Investors who bought stocks during the COVID-19 market crash in 2020 have generally experienced some big gains in the past two years. But there is no question some big-name stocks performed better than others since the pandemic bottom.
Bitcoin's Big Run: As strong as the stock market has been since it bottomed on March 23, 2020, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) has been much stronger.
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Several factors led to a surge in Bitcoin buying in 2020. First, investors concerned about the potential long-term damage that trillions of dollars in federal stimulus could do to the value of the dollar have flooded into Bitcoin as a potential safe-haven play. Second, younger Americans receiving three rounds of direct stimulus payments have poured a significant chunk of that cash into investments, including Bitcoin.
After starting 2020 at around $7,200, Bitcoin prices had reached $10,000 by mid-February.
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By the beginning of March, the volatile cryptocurrency was back down to around $8,600 after news of the coronavirus spreading in China prompted concerns about a U.S. pandemic.
When the stock market bottomed in March, Bitcoin investors were feeling the pain as well. Investors who had purchased Bitcoin as a COVID-19 flight-to-safety trade were down big with Bitcoin falling all the way down to $3,948.92 on March 13, 2020. However, once the government stimulus payments started flowing, Bitcoin regained its swagger.
By May 31, Bitcoin prices were back above $10,000, and they made it to new all-time highs above $20,000 in December 2020, almost exactly three years after its last new high, as per data from Benzinga Pro.
Bitcoin In 2022, Beyond: Bitcoin eventually made it as high as $69,000 in November 2021 before pulling back to $42,283 today.
Still, investors who bought Bitcoin on the day it hit its pandemic low and held on have generated a huge return on their investment. In fact, $1,000 in Bitcoin purchased on March 13, 2020, would be worth about $8,183 today.
Given the rise in Bitcoin prices in the past two years coupled with the loss of stimulus payment support in 2022, some investors are understandably growing concerned about a potential repeat of the 2018 sell-off. Bitcoin has experienced three boom-to-bust drawdowns of more than 80% in the past decade, and a similar sell-off this time around could send its price tumbling back down to around the $13,800 level.