Routine corrections

Please note: this article was partially generated with OpenAI's Deep Research

Bitcoin’s price history is marked by explosive bull markets punctuated with steep corrections. In the major bull cycles ending in 2013, 2017, and 2021, Bitcoin saw multiple 30–40% pullbacks even as it climbed to new all-time highs. This report analyzes each of these three historical bull cycles, documenting the significant corrections (roughly 30–40% declines), their depth and duration, and how quickly prices recovered. We also summarize the overall gains from each cycle’s starting point to its ultimate peak.

Overview: The 2013 bull run was extremely rapid and volatile. Bitcoin started around $13 in January 2013 and soared to nearly $1,150 by early December (What Was the Price of Bitcoin in 2013? Bitcoin's Journey). This was an ~8,500% price increase from the start of the year to the peak. (If measured from the prior cycle’s bottom around $2 in late 2011, the rise was even more astounding – over 50,000%.) The year saw two phases: an early surge and crash in April, followed by a dramatic rally in late 2013. Despite its uptrend, the cycle had notable corrections, including a mid-year crash and two sizable pullbacks of ~30–40% during the final rally (Bitcoin latest bull market experienced several 30% plunges, will history repeat itself? - Forex Crunch).

Major Corrections in 2013: Bitcoin’s volatile climb in 2013 included several steep drops:

• April 2013 Crash (Intracycle “Bear”): After spiking to about $266 in April, Bitcoin plunged almost 83% to around $50 (What Was the Price of Bitcoin in 2013? Bitcoin's Journey). This collapse was far deeper than a typical 30–40% correction. It took roughly 7 months for BTC to fully regain the April high – the price traded in the $70–$130 range through summer 2013 (What Was the Price of Bitcoin in 2013? Bitcoin's Journey), and only surpassed the $266 level in early November. (This was an unusually severe mid-cycle crash, after which the bull market resumed.)

• Late November 2013 Correction: As Bitcoin neared $1,000 for the first time, it fell roughly 33%, dropping from about $900 down to the $600–$650 range (Bitcoin latest bull market experienced several 30% plunges, will history repeat itself? - Forex Crunch). This pullback lasted only on the order of days, as buying demand quickly returned – within about one week, BTC recovered and surpassed its $900 peak, accelerating into a climactic rally.

• Early December 2013 Correction: After hitting its cycle peak around $1,150, Bitcoin swiftly fell to approximately $700 (a 39% decline) (Bitcoin latest bull market experienced several 30% plunges, will history repeat itself? - Forex Crunch). This drop was triggered by adverse news (such as new restrictions in China) and effectively marked the cycle’s end. Bitcoin did not return to the $1,150 level during that bull run. (The price rebounded to the $800s later in December, but a larger bear market followed in 2014.)

Table 1 summarizes the notable 2013 bull-cycle corrections in the ~30–40% range:

Recovery and Subsequent Trend: The April 2013 crash was a major setback, but the market eventually recovered, setting the stage for the second-half rally. After consolidating through mid-2013, Bitcoin entered an accelerated uptrend in Q4 2013. The late-year corrections (around 30–40%) were quickly absorbed, and Bitcoin resumed its uptrend within days after each dip, until the final peak. From the post-April low around $50, BTC ultimately ran up to $1,150 by year’s end (What Was the Price of Bitcoin in 2013? Bitcoin's Journey) – a testament to the cycle’s strength despite interim scares. Overall, the 2013 bull cycle delivered enormous returns (multiplying Bitcoin’s price roughly 85-fold from the cycle start to peak) while demonstrating that sharp corrections were “healthy” pauses in an otherwise parabolic rise.

Overview: The bull cycle culminating in December 2017 took Bitcoin from the low hundreds to just under $20,000. After a bear-market bottom around ~$150 in January 2015, BTC began rising and entered a strong uptrend by 2016. From roughly $1,000 in January 2017, Bitcoin rocketed to nearly $20K by mid-December 2017 (Bitcoin's Price History) – an approximate 1,900% increase within that year (or about 12,000% from the 2015 cycle bottom of ~$152 to the peak) (Bitcoin latest bull market experienced several 30% plunges, will history repeat itself? - Forex Crunch). The 2016–2017 run was marked by multiple corrections in the 30–40% range, which occurred at regular intervals before the final blow-off top. In fact, the 2015–2017 bull market saw at least 8–9 major pullbacks averaging ~37% declines (Bitcoin latest bull market experienced several 30% plunges, will history repeat itself? - Forex Crunch). Notably, none of those mid-bull declines ended the uptrend – Bitcoin consistently recovered and pushed to higher highs afterward.

Major Corrections in 2016–2017: During this cycle, Bitcoin experienced a series of steep but temporary drawdowns. The most prominent corrections (≈30–40% drops) were:

• June 2016 (~38%): In mid-2016, BTC rallied close to $780 ahead of the halving, then corrected about 38% down to the low-$500s (even briefly ~$465) by August (Bitcoin Historical Corrections). This decline unfolded over several weeks, influenced by profit-taking and events like exchange hacks. Recovery was gradual – it took around 5 months (until late 2016) for Bitcoin to regain the $780 high (Bitcoin Historical Corrections), after which the uptrend resumed into 2017.

• January 2017 (~35%): Bitcoin surged past its previous ATH (~$1,150 from 2013) in early January 2017, then dropped from about $1,150 to $750 (approximately –35% at the worst) (Bitcoin Historical Corrections). This pullback was driven by concerns over Chinese regulations and exchange crackdowns. The correction was sharp but short-lived – within roughly 6–7 weeks, BTC recovered back above $1,150 (by late February 2017) (Bitcoin Historical Corrections), confirming the bull market was intact.

• March 2017 (~30%): Soon after, Bitcoin hit ~$1,290 in March and then retraced to around $900 (a 30% dip) amid the SEC’s denial of the Winklevoss ETF. This decline lasted only a few weeks; by April, BTC was rallying again and broke above $1,300 to new highs (Bitcoin Historical Corrections). (This particular drop was just under 30% by some measures – about –27% (Bitcoin Historical Corrections) – but is often cited as a significant 2017 pullback.)

• June 2017 (~33–38%): Following a meteoric rise to ~$3,000 in June, Bitcoin corrected hard in June–July. It fell roughly 33–38%, bottoming around $1,850 by mid-July (Bitcoin Historical Corrections). This downturn spanned about one month, fueled by profit-taking and uncertainty around a possible chain split (Bitcoin’s fork debates). The market then rebounded – by early August (within ~6 weeks of the peak), BTC had fully recovered past $3,000 (Bitcoin Historical Corrections) and continued climbing.

• September 2017 (40%): In early September, Bitcoin broke $5,000 for the first time, then swiftly dropped to about $3,000 in mid-September (Bitcoin Historical Corrections) – a 40% plunge over roughly two weeks. This was sparked by negative news (China’s ban on crypto exchanges and ICOs, and bearish comments from JPMorgan). Importantly, this became the largest mid-bull drop of that cycle (about –40%) (Bitcoin's history of bull market drawdowns - Blockworks). Nonetheless, Bitcoin proved resilient: within approximately 4 weeks, it regained the $5,000 level (by early October) (Bitcoin Historical Corrections) and then entered the final leg of the bull run.

• November 2017 (~30%): As Bitcoin rushed from ~$5K to ~$8K in late fall, it saw another steep pullback in November. Around Nov 8–12, BTC fell from roughly $7,500 down to $5,500 (around –26% intraday, 30% from wick to wick) amid the cancellation of the SegWit2x fork and a temporary rotation into altcoins. This dip was very brief – Bitcoin recovered to new highs ($8K+) within a couple of weeks in November.

(Note: There was also a final December 2017 drop of about 45% just after the peak – BTC fell from ~$19,800 to ~$11,000 in late December (Charting 2017's Biggest Crypto Price Correction). However, that occurred after the cycle’s peak and led into the 2018 bear market, so it’s not counted as a mid-bull correction with a recovery in that same cycle.)

Table 2 summarizes key 2016–2017 corrections of ~30–40%:

Recovery and Trend: Each of these corrections in 2016–2017 was followed by a robust recovery. During the 2017 bull run, Bitcoin never stayed down for long. For example, after the 40% September drop, BTC hit a new high above $5K by October (Bitcoin Historical Corrections). Similarly, the June–July drawdown gave way to new highs by August. Bullish momentum persisted despite occasional panics. Analysts note that the 2017 cycle had at least five or six 30%+ pullbacks on the road to $20K (Bitcoin Supercycle or nah? – Stephan Livera) (Bitcoin Supercycle or nah? – Stephan Livera). In each case, the correction was a temporary “reset” that allowed the rally to continue higher. By the end of 2017, Bitcoin reached ~$19,700, delivering an enormous overall gain (nearly 20× from the $1,000 level in Jan 2017 to the peak (Bitcoin's Price History)). From the true cycle start ($150 in 2015) to the top, BTC rose roughly 12,000% (Bitcoin latest bull market experienced several 30% plunges, will history repeat itself? - Forex Crunch).

The key takeaway from 2017’s bull cycle is that multiple 30–40% plunges were part of the journey to new highs. Bitcoin’s price recovered within weeks or months each time, ultimately culminating in a speculative blow-off top. This history gave investors perspective in later runs – a 30% dip, by itself, did not signify the end of the bull market.

Overview: The most recent major bull cycle peaked in November 2021. Bitcoin’s cycle low in the prior bear market was around $3,200 (in December 2018). From that trough, BTC climbed to an all-time high of $68,700 (on Nov 10, 2021) – a gain of roughly 2,000% over three years. Focusing on the intense rally of late 2020–2021, Bitcoin rose from about $10,000 in September 2020 (around the time it broke out of a long consolidation) to nearly $69,000 by late 2021. This cycle’s profile was a bit different: it featured fewer mid-cycle corrections in the 30–40% range, but did include one much larger pullback (~50%). By historical standards, the 2020–21 bull run was smoother initially (with smaller dips), until a hefty mid-cycle crash occurred. We will examine the notable corrections and their aftermath below.

Major Corrections in 2020–2021:

• January 2021 (~30%): After a rapid climb to ~$42,000 in early January 2021, Bitcoin underwent its first significant correction of the cycle. The price fell to about $29,000 in late January (Bitcoin’s Price Rebounds After 30% Drop From All-Time High - Decrypt) – roughly a 30% decline from the high. This pullback lasted only a couple of weeks. By early February, Bitcoin had rebounded above $40,000 (Bitcoin’s Price Rebounds After 30% Drop From All-Time High - Decrypt), fully recovering the loss. (This quick recovery reinforced the bullish sentiment at the time.)

• May–July 2021 (~50% crash): The most severe correction of the 2021 cycle came mid-year. After peaking around $64,800 in April 2021 (History of bitcoin - Wikipedia), BTC dropped all the way down to the low $30,000s by May 19, 2021. In fact, on May 19 alone, Bitcoin plunged nearly 30% intraday (hitting around $30K) during a capitulation event (Bitcoin (BTC) price plunges to $30,000, hits lowest level since January). In total, the drawdown from April to the eventual July low (~$29K on July 20) was approximately –54% (Bitcoin Historical Corrections). This correction was driven by a convergence of factors: Tesla’s bitcoin U-turn, China’s mining crackdown, and an overheated market. It took Bitcoin a while to recover – the price base-lined and consolidated in the $30K–$40K range for a few months. By late July 2021 the sell-off had stabilized (Bitcoin's history of bull market drawdowns - Blockworks), and a renewed rally began. Bitcoin fully regained its $64K April high in mid-October 2021, roughly 6 months after the peak of the drop (Bitcoin's history of bull market drawdowns - Blockworks). Notably, despite its severity, this crash did not end the bull cycle; instead, BTC went on to reach a higher peak later in the year.

• September 2021 (~25%): In early September, BTC reached about $52K and then pulled back to ~$40K (around –23%) by the end of September. While this decline was a bit milder (~1/4 off the top), it was another example of consolidation. The market quickly bounced back in Q4 2021.

(Aside from the mid-May crash, 2021 saw relatively few 30–40% dips during the bull phase. The early-year correction was around 30%, and the next big drop was the 50% May–July drawdown. Smaller retracements (~20–25%) occurred in February and September 2021, but no other 30–40% pullbacks occurred until after the final peak. After the November 2021 peak of ~$69K, Bitcoin fell ~39% to ~$42K by early December, and continued into a deeper decline – marking the start of the 2022 bear market.)

Table 3 summarizes the significant corrections during the 2020–2021 bull cycle:

Recovery and Subsequent Trend: The January 2021 dip was quickly followed by a strong surge – Bitcoin rallied to new highs above $50K in February. The May–July 2021 crash, while prolonged compared to earlier dips, eventually gave way to a remarkable recovery: by November 2021, Bitcoin not only regained its previous high but reached a new peak near $69K (Bitcoin's history of bull market drawdowns - Blockworks). In fact, after bottoming near $30K in July, BTC rose over 130% in the next four months. This pattern showed that even a deeper correction could be absorbed within a bull cycle given enough time and renewed catalysts.

Overall, the 2020–2021 bull cycle delivered Bitcoin’s price from ~$10K levels to the high $60Ks – roughly a 6× increase (or ~500% gain in 2021 alone). From the cycle’s $3,200 bottom (Dec 2018) to the $68,700 top, BTC gained about 2,050%. Compared to past cycles, 2021 had fewer routine 30–40% pullbacks, but it did have one large mid-cycle reset. After the November 2021 peak, the bull run ended and a new multi-month drawdown (ultimately >50%) began (Cryptocurrency Halving Cycles ).

Frequency and Severity of Corrections: Historical data shows that 30–40% corrections are common during Bitcoin bull markets. In the 2013 cycle, at least two such corrections occurred on the way to the peak (not counting the extreme April crash) (Bitcoin latest bull market experienced several 30% plunges, will history repeat itself? - Forex Crunch). The 2017 cycle had numerous mid-bull drawdowns in the 30–40% range – roughly five to six notable dips during 2016–2017 (Bitcoin Supercycle or nah? – Stephan Livera) (Bitcoin Historical Corrections). In the 2020–2021 cycle, 30–40% pullbacks were actually less frequent; the bull run saw mostly smaller dips (~20%) aside from the single big 50% retracement mid-cycle. Most bull-market corrections have clustered around ~30–38% declines, with ~40% being on the high end for a mid-cycle dip (Bitcoin's history of bull market drawdowns - Blockworks).

Recovery Durations: During these bull phases, recovery times ranged from weeks to months, depending on the drop’s magnitude and market context. Smaller corrections (30% or so) in strong uptrends (e.g., 2017) tended to be retraced within a few weeks. For instance, after the Sept 2017 40% drop, Bitcoin took only about a month to hit new highs (Bitcoin Historical Corrections). The Jan 2021 30% dip was recovered in under a month (Bitcoin’s Price Rebounds After 30% Drop From All-Time High - Decrypt) (Bitcoin’s Price Rebounds After 30% Drop From All-Time High - Decrypt). Deeper corrections or those caused by broader fear took longer: the Apr–Jul 2021 54% correction required ~6 months to fully recover (Bitcoin's history of bull market drawdowns - Blockworks), and the Apr 2013 83% crash needed ~7+ months to regain its former high. Generally, in an ongoing bull market, Bitcoin eventually resumes its uptrend after these corrections, once consolidation and renewed buying resolve the pullback.

Subsequent Price Trends: In all three cycles, each correction was followed by higher highs as long as the bull market continued. These dips often served as consolidation points that allowed new capital to enter. For example, after the mid-2017 corrections, Bitcoin rallied from ~$5K to $20K in the final leg. After the mid-2021 crash, Bitcoin rallied to a new ATH of $69K within months. It’s often observed that the most brutal drawdowns tend to occur at the tail end of bull runs or once the peak is in (Bitcoin's history of bull market drawdowns - Blockworks). Mid-cycle corrections, by contrast, have historically been buying opportunities during an uptrend.

Overall Cycle Gains: Each bull cycle delivered diminishing but still enormous percentage gains from cycle start to peak. To summarize the three cycles discussed:

• 2013 Cycle: Roughly 8,000–8,500% rise from ~$13 in early 2013 to ~$1,150 at the peak (and about 57,000% from the 2011 low to 2013 peak). (What Was the Price of Bitcoin in 2013? Bitcoin's Journey)

• 2017 Cycle: Approximately 1,900% gain from ~$1,000 in Jan 2017 to ~$19,700 in Dec 2017 (about 12,000% from the 2015 low of ~$152 to the peak) (Bitcoin latest bull market experienced several 30% plunges, will history repeat itself? - Forex Crunch).

• 2021 Cycle: Approximately 500–600% gain from ~$10,000 in mid-2020 to ~$69,000 in Nov 2021 (about 2,000% from the late 2018 low around $3,200 to the peak).

These figures show how each successive cycle’s ROI was lower in percentage terms (a sign of the market’s maturation and larger base). Nonetheless, all three bull runs were characterized by dramatic growth and high volatility.

In summary, Bitcoin’s bull markets in 2013, 2017, and 2021 all experienced multiple 30–40% corrections on the path to their peak prices. In each case, Bitcoin bounced back from these corrections to reach new highs – until the final top was hit. The number of significant pullbacks varied (several in 2013 and 2017; fewer in 2020–21), but severity of around one-third off the peak was a recurring theme. Recovery times ranged from quick (a few weeks) to prolonged (several months) depending on the cycle and context, but during the bull phase, recoveries did occur and the uptrend remained intact. Each cycle yielded a substantial overall gain from start to peak, even as percentage returns have trended lower over time (from thousands of percent in 2013 and 2017 to mere hundreds of percent in 2021).

These historical patterns illustrate that deep corrections are normal in Bitcoin bull runs (Bitcoin latest bull market experienced several 30% plunges, will history repeat itself? - Forex Crunch) (Bitcoin latest bull market experienced several 30% plunges, will history repeat itself? - Forex Crunch). Investors who endured 30–40% drawdowns during these cycles were ultimately rewarded as Bitcoin went on to appreciate to new all-time highs after each pullback. Understanding these past cycles – the corrections and recoveries – provides valuable context for interpreting Bitcoin’s volatility in future bull markets.

Sources:

• Bitcoin price historical data and commentary from 2013, 2017, 2021 (What Was the Price of Bitcoin in 2013? Bitcoin's Journey) (Bitcoin's Price History) (Bitcoin’s Price Rebounds After 30% Drop From All-Time High - Decrypt) (Bitcoin's history of bull market drawdowns - Blockworks).

• Analyses of past bull-market corrections and recoveries (Bitcoin latest bull market experienced several 30% plunges, will history repeat itself? - Forex Crunch) (Bitcoin Historical Corrections).

• Blockworks and other industry research on Bitcoin drawdowns during bull cycles (Bitcoin's history of bull market drawdowns - Blockworks) (Bitcoin Supercycle or nah? – Stephan Livera).