Bitcoin Bear Markets: What Why When

Bitcoin has had its fair share of bear markets in the past. Let’s briefly recap the most significant ones and see what we can learn from them.

The 2011-2012 Bear Market

The bitcoin price fell from $29 on June 8, 2011 to $2.10 on November 18, 2011, followed by months of sideways action:

The first bear market, 2011-2012. Chart data source: CoinMetrics.io

The most painful bear market happened before most of us were even aware that something like bitcoin existed. More than ten years ago, the price of bitcoin reached almost $30 on the then-popular Mt. Gox exchange, only to be followed by a “stairway to hell” pattern that would take the price to $2.10 in a several months’ time.