Bitcoin Price History: A Year-by-Year Breakdown

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On May 22, 2010, crypto miner Laszlo Hanyecz traded 10,000 of his Bitcoins for two Papa John’s pizzas. It was the first real-world cryptocurrency transaction in history.

Roughly 15 years later, those same 10,000 Bitcoins would be worth $967.5 million at the cryptocurrency’s price as of Feb. 13, 2025. While the price of two pizzas at Papa John’s has gone up considerably over the past 15 years — not as much as the cost of a Bitcoin. It’s safe to say that most people would prefer having 10,000 Bitcoins at this point. Instead of two pizzas, you could now buy close to 2,000 Papa John’s franchises with that amount of money, if you preferred.

Of course, Bitcoin’s path to riches has been anything but smooth over the years. Here’s a look at the ups and downs the cryptocurrency has had along the way.

The Price of Bitcoin Over the Years

The price of Bitcoin over the years has gone from being worth less than a penny to being worth a brand-new, fully-loaded Tesla Model S — all in less than 20 years. Here’s how it all happened.

Bitcoin Prices in 2009-2010: The Early Years

When mystery person(s) Satoshi Nakamoto developed Bitcoin in 2008, it didn’t have a standard value or price. Cryptography hobbyists who began mining Bitcoin in 2009, upon the launch of the blockchain, used it to barter, exchange and settle bets and challenges with each other online.

It never had a fixed value until that monumental day in 2010 when Laszlo Hanyecz offered his self-mined stash of Bitcoins to anyone who could get a couple of pizzas to his house the fastest.

Since the pizzas were valued at about $25, according to U.S. News & World Report, the nascent crypto community agreed that a single Bitcoin should be worth a quarter of a penny. It was a defining moment in the history of Bitcoin prices — the cryptocurrency now had an agreed-upon value.

In July 2010, a few months after the now-famous pizza standard was set, Bitcoin hit the open exchanges like the now infamous and bankrupt Mt. Gox. On exchanges, the cryptocurrency could be easily bought, sold and priced against the U.S. dollar. It opened with an asking price of $0.0008. That’s eight 10,000ths of a dollar. The wild ride of the coming decade would start almost immediately. By the end of the month, Bitcoin’s price had soared to $0.08 — eight whole pennies.

Bitcoin Gains Traction: 2011-2013

February 2011 was a milestone for Bitcoin, which breached the $1 mark that month. Then, something that would come to define Bitcoin investing happened for the first time — a bubble formed. By June, just a few months later, bitcoin had soared to around $31 before the bubble did what bubbles do. It burst, and the price flopped back down to the single digits.

Another watershed moment came in 2013. Bitcoin started the year trading at around $12, according to Forbes. By the end of November, that number had vaulted to $1,242, an incredible record high for Bitcoin, which at that point was trading at almost exactly the same price as an ounce of gold. Prices later fell back down to the low triple digits and stayed there — until they didn’t.

The Market Matures: 2014-2017

In 2016, Bitcoin moved into the high triple digits, and at the very start of 2017, it broke $1,000 again.

In a run that drew comparisons to the dot-com bubble of the late 1990s, it took off and never stopped until it peaked on Dec. 16, 2017, at $19,497.40. It was yet another bubble. Prices soon collapsed to under $10,000, bottoming out in the low $3,000s at the end of 2018 and the start of 2019.

In 2019, prices briefly breached $10,000 again before fizzling into a low four-figure lull. Then the 2020 pandemic came. COVID-19 made the discreet, secure and decentralized Bitcoin a hot commodity that continued to get hotter and hasn’t cooled off to 2019 levels since.

Bitcoin started 2020 at $7,200. By mid-summer, it was back into five figures, where it remains to this day. By the middle of December, it had passed the 2017 record and was trading in the $20,000s for the first time.

The Rollercoaster Years: 2018-2021

Bitcoin began 2021 at just below $30,000. Over the next two-and-a-half years, it essentially went nowhere — although it sure didn’t feel like that to its investors.

In a Feb. 8, 2021, Securities and Exchange Commission filing, Tesla announced it had purchased $1.5 billion in Bitcoin the previous month and expected to begin accepting Bitcoin as payment for its products in the near future. By the end of the day, Bitcoin’s value had surged nearly 19%, to $46,196. It hit $50,000 for the first time about a week later, on Feb. 16.

Bitcoin had already breached $61,000 and fallen back over to $54,738 when Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced in a tweet on March 24, 2021, “You can now buy a Tesla with Bitcoin.” Within days, Bitcoin prices began an upward trend, settling in the upper $50,000s.

Again, the bubble was destined to burst. Citing “rapidly increasing use of fossil fuels for Bitcoin mining and transactions,” Musk announced in a May tweet that Tesla had suspended vehicle purchases using Bitcoin. The coin received another blow that month when China cracked down on cryptocurrency mining and trading and announced that regulators would investigate cryptocurrency and power usage, Reuters reported at the time. The one-two punch cost Bitcoin 37% of its value that month.

As was its nature, however, Bitcoin entered another bubble phase near the end of 2021, reaching its highest price to date of $68,789.63 on Nov. 10, 2021. However, a disastrous bust was about to follow in 2022. That was the year that crypto exchange FTX filed for bankruptcy, and its CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, went to jail for fraud. Some pundits called it the end of Bitcoin, and its price absolutely cratered, finishing 2022 at $16,538.

But that was just the beginning of yet another boom cycle for Bitcoin, according to CNBC, as it ended up soaring in 2023 and 2024.

Recent Trends: 2022-Present

The expression “it’s always darkest before the dawn” seems to be the mantra for Bitcoin. After looking like it might be on the way out at the end of 2022, Bitcoin embarked on a two-year rally that surprised even its biggest supporters. A number of catalysts propelled Bitcoin in 2023, according to CNBC, including the easing of Fed interest-rate hikes, anticipation of the next Bitcoin halving in May 2024, and a host of new Bitcoin exchange-traded funds hitting the market.

After jumping from $16,606.50 at the start of 2023 to $42,556.93 by year-end, Bitcoin went on to more than double again in 2024, finishing the year at $93,897.38, cresting $100,000 along the way. A combination of reduced supply, increased demand, and the election of a much more pro-crypto presidential administration in November all acted as tailwinds for Bitcoin, in addition to the general market appetite for risk assets.

An Analysis of the Price of Bitcoin Over the Years

Bitcoin’s price history is a story of extremes. The first extreme is obvious — astronomical growth. In gains that are truly hard to grasp, Bitcoin started at $0.0008 and rose to over $100,000 less than 15 years later.

The second extreme was volatility. The decade was peppered with massive bubbles that, when burst, triggered free-falling prices that floated sideways for years on end until the next bubble formed. That pattern started in 2011 and has repeated itself every few years.

Major Factors Influencing Bitcoin Price Over the Years

Speculative bubbles seem to have formed around times of crisis, fear, and uncertainty. Bitcoin was developed in 2008 as an alternative to the traditional financial system at the height of the Great Recession.

A bubble formed around Donald Trump’s election both times, while others formed around his impeachment, the pandemic, and on and on.

Drama in Bitcoin’s early years made the ride a whole lot bumpier, as well. Ponzi schemes and other frauds that had nothing to do with Bitcoin, like BitConnect and OneCoin, had ripple effects felt by all cryptocurrency investors. But every time the crypto’s price surges, investors wonder, is it too late to get into Bitcoin? This speculative drive has continually fueled bubbles in Bitcoin over the years.

Lessons from Bitcoin’s Price History

Bitcoin’s price history highlights the extreme volatility of the cryptocurrency market. Sharp price swings can create opportunities but also come with significant risks. Investors who understand this volatility are better equipped to make informed decisions.

Patience and long-term thinking have proven to be key factors in Bitcoin investing. While short-term traders may capitalize on price fluctuations, those who held Bitcoin through past downturns often saw substantial gains over time. A long-term perspective can help investors navigate market cycles without making impulsive decisions.

Just be sure to understand the pros and cons of investing in Bitcoin before you put your money at risk.

GOBankingRates’ Crypto Guides

• What Is Cardano? (ADA)
• What Is Bitcoin Cash? (BCH)
• What Is Chainlink? (LINK)
• What Is Dogecoin? (DOGE)
• What Is Litecoin? (LTC)
• What Is Polkadot? (DOT)
• What Is Ripple? (XRP)
• What Is Stellar? (XLM)
• What Is Tether? (USDT)

Daria Uhlig contributed to the reporting for this article.

Information is accurate as of Feb. 14, 2025.

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