Volatility describes how much and how quickly the price of an asset changes. If the price barely moves from day to day, volatility is low. If it rises or falls by tens of per cent within a few weeks, volatility is high. Crypto is among the most volatile assets there are.
How volatile is crypto?
The price of bitcoin peaked at around 69,000 US dollars in November 2021. A year later it had fallen below 16,000 dollars, a drop of more than 75%. Swings of this size, both up and down, have happened many times in Bitcoin's history. Smaller coins usually swing even more.
Periods of rising prices are called a bull marketBull marketA long period when market prices mostly rise and investors are optimistic., and periods of falling prices a bear marketBear marketA long period when market prices mostly fall and investors are pessimistic..
Why does crypto swing so much?
There are several reasons. The market is young, and prices are driven largely by expectations, news and mood. Most coins produce no income or dividends that could anchor the price. Smaller coins have little LiquidityLiquidityHow easily an asset can be bought or sold quickly at a fair price, without the trade moving the price much., so large trades move the price a lot. And trading never stops: it runs around the clock, every day of the year.
What does this mean for you?
High volatility can bring large gains but also large losses. Remember that if a price falls by 50%, it has to rise by 100% just to get back to where it was. Never put more into crypto than you can afford to lose. Some people spread their purchases over time with dollar-cost averagingDollar-cost averaging (DCA)Buying the same amount at regular intervals, for example monthly, instead of investing everything at once. to smooth out the swings.
Everything in Myntkaup Learn is written and regularly reviewed by the Myntkaup editorial team. It is for education and is not investment advice. Editorial policy. Updated 18 October 2026.