On October 10, 2025, a crypto market crash wiped out $19 billion in leveraged Bitcoin positions. Despite being significant, it wasn’t the largest drop in BTC price history. Mt. Gox’s hack in 2011 saw 99.9% of Bitcoin value disappear, erasing market value due to a penny trade.

In April 2013, Mt. Gox experienced a 43% drop in Bitcoin price due to DDoS attacks. The attacks overwhelmed the exchange, leading to freezing trading and a sharp sell-off. Mt. Gox mentioned attackers would destabilize the exchange to profit from panic-selling.

In December 2013, the People’s Bank of China prohibited banks from dealing with Bitcoin, causing a 50% drop in price. Bitcoin had surged to over $1,200 before the ban. Former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan called Bitcoin a bubble, unable to determine its intrinsic value.

China’s crackdown on ICOs in September 2017 sent Bitcoin tumbling 25% in two days. The market initially dismissed the move as aimed at tokens, not Bitcoin. However, reports of exchanges closing led to a rapid sell-off, shifting trading liquidity from China to Japan and Korea.

Bitcoin’s introduction to regulated futures in late 2017 led to a 33% drop in 24 hours. Institutions preferred CBOE and CME’s futures contracts over offshore exchanges. The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco later linked the crash to the introduction of Bitcoin futures.

The COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 triggered a severe Bitcoin crash. Following the WHO’s pandemic declaration, BTC lost almost half its value in a day. Over $1 billion in leveraged positions were liquidated, causing cascading sales across exchanges.

In June 2021, Bitcoin fell 30% in 12 hours after China reiterated its crypto ban. The plunge earned the event the nickname “Black Wednesday.” By June 22, 2021, Bitcoin had dipped below $30,000 for the first time in six months.

Celsius freezing withdrawals in June 2021 due to extreme market conditions caused a 15% drop in Bitcoin price. The move came after TerraUSD’s collapse, sparking fears of a liquidity crisis. The day of the announcement, BTC fell from $26,000 to below $22,000.

FTX’s liquidity shortfall in November 2025 led to panic in the market, with Bitcoin dropping over 17% in 24 hours. FTX filed for bankruptcy, causing a ripple effect across the crypto industry for the next two years.

Read more at Yahoo Finance: 9 Biggest Bitcoin Crashes in History