Bitcoin Falls Below $300—What Happened?
Bitcoin is in free fall again. Over the weekend, the cryptocurrency dropped to just $290—its lowest price in almost a year. In just 48 hours, Bitcoin shed 18% of its value, continuing a downward trend that started after its peak at $1,100 last December.
While the price has since bounced back slightly to around $330, the crypto community is left wondering—why the steady decline? And more importantly, is Bitcoin in real trouble?
The Mechanics Behind Bitcoin’s Price Drop
Several factors are contributing to Bitcoin’s slump, but experts believe one of the biggest culprits is Bitcoin mining itself.
Economic historian Garrick Hileman from the London School of Economics explains that miners—who validate Bitcoin transactions using powerful computers—are constantly introducing new coins into the market.
“Approximately every 10 minutes, 25 new bitcoins are mined into existence,” Hileman says. “That’s about 3,600 new bitcoins every day—roughly $1.2 million in new supply.”
Since miners need to cover electricity costs and upgrade their equipment, they sell off some of their newly minted coins. If the market isn’t strong enough to absorb this constant supply, the price inevitably drops.
Did More Merchants Accepting Bitcoin Cause the Fall?
Oddly enough, Bitcoin’s recent adoption by big names like PayPal may have contributed to its decline. When PayPal announced in late September that it would allow merchants to accept Bitcoin, prices saw a brief surge—but that momentum quickly faded.
Some speculated that as more businesses started accepting Bitcoin, more coins entered circulation, increasing supply and pushing prices down. However, Hileman believes this isn’t the primary reason for the long-term slump.
Instead, speculative trading, regulatory concerns, and competition from alternative payment systems (such as faster blockchain networks) are all playing a role in Bitcoin’s continued volatility.
Crypto Bulls Still See the Bigger Picture
Not everyone in the crypto space is worried. Bitcoin investor Roger Ver remains bullish, reminding skeptics that Bitcoin is still up significantly over the past year.
“For anyone complaining about the current price of Bitcoin, remember it has more than doubled over the last 12 months,” Ver tweeted, sharing a graph that showed Bitcoin trading at just $120 a year ago.
So, is Bitcoin’s current dip just another temporary setback, or does it signal deeper trouble for the cryptocurrency? As history has shown, Bitcoin thrives on volatility—but whether it will recover this time remains to be seen.