Crypto market commentator Mikkybull recently highlighted several moments in Bitcoin history when investors believed the asset had finally failed.
Over the years, wars, exchange failures, government bans, hacks, and sudden market crashes have pushed Bitcoin into deep declines, prompting the “$BTC is dead” sentiment. However, each major setback eventually led to another recovery.
Key Points
- Bitcoin has undergone multiple black swan events, including the Mt. Gox hack, the China crackdown, and the Terra collapse.
- Each time these events led to sharp declines in Bitcoin’s price, the “$BTC is dead” sentiment emerged.
- Bitcoin has recovered considerably from each of these declines, often posting new highs.
- Currently, $BTC continues to suffer a sustained downturn, but analysts insist a recovery is imminent.
The First Bitcoin Cycle Endured the Mt. Gox Hack
Mikkybull shared a timeline covering seven Bitcoin cycles between 2009 and 2026. Data shows that despite repeated panic across the market, Bitcoin continued to rebound after each black swan event and later reached new highs.
Bitcoin’s first major cycle began in October 2009 and lasted until June 2011. During this period, $BTC rose from $0.0008 in October 2009 to $31.91 in June 2011, recording a gain of 3,989x. The cycle included Bitcoin’s first known market price and the moment $BTC reached parity with the US dollar in February 2011.
The rally later suffered a major blow after the Mt. Gox hack. Specifically, around June 19, 2011, hackers gained access to auditor credentials connected to Mt. Gox, which handled about 70% of Bitcoin trading at the time.
The attackers flooded the exchange with fake sell orders, crashed Bitcoin’s price from around $17 to $0.01, and stole roughly 2,000 $BTC.
Notably, earlier database leaks and smaller theft incidents had already weakened trust in the platform. The incident eventually pushed Bitcoin down by 93% to around $2 and led many people to believe the asset would not survive.
The First Bitcoin Halving Cycle Faced China’s Crackdown
Bitcoin entered another major cycle in November 2011 after dropping to around $2. From there, $BTC climbed to $1,127 in November 2013, marking a gain of 56,250%. The market gained strength after Bitcoin completed its first halving in November 2012.
Demand also increased during the Cyprus banking crisis as some investors turned to Bitcoin as an alternative to the traditional banking system.
However, the rally later ran into another major setback when China tightened restrictions on Bitcoin. In December 2013, the People’s Bank of China and other regulators banned financial institutions and payment companies from handling Bitcoin transactions due to concerns about risks and legal status.
$BTC China, then the country’s biggest exchange, stopped accepting yuan deposits. The move triggered an 87% Bitcoin crash and renewed claims that Bitcoin was finished.
2017 ICO Mania
Bitcoin’s next major cycle started in August 2015, when the price traded around $185. $BTC later climbed to $19,665 in December 2017, resulting in a 10,530% gain. The market recovered from the aftermath of the Mt. Gox collapse, and Bitcoin’s second halving in July 2016 added momentum to the rally.
Meanwhile, the broader crypto market entered the ICO boom, with hundreds of projects raising billions of dollars despite offering little real-world use.
The bubble eventually burst as regulators increased pressure on the industry. Scams, hacks, and capital outflows also added to the decline. In 2018, companies like Facebook, Google, and Twitter banned crypto-related advertising, while China and South Korea introduced stricter rules for digital assets.
Bitcoin fell from nearly $19,783 in December 2017 to $3,200 by late 2018. Across the crypto market, losses exceeded $700 billion. This made the collapse even steeper than the dot-com crash in relative terms.
Bitcoin then started another recovery phase from its December 2018 low of around $3,200. The asset later reached a record high of $69,044 in November 2021, giving investors a 2,058% gain.
Bitcoin’s third halving in May 2020 and growing institutional interest from MicroStrategy (now Strategy), Tesla, and El Salvador supported the rally. Despite this, Bitcoin later dropped 77% to $15,479 during the next bear market.
The Terra and FTX Implosions
Bitcoin’s next cycle began in November 2022 with $BTC trading around $15,479. The cryptocurrency later climbed to $126,198 in October 2025, producing a gain of 715%.
The recovery came after the severe market damage caused by the Terra collapse in May 2022, which triggered the failure of firms such as Three Arrows Capital, Celsius, and Voyager. Conditions worsened in November 2022 following the FTX collapse.
Bitcoin later regained strength after spot Bitcoin ETFs received approval in January 2024, while the fourth Bitcoin halving also supported the rally.
The Oct 10 Crash and US-Iran Conflict
However, another major shock hit the market in October 2025 during what analysts called the biggest liquidation event in crypto history. Specifically, on Oct. 10, 2025, Bitcoin dropped to $101,500 from above $122,000.
Reports linked the sell-off to President Donald Trump’s announcement of 100% tariffs on Chinese imports and new software export controls.
The news triggered a broad risk-off reaction across markets, pushed the S&P 500 down by more than 2%, wiped out 1.6 million traders within 24 hours, and caused roughly $19.16 billion in liquidations, most of them long positions. Bitcoin later recovered toward the $112,000 level.
Another major shock arrived in February 2026 as tensions rose between the United States, Israel, and Iran. On Feb. 28, US-Israel strikes targeted Iranian nuclear and military sites as well as senior leadership figures, including Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The escalation led to panic selling across global markets. Bitcoin fell from $67,000 to a low of $63,000. The crisis also caused roughly $1.07 billion in crypto outflows. Despite the fear in the market, Bitcoin has now recovered to the current price of $77,382.
