Bitcoin’s Roller Coaster Ride

The foundation for the rapid development of the now-famous blockchain technology was laid by none other than Bitcoin. The base for cryptocurrencies is said to be set by the whitepaper “Bitcoin: An Electronic Cash System,” which Satoshi Nakamoto shared on a cryptography forum as a response to the system’s shortcomings, which led to the 2008 financial crisis. The whitepaper initiated a new asset class and created a mystery or enigma because Satoshi Nakamoto is a pseudonym. Even 12+ years after the paper was published, no one has been identified as the individual or individuals behind the movement.

This article is certain to unravel a mystery, not about the identity of Satoshi but behind the roller coaster ride of Bitcoin.

Despite cryptocurrency’s lack of mainstream traction, its popularity is growing as a store of value and hedge against inflation.

Since being founded in 2009, Bitcoin has seen various changes and shifts in value, just like any other asset available on the market. But what is so astounding behind the volatility is the speed and magnitude of the rise or fall.

As the value of a single Bitcoin jumped from $ 0.0008 to $ 0.08 in 2010, the first price increase was recorded for the cryptocurrency. An unknown person in Florida successfully traded 10,000 bitcoins for two pizzas on May 22, 2010. This was the first bitcoin payment ever known was made when bitcoin was worth $41. In 2011, its price jumped from $ 1 in April to $ 32 in June of that year, gaining 3200% in just three months. Post the attention-catching ascent, it saw a decline in value to $ 2 in November 2011 as the global recession continued. Till August of 2012, there was a marginal increase in value to $ 13.20.

2013 played a pivotal role in molding the future of bitcoin as the currency began trading at $ 13.40 and underwent two price bubbles in the same year. The first bubble occurred when the price shot up to $220 by the beginning of April 2013. However, the rapid increase quickly saw an equally rapid deceleration in its price as the trades were concluded at $ 70 in mid-April.

That’s not all.

The year saw yet another rally in early October when Bitcoin was traded at $ 120. By the end of the year, the price spiked to $ 1156.10. Yes, you read it right. Then, however, Bitcoin, following its typical volatile nature, crashed to $ 760 in just three days.

In the event of the failure of the leading bitcoin exchange called Mt. Gox, followed by the news of its bankruptcy, slowly led to the start of a multi-year slump in Bitcoin’s price. Finally, in early 2015, the price reached a low of $ 315.

The following price bubble was seen in 2017 when the price was floating around the $1000 range, which then shot up to $20,000 in December of that year. Some researchers have speculated why this massive rise is a coordinated price manipulation using another cryptocurrency called Tether.

In the wake of this rally, Bitcoin gained notoriety, and governments across the globe began taking it seriously. As a result, they began developing other competing currencies for Bitcoin.