Bitcoin has fallen 50% or more from a high five times since the start of 2014. The deepest fall was 83.4%, from 17 December 2017 to 16 December 2018. A holding worth $10,000 at that high was worth $1,657 at the low.
The latest fall began on 6 October 2025. It reached 53.1% by 30 June 2026 and had not recovered by 26 October 2026. It now stands 35.8% below the high. SPY (the exchange-traded fund that tracks the S&P 500, an index of 500 large US companies), with dividends counted, had no fall of 50% over the same years. Its worst was 33.7%.
What is Bitcoin's crash history? Bitcoin's crash history is its record of falls from a high. We count a crash as a fall of 50% or more from the highest daily close so far, searching 1 January 2014 to 26 October 2026. There have been five.
The five fell between 53.1% and 83.4%. Three took 364 to 378 days to reach their low.
The four that recovered took 189 to 1,086 days from the high to a first close back at that high.
Bitcoin closed at least 50% below its highest close so far on 41.7% of its closes. SPY did not in the same years.
What counts as a Bitcoin crash?
A close is a day's closing price. A high is the highest close so far. A fall starts the day after a high and ends at the first close at or above that high. Its depth is the gap between the high and the lowest close in between.
We call a fall of 50% or more a crash. The test window runs from 1 January 2014 to 26 October 2026.
It holds 4,679 daily closes, which is 4,682 calendar days less the three days from 7 to 9 January 2015 that have no close in the file. A higher close before 2014 is not in the file, so the first fall is measured from the highest close since 1 January 2014.
Bitcoin trades every day of the year, so days here are calendar days. Depth compares one close with another, so it needs no annual adjustment.
How many times has Bitcoin crashed by 50% or more?
Five times. Bitcoin had 20 falls of 10% or more in the window, 14 of 20% or more and 8 of 30% or more. Five of those eight reached 50%.
Chart 1 shows how far below its highest close so far Bitcoin stood on each day. The five troughs are marked.
Source: YX Insights price data
The table gives each crash. Two of the five cleared the 50% line by about three points, at 53.14% and 53.07%.
High and close | Low and close | Depth | Days to low | First close back at old high | Rise needed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
7 Jan 2014, $919 | 15 Jan 2015, $171 | 81.35% | 373 | 28 Dec 2016 | 436.3% |
17 Dec 2017, $19,188 | 16 Dec 2018, $3,180 | 83.43% | 364 | 30 Nov 2020 | 503.5% |
13 Apr 2021, $63,575 | 20 Jul 2021, $29,793 | 53.14% | 98 | 19 Oct 2021 | 113.4% |
8 Nov 2021, $67,532 | 21 Nov 2022, $15,759 | 76.66% | 378 | 4 Mar 2024 | 328.5% |
6 Oct 2025, $124,720 | 30 Jun 2026, $58,532 | 53.07% | 267 so far | Not by 26 Oct 2026 | 113.1% |
Falls of 50% or more from the highest close so far, 1 January 2014 to 26 October 2026. Days are calendar days. Rise needed is the gain from the low that returns to the old high. Source: YX Insights price data
Each fall needs a larger rise to undo. The 83.4% fall in 2018 needed a rise of 503.5% to get back to the old high, while a 53.14% fall needs 113.4%.
How long did each Bitcoin crash take?
Chart 2 splits each crash in two: the days from the high to the low, then the days from the low back to the old high.
Source: YX Insights price data
Three crashes took 364 to 378 days to fall. They were the three deepest, at 81.4%, 83.4% and 76.7%. The April 2021 crash took 98 days, while the latest took 267 so far.
Measured from the high, the four recovered crashes took 189 to 1,086 days to reach a first close back at it. Measured from the low, they took 91 to 715 days. The April 2021 crash was the quickest, at 91 days. The 2014 and 2017 crashes took 713 and 715 days.
The latest crash had not recovered on 26 October 2026. The close that day was $80,011, which is 35.8% below the high of $124,720. The low came 118 days earlier.
A first close back at the old high does not always last. In all four recovered crashes, Bitcoin closed under the old high again afterwards. The last close under the 2017 high was on 12 January 2023, which makes the lasting recovery 60.9 months after the high.
Measured to the last close under the old high, as of 26 October 2026, the four took 36.8, 60.9, 64.1 and 57.3 months. The last two cleared their old highs for good only in August 2026, so they can still change. Our guide to Bitcoin volatility measures recovery that way.
How much of the time was Bitcoin in a crash?
Bitcoin closed at least 50% below its highest close so far on 1,951 of its 4,679 closes, which is 41.7%. It closed at least 30% below on 66.1% and at least 20% below on 74.2%.
It closed at a new high on 160 closes, which is 3.4% of the total. The longest unbroken stretch at 50% or more below the high ran for 533 daily closes in a row, from 9 May 2022 to 23 October 2023.
How does Bitcoin's crash history compare with the S&P 500?
We ran the same search on SPY from 2 January 2014 to 26 October 2026, which holds 3,223 closes. SPY's closes count dividends. Bitcoin pays none, so its close is its whole return.
Source: YX Insights price data
SPY had two falls of 20% or more and one of 30% or more, against 14 and 8 for Bitcoin. SPY had none of 50%. Its worst ran from 19 February to 23 March 2020, down 33.7%. SPY took 173 days from that high to a first close back at it.
SPY closed at least 30% under its highest close so far on 0.06% of its closes, against 66.1% for Bitcoin. Our explainer on stock market recovery time covers the S&P 500's falls in detail.
Does the count depend on how we measure it?
Yes. We ran five alternative searches. The count changes with the line we draw.
Two moved the threshold. Counting falls of 45% or more still gives five, while counting 55% or more gives three. The two falls at 53% drop out.
Three searches measured each fall from the highest close of the previous 30, 60 or 90 days instead of the highest close so far. We count lows within 30 days of each other as one cluster.
A 30-day look-back finds two fast crashes, both inside the 2017 to 2020 stretch. Bitcoin fell 57.4% from 8 January to 6 February 2018. It fell 53.3% from 14 February to 12 March 2020. The 2020 fall includes 12 March itself, Bitcoin's worst day from 2014 to October 2026, down 39.1%.
The highest-close-so-far search counted each of those once, inside a longer fall. A 60-day look-back finds five clusters of 50% falls, while a 90-day look-back finds seven. A count of crashes needs a rule. We chose the highest close so far because it has no window to pick.
What does this history leave out?
The test uses one price series over 12.8 years. The five crashes come one after another, so they are not five independent tests. The file holds prices only, so it says nothing about why Bitcoin fell.
The latest fall is still open, so its depth, length and 35.8% gap can change. Our Multi-model Signals cover Bitcoin. This post uses none of their output and makes no forecast.
Our guide to what Bitcoin is explains the coin, while our test of a $10,000 stake in Bitcoin shows what the same prices did for an investor. A drawdown is the general name for a fall from a high.
Bitcoin fell 50% or more from a high five times between 2014 and October 2026, from 53.1% to 83.4%. SPY had no such fall.
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Common questions about Bitcoin crashes
How many times has Bitcoin fallen 50% or more?
Five times from 1 January 2014 to 26 October 2026. A crash here means a fall of 50% or more from the highest daily close so far. The five fell 81.4%, 83.4%, 53.1%, 76.7% and 53.1%. The latest began on 6 October 2025 and had not recovered by 26 October 2026.
What was Bitcoin's biggest crash?
The biggest fall in the data was 83.4%, from a close of $19,188 on 17 December 2017 to $3,180 on 16 December 2018. It took 364 days to fall. The close first returned to the old high on 30 November 2020, 715 days after the low.
How long does it take Bitcoin to recover from a crash?
The four recovered crashes took 189 to 1,086 days from the high to a first close back at that high. The quickest, from the April 2021 high, took 189 days. After the 2017 high, the price first reached it again on 30 November 2020, then fell under it again.
How often does Bitcoin crash?
Bitcoin fell 50% or more from a high five times between 1 January 2014 and 26 October 2026, a window of 12.8 years. It also had three more falls of 30% to 50%. The five highs came in January 2014, December 2017, April 2021, November 2021 and October 2025. This describes past prices only.
DISCLAIMER: This article is intended for educational purposes only. Any information or analysis in this note does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities. Nothing in this note is intended to be investment advice, nor should it be relied upon to make investment decisions. Any opinions, analyses, or probabilities expressed in this note are those of the author as of the note's date of publication and are subject to change without notice.
