A Detailed Overview of Bitcoin’s Price History (2009- 2022)
Since its inception, Bitcoin has been the largest cryptocurrency in the world. Founded in 2008 by a group or person under the pseudonym of Satoshi Nakamoto, this crypto coin still has a massive market cap of over $444 billion.
Interestingly, during its early days back in 2009, this obscure crypto had a price of a fraction of a penny. However, since then BTC has come a long way and touched its all-time high of $67,617 in 2022! It is one of the hottest crypto assets to own right now.
But as a highly volatile asset, BTC has also witnessed major fluctuations in its price. Let’s check out a detailed rundown on the ups and downs of Bitcoin price till now since the beginning.
Price History with Reference to Bitcoin’s Growth Stages
Although Bitcoin is now probably the best and the most coveted crypto to invest in, it had a very humble and slow beginning. Initially, when launched back in 2009, Bitcoin had no value at all.
However, its value started to rise as transactions began and its adoption saw a rise. This crypto had to experience massive ups and down that impacted its coin price significantly. Let’s find out Bitcoin’s price history in different stages of its growth.
- The Formative Years (2009-2012)
2009 to 2012 were the formative early years of Bitcoin. There weren’t many transactions or buying of this cryptocurrency during its early years. BTC got its monetary value first in 2009 when a Finnish student sold 5050 coins at around ₹414. This gave each Bitcoin a value of only $0.0009!
However, as per crypto analysts who have been closely following Bitcoin, the original real-life transaction was first carried out in 2010 by a Florida resident. Laszlo Hanyecz purchased two pizzas in exchange for 10,000 BTC! Back then, it was worth around ₹3,380. That means each BTC was priced at a meagre $0.0041.
Finally, in June 2011, BTC touched $1 for the first time. This was a crucial moment for this cryptocurrency.
- The Phase of Upward Trajectory (2013-2017)
The price of Bitcoin has been witnessing a consistent rise since 2013. Bitcoin saw a rise in its adoption and transactions shot up. That helped Bitcoin increase its price per coin. Also, this was the phase when BTC started gaining traction worldwide with many interested in investing in cryptocurrency.
In November 2013, BTC touched and crossed the $1,000 mark. However, 2014 had been a struggling year for the crypto as it began to fall due to the collapse of Mt. Gox, which handled 70% of BTC transactions. By early 2015, BTC suffered a massive drop to the $170 level.
In 2015 and 2016, Bitcoin began to recover slowly and steadily as it began to get more and more investors. By the following year, Bitcoin began to get more and more media coverage which helped it bag more investors.
It was in 2017 that the crypto coin managed to touch as well as cross the $10,000 level. By the end of 2017, BTC moved upwards further to reach $17,000. In Indian currency, the price of Bitcoin stood at over ₹3,29,000 in August 2017.
- Phase of Recovery and All-time-high (2018-2021
In 2018, Bitcoin didn’t see much activity. The price, however, moved to a decent $3,000 level towards the end of the year. 2019 to 2021 was a remarkable period for the crypto coin. More and more mainstream media began to cover BTC and its price movement. Many began to consider it a scam while some called it one of the greatest assets to invest in.
In 2020, BTC wasn’t spared by the impact of the pandemic on global economy. It lost around 50% of its value within 2 days. But on the positive side, with the pandemic raging the world, more and more people were keen on investing in cryptocurrency. The crypto frenzy reached the highest level. By the middle of the year, BTC rallied to as high as $9,100.
Now, comes 2021, which has been the most significant year for Bitcoin. In 2021, this cryptocurrency touched its all-time high of $67,617. That’s not all! This crypto witnessed a push in its adoption, with El Salvador becoming the first currency in the world to accept BTC as its legal tender.
- Crypto Winter (2022)
The global economy began to falter further towards the end of 2021 as inflation started to soar and fear of recession crept in. Banks and other centralised agencies began to increase the interest rate as a corrective measure. This impacted the overall crypto space and BTC was obviously no exception. The entire year saw a consistent slump in coin prices with many analysts terming this phase as Crypto Winter.
Bitcoin’s price fell below the $20,000 level during the Crypto Winter. As of early 2023, Bitcoin made a slight recovery and is trading at around $23,000 a coin.
Takeaway
Bitcoin underwent various ups and down in its span of over 10 years of existence. There are various crucial factors that impacted the price of cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin. Some of these factors included supply of money, overall market sentiment, supply and demand factors and more.
Considering the speculative nature of crypto coins, the coin prices are bound to rise or fall depending on various factors. Bitcoin is the largest crypto right now and as per experts, it is set to hold its position in the future as well.
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