot above the $1,000 mark in December 2013, according to data from CoinDesk. Two years later, it was back below $200. The cryptocurrency saw an 84 percent rout between those two years.

2018