Biggest Bitcoin Crashes in History: Causes and Impact
Background: Tracing the Biggest Bitcoin Crashes in History
The volatility of Bitcoin has led to several historic price crashes, with each episode leaving a significant mark on the cryptocurrency landscape. The biggest Bitcoin crashes in history have often been triggered by security breaches, regulatory actions, or sudden shifts in investor sentiment. Among the earliest and most dramatic incidents was the Mt. Gox hack in June 2011, which led to a near-total loss of value after a hacker exploited the exchange, once handling 90% of global Bitcoin trades. In that breach, 840,000 BTC were stolen and dumped, causing Bitcoin’s price to drop to mere pennies and erasing substantial market value. Reporting via Decrypt.
Although the value lost in the recent October 10, 2025, crypto market crash—an estimated $19 billion—set a new high in dollar terms for liquidated leveraged positions, the percentage loss was less severe compared to previous collapses, such as the 99.9% fall during the Mt. Gox event.
Key Market Crashes and Their Triggers
After the Mt. Gox incident, several other downturns have shaped the narrative of the biggest Bitcoin crashes in history. In April 2013, Mt. Gox faced distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, which triggered a 43% drop in Bitcoin’s price from $265 to $150 as trading disruptions led to panic selling. A few months later, China’s central bank moved to ban banks from dealing with Bitcoin, causing the cryptocurrency to lose 50% of its value within two days in December 2013.
In September 2017, Chinese authorities banned initial coin offerings (ICOs) and closed domestic exchanges, leading Bitcoin to drop 25% in just 48 hours. Later that year, the introduction of Bitcoin futures by major U.S. exchanges coincided with a sudden reversal from all-time highs—Bitcoin fell over 33% in a single day, launching a prolonged bear market. The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco commented, “The rapid run-up and subsequent fall in the price after the introduction of futures does not appear to be a coincidence.”
Recent Market Shakeouts and Industry Impact
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 caused a sharp 50% drop in Bitcoin’s price, as global uncertainty wiped out more than $1 billion in leveraged long positions. The episode, known as Black Thursday, was followed by a strong market recovery. Another pivotal event occurred in May 2021, when Tesla reversed its decision to accept Bitcoin and Chinese regulators intensified crackdowns on mining and transactions; Bitcoin crashed by 30% within hours, with further losses in the following weeks as cascading liquidations swept through exchanges.
Liquidity crises at crypto platforms also led to major downturns. In June 2022, Celsius halted withdrawals, sparking a selloff that dropped Bitcoin 15% in a single day, following closely after the collapse of TerraUSD. Later that year, the FTX exchange crisis prompted Bitcoin to fall over 17% in 24 hours as the platform suspended withdrawals and soon declared bankruptcy.
What’s Next for Bitcoin’s Volatility?
The biggest Bitcoin crashes in history each highlight vulnerabilities that still exist, from security risks to centralized exchange failures and the impact of regulatory shifts in major markets. These events continue to shape market responses and investor strategies. As the crypto sector matures, participants remain alert for risks that could trigger future volatility.
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