Bitcoin’s Price History and Why It Grew So Much?

Investing in cryptocurrencies become a trend and in-demand investments in the digital world wherein money are converted into this token online. As the rule of thumb says, “buy low, sell high” many investors are investing in cryptocurrencies knowing that many acquired gains or their investment grows bigger especially for long-term investment as long as you know how to play the game. This is a high-risk investment since the value of these cryptos will change anytime even in a single minute. One must be patient and know the technical analysis of this kind of investment. Among these cryptos trading assets, Bitcoin or BTC has the highest value and had one of the most volatile trading histories. This article is all about BITCOIN PRICE HISTORY AND WHY IT GREW SO MUCH.

PRICE HISTORY OF BITCOIN

The first all-time high price increase of bitcoin happened in 2010 when the value of one bitcoin jumped from a penny fraction to $0.09. This crypto had several crashes and rallies since it became available for traders and investors online. The bitcoin inventor, Satoshi Nakamoto, designed this crypto for daily transactions and as a means to avoid traditional banking infrastructure after the financial collapse happened in 2008. Since then, it gained mainstream traction as a way of exchanging and enticed traders who were risk-takers and bet against changes of its volatile price. Even if the price of bitcoin remains volatile, it is now a part of the mainstream economy instead of just a tool for speculators who want to have quick profits.

2009-2015

Bitcoin was first introduced in 2009 with a price of zero at that time. Its price jumped to $0.09 on July 17, 2010, and it rose again on April 13, 2011, with a value of $1. From April to June 7, 2011, an all-time high happened wherein its price went up to $29.60 having a gain of 2,960% in just 3 months. A sharp recession in the crypto market followed which affect bitcoin’s price to bottom out at $2.05 in mid-November of that year. From May 9 to August 15, 2012, its price increased from $4.85 to $13.50. In the year 2013, bitcoin witnessed a strong gain on its price as the year began with a price of $13.28 and reached an all-time high on April 8 with a trading value of $230 but its value immediately decrease to $68.50, a few weeks after on July 4. Bitcoin started to increase its value again in early October of the same year wherein it was trading at $123. By December 2013, who would have thought that it spiked its value to $1,237.55 but three days after, it fell to $687.02. Its price slumped through 2014 and lowered to $315.21 at the beginning of 2015.

2016-2020

The trading price of Bitcoin slowly climbed through 2016 to more than $900 by the end of that year. Starting 2017, it hovered around $1,000 and went up to $2,000 in mid-May, and then the price skyrocketed to $19,345.49 last December 2017. More mainstream investors, economists, governments, and scientists took notice of this crypto and some entities began to develop other cryptocurrencies to contend with Bitcoin. Its price moved sideways for the next 2 years with a minor burst of activity like there was a resurgence in trading volume and price. In June 2019, the price surpasses $10,000 and then fell to $6,635.84 in mid-December. In 2020, the economy was greatly affected and international markets were being shut down due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. It started the year with a trading price of $6,965.72. But it had an accelerated price of $19,157.16 on November 23 and it reached almost $29,000 in December 2020, having an increase of 416% at the start of the year.

2021 UP TO PRESENT

The price of Bitcoin only took less than a month in 2021 to smash its price record in 202o with a surpassing value of $40,000 on January 7, 2021. In mid-April of last year, the price of bitcoin reached an all-time high of over $60,000 as Coinbase which is a crypto exchange online went public to offer its services. Institutional interest pushed further its price upward and reached a peak price on April 12, 2021, of more than $63,000. It is important to know that the country of El Salvador maid Bitcoin as a legal tender on June 9, 2021, by which this crypto can be used for any business transaction as long as they will accept it. Summer of 2021, most of the prices of crypto went down by 50% and bitcoin’s price hit its lowest value at $29,795.55 on July 19. Another bull run happened in September with its price at $52,693.32 but bearish happened 2 weeks after with a price of $40,709.59. On November 7, 2021, Bitcoin reached again an all-time high of $67,549.14 but it went down to $49,243.39 last December 2021 as the uncertainty of inflation continued and the emergence of the Omicron variant started to emerge in some countries. As of today, January 25, 2022, the current price of BTC is almost $36,000.

WHAT FACTORS INFLUENCE THE CURRENT BITCOIN PRICE?

Like with other products, services, and currencies within the economy of a country, the price of cryptocurrencies depends also on their perceived value along with their supply and demand. If people believed that this crypto is worth to invest, then they invest and trade with the assumption that its value will increase. By design, there will be only 21 million Bitcoins being created. The closer BTC gets to its limit, the price will become higher as long as its demand increases or remains the same. Bitcoins are created by mining hardware and software at a specified rate. This rate will split in half every 4 years which will slow down the number of coins being produced. Emerging the law of supply and demand, the price of bitcoin will continue to rise if supply will not be able to meet its demand. But if demand falls and popularity wanes, its price will drop unless it maintains its present value for some reason.

OTHER FACTORS

Another factor that affects its price is bitcoin has become an instrument that financial institutions and investors use to store their value that will generate high returns. Derivatives are being traded and created by investors, brokers, and traders, acting to create a positive influence on its price. Investment product hype, speculation, investor panic, fear, and irrational exuberance can also affect the price of bitcoin as demand will rise and fall with the sentiments of the investors. Other cryptocurrencies will also affect its price as there are different crypto created nowadays and many of them continue to rise as institutions, regulators, and merchants address some concerns and started to adopt them as a form of payment and currency.