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Bitcoin Drawdown Analyzer

Every major Bitcoin crash since 2010: how deep, how long, and how fast each recovery took. History says they always recover.

Drawdown Threshold

Showing 16 drawdowns exceeding 20% from all-time high.

Total Crashes
16
>20% since 2010
Worst Crash
-92%
Jun 12 2011
Median Full Cycle
154d
Peak → new ATH
Current Drawdown
-42%
Since Oct 5

Drawdown From All-Time High

How far below its previous all-time high Bitcoin has been at each point in time. The deeper the red, the bigger the crash.

BTC Price (Log Scale)

Logarithmic scale shows that even the worst crashes are small relative to Bitcoin's long-term trajectory.

Drawdown Depth Comparison

Side-by-side comparison of each crash's peak-to-trough decline. The orange bar is the current active drawdown.

All Drawdowns

#PeakTroughDepthFallRecoveryFull Cycle
1
Nov 7, 2010
$0.34
Dec 12, 2010
$0.23
-32%35d35d70d
2
Feb 13, 2011
$1.09
Apr 10, 2011
$0.77
-29%56d14d70d
3
May 15, 2011
$8.82
May 22, 2011
$6.61
-25%7d14d21d
4
Jun 12, 2011
$28.80
Nov 20, 2011
$2.35
-92%161d1.3y1.7y
5
Apr 7, 2013
$143.61
Jul 7, 2013
$70.27
-51%91d105d196d
6
Dec 1, 2013
$1,119
Jan 18, 2015
$210.34
-81%1.1y2.1y3.2y
7
Mar 5, 2017
$1,267
Mar 26, 2017
$966.72
-24%21d35d56d
8
Jun 11, 2017
$2,958
Jul 16, 2017
$1,930
-35%35d21d56d
9
Sep 3, 2017
$4,583
Sep 17, 2017
$3,583
-22%14d21d35d
10
Dec 17, 2017
$19,141
Dec 16, 2018
$3,253
-83%364d2.0y3.0y
11
Feb 21, 2021
$57,540
Feb 28, 2021
$45,138
-22%7d14d21d
12
Apr 11, 2021
$60,205
Jul 18, 2021
$31,797
-47%98d91d189d
13
Nov 14, 2021
$65,467
Nov 20, 2022
$16,292
-75%1.0y1.3y2.3y
14
Mar 31, 2024
$71,334
Sep 8, 2024
$54,842
-23%161d63d224d
15
Dec 15, 2024
$104,299
Apr 6, 2025
$78,214
-25%112d42d154d
16
Oct 5, 2025
$123,513
Mar 1, 2026
$65,738
-47%147dActive—

Fall = peak to trough duration. Recovery = trough to new ATH. Full Cycle = peak to new ATH.

The pattern: Bitcoin has experienced 16 drawdowns exceeding 20% since 2014. Every single completed drawdown was followed by a new all-time high. The median full cycle (peak to new ATH) is 154d. The worst crash (-92%in 2011–2011) took 1.7y to recover. Bitcoin is currently in a -47% drawdown from its Oct 5, 2025 peak of $123,513.

Methodology

Weekly BTC/USD closing prices sourced from Blockchain.info (Aug 2010 – Sep 2014) and Yahoo Finance (Sep 2014 – present). A drawdown begins when BTC falls below its previous all-time high and ends when it establishes a new all-time high.

Overlapping or nested drawdowns within a single cycle are merged — only the deepest trough counts. Recovery time measures from the deepest trough to the next new ATH.

Past recovery patterns do not guarantee future recoveries. Bitcoin could theoretically suffer a permanent decline. Position sizing should account for this tail risk.

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Deep dive: Every Bitcoin Drawdown Over 20%: How Long Did Recovery Take?

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