Despite the bearish 2022 forecast and the negative predictions for the new year, bitcoin proved all critics wrong in January, increasing its USD value by nearly 40%.
As a result, this was the asset’s best-performing January since 2013.
Massive Gains 10 Years Later
In terms of price action, 2022 turned out to be one of the worst years for bitcoin, as the entire industry deteriorated amid massive collapses. It all started with the Terra ecosystem implosion in the middle of the year, followed by a slew of bankruptcies from companies with LUNA and UST exposure.
The sector was finally beginning to recover at the end of the year when FTX crashed even more spectacularly. Being one of the field’s colossi until November, the contagion spread like wildfire, with ripple effects felt almost everywhere.
Returning to bitcoin, it fell below $16,000 for the first time in about two years. For reference, on January 1, 2022, it traded above $46,000. As a result, it finished last year with a 65% drop, despite adding around a grand by the end.
The first week of the new year was similar, with BTC hovering around $17,000. However, on January 9, the asset finally broke above that coveted line and has never looked back since. On the contrary, it increased by double digits and reached a 5-month high of $24,000 over the weekend. Despite losing some value over the next two days, bitcoin ended the month at around $23,000, a 39.66% increase.
This is the best-performing January since 2013 when it increased by 44%. Overall, January was the best month for Bitcoin (39.93%) since October 2021.
