On November 29, 2015, Bitcoin was trading at approximately $371, capping off a remarkable month that saw the pioneering cryptocurrency gain nearly 20% and silence critics who had spent much of the year proclaiming its demise. The rally from the low $200s to the mid-$370s represented one of the strongest monthly performances of 2015, and it came at a pivotal moment for the broader cryptocurrency ecosystem.
TL;DR
- Bitcoin price reached approximately $371 on November 29, 2015, up nearly 20% for the month
- Total cryptocurrency market capitalization stood at roughly $5.8 billion
- LTC gained 17% on the week to $3.67; Peercoin surged 23%
- Ethereum traded below $1 at $0.88, just weeks after Devcon 1 in London
- The rally set the stage for Bitcoin’s strongest year-end performance since 2013
A Month of Sustained Gains
Bitcoin’s November rally was not a single dramatic spike but rather a sustained climb that built momentum throughout the month. From a Thanksgiving Day price of roughly $323-357, BTC pushed steadily higher, reaching $371 by November 29 and eventually closing the month at $377.32. The weekly gain alone was 14.86%, accompanied by 24-hour trading volume of approximately $40 million — significant figures for what was still a nascent market.
The rally was notable for its breadth across the cryptocurrency market. Litecoin, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization at $159 million, gained 17.2% on the week to reach $3.67. Peercoin delivered an even more impressive 23% weekly gain. Even Dogecoin, often dismissed as a joke currency, maintained a market capitalization of over $13 million with modest gains. The total cryptocurrency market capitalization hovered around $5.8 billion — a fraction of today’s valuations but a meaningful recovery from the depths of 2015.
Ethereum’s Quiet Beginning
Perhaps the most striking contrast with today’s market was Ethereum’s position. With a market capitalization of just $66 million and a price of $0.88, ETH was the fourth-largest cryptocurrency but traded at a fraction of Bitcoin’s value. Just two weeks earlier, Ethereum had held its first major developer conference, Devcon 1, at Gibson Hall in London from November 9-13. The event drew over 400 attendees and was later described as Ethereum’s “Woodstock moment” — a gathering where adventurous bankers from major financial institutions mingled with developers who were still figuring out what the platform could become.
Devcon 1 took place barely 100 days after the Ethereum network had launched, when the network had grown from a few hundred nodes to what the Ethereum Foundation described as a “very substantial, globally deployed stable platform.” The contrast between the excitement at Devcon 1 and Ethereum’s sub-$1 price underscored just how early the market was in pricing the platform’s potential.
The “Blockchain Not Bitcoin” Narrative
November 2015 also marked the peak of a narrative shift that had defined much of the year: the financial industry’s embrace of “blockchain technology” while dismissing Bitcoin itself. Major banks and financial institutions had begun exploring distributed ledger systems, but many went out of their way to distance themselves from the cryptocurrency that had created the technology. As industry observers noted at the time, this separation was somewhat absurd — the blockchain being celebrated was, in fact, Bitcoin’s blockchain, and the two were inseparable by design.
The irony was that Bitcoin’s price recovery in November challenged this narrative directly. As BTC climbed past $370, it became harder to argue that the cryptocurrency was dying while its underlying technology thrived. The market was beginning to recognize what developers and early adopters had understood all along: Bitcoin and its blockchain were two sides of the same coin.
Why This Matters
The November 2015 rally was more than a price movement — it was the beginning of Bitcoin’s resurrection as a credible financial asset. The gains of this period set the stage for Bitcoin’s eventual rise through 2016, culminating in its second halving and the historic bull run of 2017. Looking back, the sub-$400 Bitcoin of November 2015 represented one of the last opportunities to acquire BTC at three-digit prices before the cryptocurrency entered a fundamentally different era.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Past performance is not indicative of future results.