Cryptocurrency is also known as digital currency, which means it only exists in computers. It is transferred between colleagues/peers without any requirement of a middleman such as banks. A public record called ledger or blockchain is used to store and record information on a transaction. This transaction data is encrypted using cryptography, hence the name cryptocurrencies. It is controlled by users and different algorithms and not by the government (unlike banks); thus, it is decentralized. The blockchain can be viewed across many computers and users. Hence it is open to all. Bitcoin is one of the many cryptocurrencies.
All about the crypto winter
In the 2017s, there was a huge rise in bitcoin value, from $162 up to $19,886, however after that, in just two years, the price of bitcoins fell by 70 percent! Other cryptocurrencies also started to face struggles slowly. While recent investors enjoyed the fruits, early investors were buried underwater with no profit. Bitcoin has been able to recover a few of the losses, but a lot has to be done. The only question is, how long will this winter last?
How it all started
The first bear season experienced by the bitcoin fans was during June, it lasted for about 162 days and ended in November. The digital currency’s value had peaked in the summers of June, but eventually to a low of $2.01 per BTC from $31.50, thus losing 93% of its value. However, for the bitcoin investors, they could see a ray of hope. In January 2011, the bitcoin value was somewhere around $7.08 per coin. Up till 2012, it was recovering fast, gaining up to 250 percent. Shortly after, issues with the exchange hacks such as Linode and Bitcoinica and problems with the platform trade hill, the value started falling slowly, for up to 185 days, causing it to lose about 40 percent of the original. By July 2012, the value per bitcoin was $ 4.22. However, the investors noticed another weird trend and decided to go with it, hence the value to soar up to $13.35 per coin, an increase of 216 percent by August 2012. Once again, during the winters of 2012, the value plummeted to $8.40, about 37 percent, much like the 2019 drop. This lasted for 111 days, and the apparent cause for it was problems with second Bitcoinica hacks and many lawsuits that followed it.
Sharply a year later, from January to November 2013, the values of BTC flew to the highest peak of $1,166. Good days continued until December 2013, following the trend, the value once again dropped to a low, and continued so, causing one of the longest crypto winters. The drought like market stretched for so long that it swallowed the entire of 2014. At that time, 80 percent of value was lost; from the BTC’s peak at $1,166, it swooped down to $197. This wasn’t the case of bitcoin alone, and many other cryptocurrencies also dropped down following the same fate as bitcoin.
Up until October of 2018, anyone could’ve easily purchased a bitcoin at a value ranging from $197 to around $300.
So, what does the future look like?
As you can see, the bitcoin values are quite predictable, although the charts do show the decreasing value day by day. Since the last two years were pretty good, investors have made a significant profit. The future is still unknown, but the rate at which bitcoin is able to recover, there are chances that the crypto winters may not last too long. The passion for crypto is not going away any time soon, though we might experience another drought like winter, it is sure to not prolong like what 2014 saw.
