What Was Happening in 2014
January 2014 opened with Bitcoin around $810, still riding momentum from the late-2013 rally. But the year would become one of Bitcoin's most painful. In February, Mt. Gox, then handling roughly 70% of all Bitcoin trades, halted withdrawals and eventually filed for bankruptcy after revealing that 850,000 BTC had been lost. The price collapsed.
By the end of 2014, Bitcoin sat at $320. Starting a DCA at the beginning of that year meant watching your investment lose value for months. Your $100/week kept buying through the wreckage: $570 in February, $450 in March, $320 by December. Each purchase felt like throwing money into a black hole. The media declared Bitcoin dead (for the 5th time).
But those purchases at $320-$450 would prove to be some of the best buys of the decade. The people who kept their DCA running through the 2014 bear market accumulated bitcoin at prices that now seem impossibly cheap.
The Crashes You Survived
Starting in 2014, you entered right into a bear market. Bitcoin fell from $810 to $217 over the following year, a 73% decline. You then survived the 2017 bubble (down 74%), the COVID crash, the 2022 bear market (down 71%), and the current correction. Five major drawdowns, each one testing whether you'd keep buying or give up. The DCA kept running.
- 2017 Bubble Pop: -74% ($14,156 to $3,709)
- COVID Crash: -27% ($8,780 to $6,430)
- Mid-2021 Correction: -39% ($57,878 to $35,040)
- 2022 Bear Market: -71% ($56,994 to $16,547)
- 2025-2026 Correction: -41% ($115,758 to $68,000)
Run your own scenario
Try different amounts, frequencies, and start dates with real historical data.
Open DCA Calculator →Ready to start your own plan? Read our Bitcoin savings plan guide. Wondering if you should invest all at once instead? See our DCA vs lump sum analysis. Not sure how much to allocate? Our sizing guide walks through practical frameworks.