Bitcoin Magazine provides a detailed summary of the price history of Bitcoin from 2009 to 2023. 2009-2010:
Bitcoin was launched in 2009 and began trading on the open market at a value of roughly $0.003. This low value was mainly due to the lack of infrastructure and overall knowledge of the cryptocurrency project at the time. There was also a lack of legislative and regulatory framework supporting the asset’s value. Over the next year, Bitcoin slowly increased in popularity, with the value eventually reaching a high of $0.08 in June of 2010.
2011-2013:
In early 2011, Bitcoin saw a massive surge in price, reaching a high of over $31 towards the middle of the year. This was mostly driven by increasing awareness of the cryptocurrency’s potential use cases. Towards the end of 2011, however, the price started to decline, and the asset eventually returned to the sub $10 range.
Start of 2012 saw Bitcoin losing steam, as interest in the asset cooled off following the peak. Things briefly started to look up when the asset briefly shot up to over $200 in April, before crashing back down to near $50 levels later that month.
2014-2016:
The year 2014 was a relatively quiet one for Bitcoin, with prices fluctuating between $400-1000. It wasn’t until the year 2015 that Bitcoin started gaining traction with the general public, with the asset’s price soaring above $500 and setting the stage for a strong finish to the year.
The year 2016 saw Bitcoin continuing to rise, with the price of the asset reportedly reaching a high of $1,100 in early 2017. This rise was largely attributed to increasing demand stemming from improved infrastructure and increased adoption by both institutional and retail investors.
2017-2023:
2017 proved to be a breakout year for Bitcoin, with the asset’s price cross the $10,000 range, and then eventually reaching a high of over $20,000 in December. This rise was driven by an explosion in both retail and institutional demand for Bitcoin and related cryptocurrency assets.
In 2018, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies experienced a massive downturn. Bitcoin lost over 80% of its value, ending the year at $3,000. In 2019, Bitcoin inched its way back up, recovering to the $10,000 range.
Looking ahead to the years 2020-2023, it is expected that the price of Bitcoin will continue to be volatile and unpredictable. Despite this, it is believed that the underlying technology and network that Bitcoin runs on will continue to develop and improve, and as a result, prices will increase over the next few years. Some analysts even predict that Bitcoin could exceed its 2017 high of $20,000 by the end of 2023.