April Fools' Baby: Bitcoin's 13-Year Glow-Up From $100 to $70K

Bitcoin crossed $100 for the first time on April 1, 2013. Thirteen years later, it lounges comfortably near $70,000—because why not. Yes, April Fools' Day. The universe apparently has a sense of humor when it comes to Bitcoin's price milestones. Nobody's complaining, but the timing will forever feel like the market's little inside joke.

Back then, the Cyprus banking crisis had everyone questioning traditional finance. Bitcoin, still a niche experiment, started showing up in more conversations. That $100 milestone gave the market a reference point nobody expected to matter much longer. We were all just vibing in crypto forums back then, arguing about whether Bitcoin would ever be "adopted." Turns out, adoption looks a lot like your parent's retirement account holding it now.

Then came the cycles. Each one pushed Bitcoin to new records while delivering smaller percentage gains than its predecessor. The math tells the story: 2013 peak delivered 38x the 2011 high, because apparently multiplying by 38 is what happens when nobody's watching. The 2017 cycle managed a mere 16x the 2013 top. By 2021, we were down to roughly 3x the previous record. And the 2025 high of over $126,000? Less than 2x the 2021 peak. The explosive runs are getting... polite, relatively speaking. Bitcoin's inner degen is maturing into a responsible adult who checks his risk tolerance before YOLOing.

$70,000 Keeps Pulling Focus

Bitcoin currently trades near $70,000—a level that matches the prior cycle's record high from 2019-2022. Previous cycles rarely returned to old peaks. This one did, and that return has traders watching closely. Old ATHs used to become distant memories, like your high school GPA. Now they're more like that friend who keeps showing up at the same coffee shop. When prices revisit old highs, buyers often show up. Some missed earlier breakouts. Others use those levels in broader cycle analysis. The defense of the $65,000 range has kept attention on whether Bitcoin has already bottomed. We've been asking "is this the bottom?" so often we should just add it to our Twitter bio.

Is the Market Showing a Bottom?

CryptoQuant data places Bitcoin's realized price near $54,286. Spot recently traded around $68,774. That puts Bitcoin roughly 21% above the average cost basis of