The Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) price broke all kinds of records in the 2022 financial year.
First, it hit new record highs in November. Then in June, the crypto fell below its previous cycle highs, set in December 2017, for the first time in its trading history.
Here's how and why the token moved over FY22.
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Bitcoin price off to a cracking start
Though it slid during the first two weeks, by mid-July 2021 the Bitcoin price was off to the races.
Bitcoin kicked off the financial year trading for US$35,041. By 10 November it reached all-time highs of US$68,790, according to data from CoinMarketCap. A handy 96% gain in four and a half months.
Crypto investors with virtual crystal balls who sold on that date won't be regretting it.
By the time we flipped our calendars into July and into FY23, the Bitcoin price had fallen to US$19,102, down 72% from the November record and down 55% for FY22.
The token hit lows of US$17,708 as recently as 19 June, putting it below the cyclical highs of 2017 that many analysts thought would provide support.
What were the crypto tailwinds and headwinds in FY22?
The financial year gone by locked in the reality that crypto assets are very much subject to the same forces impacting other risk assets.
When investors expected interest rates to stay low well into 2024, as central bank leaders had signalled, there was plenty of interest in cryptos and high growth stocks. When the mantra from central banks changed as the developed world faced unexpectedly fast rising inflation, investors began to reduce their exposure to risk assets like cryptos amid aggressive interest rate hikes.
The Bitcoin price was far from the only one to fall hard over the last six months. In fact, only 14 of the top 100 cryptos by market cap finished the period in the green. And most of those also fell sharply in H2.
The tech heavy NASDAQ offers a good illustration. The index hit its own all-time highs in November. By 30 June it had crashed 31%.
As for the 2023 financial year?
At the time of writing the Bitcoin price stands at US$22,103. That's up 8% over the past 24 hours and up 16% so far in FY23.
