The crypto market has taken a significant hit since the beginning of 2025, with some investors calling it the most painful cycle in history. Bitcoin (BTC) has dropped 18%, and the total crypto market cap has shrunk by 25% since Donald Trump’s election victory. However, analysts argue that past cycles were far more brutal, and the market today is far more resilient than before.
Crash Following Trump’s Inauguration
Bitcoin soared to an all-time high of $106,000 in December 2024, fueled by optimism surrounding Trump’s election win. But experts, including BitMEX founder Arthur Hayes, warned that a correction was inevitable. Since Trump took office on January 20, Bitcoin’s price has taken a serious dive, erasing nearly all post-election gains across the crypto market.
During this period, investors have pulled billions out of the market. Between January and March, a staggering $4.6 billion exited crypto Exchange-Traded Products (ETPs), and on March 3 alone, $1 billion worth of liquidations occurred in the spot market.
Past Market Crashes Were Even Worse
Despite the current downturn, this is far from the worst crisis in crypto history. According to Lucien Bourdon, an analyst at Trezor, the 2014-2015 crash was arguably the most devastating. That collapse was triggered by the infamous Mt. Gox hack, where 850,000 BTC were lost, wiping out 70% of Bitcoin’s trading volume overnight. The price plummeted by 85%, all in an era when there was no institutional support and significantly lower liquidity than today.
Other biggest Bitcoin crashes include:
2017-2018 (-84%)
🔺 Peak: December 2017 – nearly $20,000
🔻 Bottom: December 2018 – below $3,200
2017 was a historic year for Bitcoin. Prices skyrocketed past $20,000, and it seemed like BTC was unstoppable. But then, December came, and the dream turned into a nightmare.
Investors who had bought earlier started cashing out their profits, triggering a massive sell-off. The market kept dropping, and by the end of 2018, Bitcoin had lost a staggering 84% of its value.
Adding to the panic, a series of hacks in South Korea and Japan rocked the crypto world. Rumors of government bans in these countries only made things worse, sealing Bitcoin’s fate in a prolonged bear market that lasted until December 2018.
2020 (-50%)
🔺 Peak: February 2020 – above $10,000
🔻 Bottom: March 2020 – below $4,000
The Covid-19 pandemic didn’t spare Bitcoin. As global markets collapsed, crypto fell even harder.
Within just two days, Bitcoin lost half its value. Investors panic-sold everything to secure cash during uncertain times.
But as the saying goes, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. After this crash, Bitcoin rebounded quickly and went on to hit new highs by the end of the year. It was a short-term shock that paved the way for another bull run.
May 2021 (-53%)
🔺 Peak: April 2021 – $64,000
🔻 Bottom: May 2021 – below $30,000
April 2021 was a record-breaking month – Bitcoin surged past $64,000, and everyone was talking about “digital gold.” But then, a perfect storm of bad news hit the market:
- Elon Musk backtracked on accepting Bitcoin for Tesla purchases due to environmental concerns.
- China launched yet another crypto crackdown, banning mining operations and forcing miners to flee the country.
- Investors realized Bitcoin’s environmental impact, triggering more sell-offs.
$1 trillion vanished from the crypto market in just one week. Bitcoin crashed 53%, and many new investors experienced their first true bear market.
2022 (-71%)
🔺 Peak: November 2021 – $69,000
🔻 Bottom: June 2022 – below $20,000
Bitcoin struggled to break the $70,000 barrier and instead started a slow decline. Then came a disaster that shook the entire market.
Terra (LUNA) and its algorithmic stablecoin UST collapsed. What started as a “minor issue” quickly became a full-blown catastrophe – wiping out $60 billion within days.
Bitcoin panicked, dropping below $20,000 for the first time since 2020. Investor sentiment turned to extreme fear, leading to more selling pressure across the entire market.
November 2022 (-77%)
🔺 Peak: October 2022 – above $22,000
🔻 Bottom: November 2022 – below $16,000
After the Terra collapse, the market had just begun to recover—but it didn’t last long. Then came one of the biggest scandals in crypto history:
- Coindesk exposed shady financials at Alameda Research, the sister company of FTX.
- Investors panicked, withdrawing funds, and within days, FTX collapsed.
- Sam Bankman-Fried, once hailed as a crypto genius, turned out to be just another fraudster.
Bitcoin lost 30% of its value within weeks, falling 77% from its peak. And this was just the beginning of another painful crypto winter.
More Than Just Falling Prices
Brett Reeves, Head of European Sales at BitGo, emphasizes that the crypto market is far more mature compared to previous downturns. “Prices are dropping now, but we can’t ignore how much progress crypto has made in a short time and the massive potential it still holds for the future,” he explains.
Some analysts even argue that we’re still in a bull market. Mati Greenspan, founder of Quantum Economics, points out that this is the first time the crypto market is growing without massive money printing. He describes the current correction as “short-term pain that will lead to long-term gains.”
Crypto analyst Miles Deutscher suggests that traditional market terms like ‘bull market’ and ‘bear market’ are becoming outdated. He believes that crypto is entering a new phase where old market cycles are no longer as predictable as they used to be.
Bottom line? While the current drop may feel brutal, history tells us that crypto has survived—and thrived—through far worse.
