After one of the most dramatic weekly rallies of 2015, Bitcoin underwent a sharp correction on November 5 that saw the digital currency drop roughly $40 in a single day, falling below the psychologically important $400 level. The pullback came just 24 hours after Bitcoin had peaked at $492.40 on the CoinDesk USD Bitcoin Price Index, briefly touching $500 on select exchanges and brokerages around the world.
TL;DR
- Bitcoin surged over 70% between late October and early November 2015, peaking near $500
- Price corrected sharply, dropping $40 from an opening of $408.74 to below $400 on November 5
- Chinese exchanges led the initial rally, with the CNY Bitcoin Price Index showing even larger gains
- BTC was trading at approximately $386 by November 7, according to CoinMarketCap data
- The rally was fueled by a stream of positive news including Microsoft’s Ethereum partnership
The Rally That Stunned the Market
Bitcoin’s November 2015 rally was remarkable in both its speed and magnitude. Starting from around $250 in early October, the price began climbing steadily through the month, accelerating sharply in the final days of October and into November. Bitcoin Magazine reported on November 2 that the price surge to $360+ had been led primarily by Chinese exchanges, where trading volume was exploding. By November 3, CoinDesk reported that Bitcoin had broken through $400 with a 12% surge, opening the day at $359.35 before rocketing to $403.30.
The momentum didn’t stop there. On November 4, Bitcoin reached its peak of $492.40 on the CoinDesk BPI, with some exchanges briefly showing prices above $500 — a level not seen since the summer of 2014. The sheer velocity of the move caught many traders off guard, with short positions being liquidated across major exchanges.
The Correction Begins
But what goes up fast often comes down fast. On November 5, Bitcoin opened at $408.74 and proceeded to lose $40 over the course of the day, a decline of approximately 5%. The intraday high of $447.25 was reached at 3:04 UTC, but selling pressure mounted throughout the day, pushing the price down to $389.59 by press time.
The Chinese exchanges told an even starker story. The CoinDesk CNY Bitcoin Price Index showed the digital currency falling to ¥2,648.02 (approximately $417), a decrease of roughly 9.5% from the day’s opening at ¥2,932.14 ($462.09). The higher CNY prices reflected the persistent premium on Chinese exchanges, where zero-fee trading models encouraged enormous volume.
What Drove the Rally
The October-November rally was attributed to a confluence of positive developments. Academic research later described it as “a steady stream of good news between October 27 and November 7, 2015” that led to a price jump of more than 70%. Key catalysts included:
- Microsoft’s blockchain announcement: On October 27, the Wall Street Journal reported that Microsoft would offer Ethereum-based services on its Azure cloud platform, bringing mainstream tech legitimacy to cryptocurrency
- Chinese market dynamics: Zero-fee trading on major Chinese exchanges like OKCoin and Huobi fueled speculative volume and price momentum
- Growing mainstream attention: The Economist published a feature on Bitcoin and its mysterious creator Satoshi Nakamoto on November 2, raising public awareness
- Anticipation of the 2016 halving: With Bitcoin’s block reward halving scheduled for mid-2016, forward-looking investors began positioning early
Market Landscape
As of November 7, CoinMarketCap data showed Bitcoin trading at $386.48 with a market capitalization of $5.73 billion and 24-hour volume of $56.6 million. The broader cryptocurrency market was still tiny by modern standards. XRP sat in second place by market cap at $155.6 million, followed by Litecoin at $155 million and Ethereum at just $69 million. Ethereum’s ETH token was trading below $1 at $0.928, having only recently crossed the dollar mark for the first time.
Other notable altcoins from this era included Dash at $2.71, Dogecoin at $0.0001446, and Monero at $0.45. The total cryptocurrency market capitalization was measured in single-digit billions — a fraction of today’s multi-trillion-dollar valuations.
Why This Matters
The November 2015 rally was Bitcoin’s most significant price movement since the post-Mt. Gox recovery began earlier that year. It demonstrated that Bitcoin could attract substantial buying interest even without the infrastructure — ETFs, regulated exchanges, institutional custody — that would later characterize the market. The $500 peak, though brief, represented a major psychological milestone and set the stage for Bitcoin’s gradual climb through 2016 toward the $1,000 mark and beyond. For traders who had endured the bear market of 2014-2015, this week in November was the first real signal that Bitcoin’s best days might still lie ahead.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Cryptocurrency investments carry significant risk.