Bitcoin

<p>Ever since Satoshi Nakamoto introduced Bitcoin, the popularity of this iconic coin has been consistently increasing. The thing that is not so consistent about BTC is its price. As we recently reached a new ATH and heading for the halving, let’s take a look back at the historical peaks and downs of BTC that put its hodlers into a rollercoaster ride of emotions throughout the years.</p><p>More on Bitcoin: <a href="https://hodl.fm/bitcoin-mining-energy-debate" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Bitcoin Miners: Modern-Day Prospectors or Energy Gluttons?</a></p><h2 id="header-0">Peak: Late 2017 Bull Run</h2><p>The bull run in late 2017 was among the first times our uncles and aunts went: “What the hell is a Bitcoin? I want some,” as the BTC price reached an all-time high of nearly $20,000 in December.</p><p><img src="https://academy-public.coinmarketcap.com/optimized-uploads/0242b4141eea4c7fa598d1e19523af29.gif" /></p><p>The surge was driven by the interest from retail investors it seems. Speculations were intense, ICOs (Initial Coin Offering) were booming, and blockchain technology was making the headlines. Remember that ICO craze though, because this was the time the infamous ICO bubble started to grow.</p><p><img src="https://academy-public.coinmarketcap.com/optimized-uploads/0bcdc80a20964168a7b6e59e9ac5e851.png" />Bitcoin&#39;s Historic 2017 Price Run. Source: <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2017/12/29/from-900-to-20000-bitcoins-historic-2017-price-run-revisited/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">CoinDesk</a></p><p>The rally to $20,000 was not just about hype, it was also a time of technological developments within the Bitcoin ecosystem. The Lightning Network proposal and Segregated Witness (SegWit) addressed Bitcoin&#39;s scalability issues and pumped optimism about its future utility.</p><h2 id="header-1">Down: 2018 Crypto Crash</h2><p>Silk Road, an online black market platform that utilized Bitcoin for not-so-innocent transactions, cast shadows on BTC in the early 2010s, but our story begins toward the end of the decade when the coin gained enough reputation to be considered a major asset.</p><p>Following the 2017 peak, Bitcoin&#39;s price literally fell from the stairs all throughout 2018, dropping below $4,000 by the end of the year. The sharp and painful decline was part of a bigger cryptocurrency market crash, often called the &#34;crypto winter.&#34; The abovementioned ICO bubble popped with a loud scream of altcoin hodlers, regulatory strictness increased worldwide, and high-profile cryptocurrency exchanges were hacked one by one (remember Mt. Gox hack where 850,000 BTC was vaporized?), contributing to the negative sentiment and loss of investor confidence.</p><p><img src="https://academy-public.coinmarketcap.com/optimized-uploads/2c90b4e42c8b4ba58bd89e4ddb1c1de8.jpeg" />Source: <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2019/01/02/down-more-than-70-in-2018-bitcoin-closes-its-worst-year-on-record/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">CoinDesk</a></p><p>Although the ICO bubble was often considered the scapegoat, several other factors added up to the downturn. You see, the cryptocurrency ecosystem had growing pains back then. Scalability issues, high transaction fees, and long transaction times for Bitcoin… Combine these technical challenges with a lack of clear regulatory frameworks. Congratulations, you have a crash. But on the bright side, the crash served as a harsh reality check, wiped out many speculative projects, and focused attention on the need for more robust technological foundations and clearer regulations.</p><h2 id="header-2"><br />READ MORE ON <a href="https://hodl.fm/bitcoin-historical-peaks-and-downs" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">HODL</a></h2>

Historical Peaks and Downs of Bitcoin's 15 Years of Existence

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