Bitcoin Price History: An Overview

By Prashant Jha

When Satoshi Nakamoto came out with Bitcoin in the beginning of 2009, the world was still reeling from the recent financial crisis that had shaken the very pillars traditional financial institutions like banks. Since then, Bitcoin has come a long way in terms of prices, popularity and adoption. Almost a decade after its introduction, here’s taking a look at Bitcoin’s price history. Meanwhile, if you’ve been wondering if the value of bitcoin is legitimate, then it’s best to put those questions to rest by taking a look at our linked article before we discuss how the price of bitcoin has changed over the years.

What was Bitcoin’s Price in the Year of its Launch?

In 2009, the year Bitcoin first made its appearance in the world of finance and technology, it did not really manage to garner much mileage. In 2009, therefore, it was not traded in any exchange. Hence its price in that year, technically, was $0. At press time, on 29th October, 2018 (20:10) UTC, its price stands at $6250.63. How did this massive leap happen? What were the bumps along the way? Let’s find out.

Tracing the History of Bitcoin’s Price

Even a year after its introduction, in 2010, Bitcoin’s value remained well under a dollar, roughly averaging $0.39.In November, 2010, Bitcoin’s market cap touched the 1 million USD mark. Bitcoin started seeing even better fortunes around five years back in 2013, when prices rose to $220 (April 2013) per Bitcoin before falling to below $100 (roughly around $70). Later that year, Bitcoin started showing wild swings in prices with a leap to $1230 in December’13 as a reaction to Senate hearings and Chinese entrants to the still extremely nascent crypto market. After a moderate fall from that owing to rumours about Mt.Gox not being secure, prices became stable again at the beginning of 2014. The Mt. Gox issue would continue to haunt the crypto world like a spectre, with the Mt.Gox bloodbath continuing well into this year, affecting Bitcoin prices.

Bitcoin steadily solidified its position well through 2014, with Microsoft and PayPal beginning to accept Bitcoin payments. However, prices were not telling of its success this time around, as they collapsed from the 2013 levels to about $300 in December 2014. Perhaps as a testament to cryptocurrencies’ extreme levels of volatility, the tables turned once again in 2015. The prices steadily climbed the charts to go past $450 and ending the year on a high relative to the disappointing year that 2014 had been. 2016 was even better, with Bitcoin prices rising all the way from $428 to $928 over the course of that entire year. Experts predicted that the party would continue well into 2017 and they were proved to be right, and how!

2017 represented a dream run for Bitcoin, with the prices shooting through the roof, going from around $950 to straight $20000. The spectacular leap did not last incredibly long as a 30% fall again brought prices down to about $11000 and then somewhere around $15000. Having said that, Bitcoin’s price performance in 2017 remains unmatched in terms of spectacle and success. The year 2018 has mostly been bearish for cryptocurrencies in general, with a prediction of inching towards an upward swing falling flat on its face, literally, as the market collapsed, leaving all major coins staggering to get back on their feet. Despite a slump in the market, however, Bitcoin still remains a cryptocurrency to reckon with.

If, after reading about the roller coaster ride of Bitcoin’s prices over the years, you’re feeling heady and wondering “why does the price of Bitcoin move so much?”, we might have the answer for you in our article on the same. Meanwhile, we can only hope Bitcoin prices don’t crash too hard again, and only keep reaching for the stars.