Bitcoin (BTC) received 475 death sentences during 80% crashes... How did it survive?

▲ Bitcoin (BTC), bear market, bull market/AI-generated image

Bitcoin (BTC) has repeatedly survived exchange collapses, government regulations, internal divisions, and 80% plunges, standing on the threshold of the institutional investment era in 2020.

Crypto-specialized YouTube channel Coin Bureau highlighted Bitcoin's survival history in a video uploaded on September 10 (local time). On November 27, 2013, Bitcoin first surpassed $1,000. At the time, Mt. Gox had grown into the largest Bitcoin exchange, holding approximately 1.1 million active accounts. Coinbase secured over 600,000 Bitcoin wallets and raised $25 million in investment.

The first major shock was the collapse of Mt. Gox in 2014. Mt. Gox halted Bitcoin withdrawals on February 7 and stopped trading on February 24 of the same month. It later announced that approximately 850,000 BTC had disappeared and filed for bankruptcy protection. The loss at the time was approximately $460 million. Although 200,000 BTC were found in dormant wallets a few weeks later, it could not restore lost trust. Coin Bureau explained that this incident served as a turning point, distinguishing between the failure of a centralized exchange and the failure of the Bitcoin network.

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Government pressure continued. New York State introduced BitLicense in 2015, and the Reserve Bank of India cut off connections between financial institutions and the cryptocurrency industry in 2018. China intensified exchange regulations in 2017 and then cracked down heavily on Bitcoin mining in 2021. China once accounted for about 75% of the world's Bitcoin mining power. After the crackdown, mining companies moved to the US, Kazakhstan, and other countries, and the network's computing power recovered.

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Internal conflicts also shook Bitcoin. From 2015 to 2017, conflicts over block size continued, and on August 1, 2017, Bitcoin Cash (BCH) forked. SegWit2x, proposed in the same year, was canceled due to community opposition. Market shocks also recurred. After exceeding $1,100 in 2013, Bitcoin fell to around $150 in early 2015, a drop of about 85%. It surged to $19,666 in 2017 but then dropped below $3,200 in December 2018, a decline of over 80% from its peak.

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The turning point came in 2020. Strategy (MicroStrategy) purchased 21,454 BTC for $250 million in August of the same year and adopted Bitcoin as its primary treasury reserve asset. Coin Bureau emphasized that although Bitcoin had been declared 'dead' a whopping 475 times since 2010, the actual network never disappeared. This survival record, enduring exchange bankruptcies, hacks, government crackdowns, internal divisions, and massive crashes, became the backdrop for listed companies and large investors to change their perception of Bitcoin.

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[Article Key Summary]

-Bitcoin maintained its network despite the collapse of Mt. Gox, government regulations in various countries, and the block size war.

-Its price plummeted by about 85% in 2015 and over 80% in 2018 but later recovered.

-In 2020, Strategy (MicroStrategy) purchased 21,454 BTC for $250 million, ushering in the era of institutional investment in Bitcoin.

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*Disclaimer: This article is for investment reference only, and we are not responsible for any investment losses based on it. This content should be interpreted for informational purposes only.*