Just when crypto enthusiasts thought they’d seen it all, Bitcoin’s latest nosedive has veteran traders experiencing an uncomfortable sense of déjà vu. The patterns emerging from crypto’s recent plunge look eerily familiar to those who weathered the infamous 2017-2018 rollercoaster. And honestly? It’s giving everyone flashbacks.
Back in 2017, Bitcoin skyrocketed to $19,783 in a textbook case of market mania. A staggering 1,300% climb that year. Retail investors poured in, driven by FOMO and the ICO craze Ethereum had sparked. Everyone from taxi drivers to grandmothers suddenly became crypto experts.
The Wild West days when everyone’s uncle had a crypto tip and “blockchain” became the ultimate dinner party buzzword.
Then came the hangover—a brutal 65% crash from January to February 2018, eventually bottoming out 80% below its peak by November.
Fast forward to today. Different year, same psychology. The key difference? Players have changed. While 2017’s wild ride was fueled largely by retail investors clutching their phones and panic-trading, today’s market wobbles under the weight of institutional money. Big suits, bigger stakes.
Market infrastructure has matured considerably since crypto’s teenage years. Regulated exchanges, sophisticated trading tools, better custody solutions—2023’s crypto ecosystem barely resembles its 2017 counterpart. Yet human nature remains stubbornly consistent.
Both periods featured that classic parabolic rise before the inevitable correction. Sharp 50%+ drops. Massive volatility spikes. Technical analysts are watching for the Golden Cross indicator, which has historically signaled the beginning of sustained bull markets in cryptocurrency. The technical charts might as well be carbon copies.
The macroeconomic landscape tells a different story, though. In 2017, loose monetary policies created fertile ground for speculative assets. Today’s environment features inflation concerns and rising interest rates—not exactly crypto’s favorite playground.
Media narratives swing wildly, as usual. Bullish euphoria transforms into bearish panic overnight. Social media amplifies these mood swings to dizzying extremes. This hysteria is reminiscent of June 2011 when Bitcoin soared to $29.58 following a Gawker article about Silk Road, only to crash dramatically in the following months. MicroStrategy’s billion-dollar Bitcoin purchase in 2020 similarly highlighted how major investment moves can dramatically shift market sentiment.
Despite all this, the crypto market has repeatedly demonstrated remarkable resilience. Bitcoin’s pattern of dramatic falls followed by spectacular recoveries has become almost predictable. Almost.
And that’s the story veteran traders are betting on once again.
