Bitcoin Returns — Monthly, Quarterly & Yearly ROI History
Every month Bitcoin has ever traded, laid out as one table. Green months, red months, the years that made people rich and the years that wiped them out — all from the same daily price series, with nothing smoothed over.
Bitcoin monthly returns, every year
Month-on-month change in the daily average price · the current month is still running| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | −4.9% | −22% | +1.3% | +14% | −2.7% | −18% | +5.4% | −28% | |||||
| 2025 | +13% | −19% | −2.7% | +14% | +10% | +4.2% | +8.7% | −7.7% | +5.2% | −5.3% | −16% | −2.7% | −4.6% |
| 2024 | +1.9% | +46% | +11% | −8.4% | +7.1% | −11% | +8.7% | −11% | +11% | +10% | +35% | −5.0% | +120% |
| 2023 | +38% | +2.9% | +19% | +4.3% | −5.3% | +9.9% | −3.9% | −6.7% | −1.4% | +28% | +9.8% | +11% | +154% |
| 2022 | −20% | −0.6% | +25% | −18% | −18% | −37% | +18% | −16% | −1.0% | +5.3% | −20% | +1.0% | −65% |
| 2021 | +19% | +34% | +27% | −8.8% | −33% | +0.5% | +18% | +12% | −12% | +49% | −6.3% | −18% | +63% |
| 2020 | +32% | −8.3% | −26% | +37% | +10% | −5.3% | +21% | +5.3% | −7.4% | +25% | +34% | +59% | +300% |
| 2019 | −10% | +10% | +7.3% | +28% | +57% | +44% | −19% | −0.1% | −16% | +14% | −15% | −6.9% | +87% |
| 2018 | −20% | +5.4% | −36% | +37% | −21% | −16% | +31% | −15% | −5.6% | −4.4% | −32% | −9.7% | −69% |
| 2017 | −4.0% | +30% | −13% | +29% | +65% | +15% | +7.8% | +67% | −9.1% | +47% | +57% | +31% | +1,216% |
| 2016 | −12% | +15% | −4.2% | +10% | +15% | +21% | +2.9% | −12% | +4.9% | +15% | +4.7% | +31% | +124% |
| 2015 | −27% | +11% | −1.6% | −9.0% | +3.0% | +10% | +13% | −21% | +3.7% | +39% | +13% | +15% | +38% |
| 2014 | +8.6% | −27% | −21% | −2.3% | +39% | −3.4% | −6.1% | −11% | −25% | −7.6% | +8.8% | −17% | −58% |
| 2013 | +48% | +55% | +196% | +56% | −11% | −26% | +13% | +16% | +1.7% | +62% | +450% | −35% | +5,327% |
| 2012 | +26% | −11% | −2.4% | +3.1% | +3.4% | +29% | +38% | +18% | +14% | −13% | +15% | +7.6% | +204% |
| 2011 | +60% | +100% | −17% | +281% | +199% | +90% | −19% | −35% | −46% | −27% | −17% | +50% | +1,390% |
| 2010 | −14% | +217% | +47% | +7.1% |
Daily average prices from blockchain.com, August 2010 to July 2026, with the live price standing in for the month in progress. A month's figure is its close against the previous month's close, so it will differ slightly from sources that use a single exchange or a different daily cut-off.
What the table actually tells you
Three patterns are worth more than any single number in it.
The average month is positive and almost meaningless. Bitcoin’s mean monthly return is strongly positive, but the distribution behind it is enormous — the best month and the worst month are separated by a range no traditional asset comes close to. An average built from +40% and −35% months does not describe any month you are likely to live through.
The wins are concentrated. Strip out a handful of explosive months and most of the historical return disappears. That is the mathematical reason buy-and-hold has beaten most active trading in Bitcoin: being out of the market for the wrong four weeks has cost more than being in it for every bad month combined.
Bad years cluster. Look down the yearly column and the losses are not scattered randomly — they arrive in consecutive stretches. Anyone planning to hold should assume the possibility of more than a year below their entry price, because that has happened repeatedly.
Quarterly returns
The same series grouped by quarter, which is how most funds and traders frame seasonality.
Bitcoin quarterly returns
| Year | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | −25% | −9.8% | −28% | ||
| 2025 | −11% | +32% | +5.6% | −23% | −4.6% |
| 2024 | +65% | −13% | +7.8% | +41% | +120% |
| 2023 | +69% | +8.6% | −12% | +57% | +154% |
| 2022 | −0.1% | −57% | −2.4% | −15% | −65% |
| 2021 | +104% | −39% | +16% | +14% | +63% |
| 2020 | −11% | +43% | +18% | +166% | +300% |
| 2019 | +6.4% | +189% | −32% | −10% | +87% |
| 2018 | −46% | −9.2% | +5.9% | −41% | −69% |
| 2017 | +8.0% | +146% | +64% | +203% | +1,216% |
| 2016 | −3.4% | +54% | −5.0% | +59% | +124% |
| 2015 | −20% | +3.2% | −7.5% | +81% | +38% |
| 2014 | −38% | +31% | −38% | −17% | −58% |
| 2013 | +582% | +2.7% | +34% | +480% | +5,327% |
| 2012 | +8.7% | +37% | +87% | +8.6% | +204% |
| 2011 | +167% | +2,069% | −72% | −9.5% | +1,390% |
| 2010 | +400% |
Is there really a seasonal pattern?
You will see claims that a particular month is reliably strong or weak for Bitcoin. Treat them carefully. With only a dozen or so observations per calendar month, a single outlier moves the average enormously, and Bitcoin’s history is short enough that any monthly pattern you can find is well within what random variation produces. The four-year halving rhythm has a mechanical story behind it; “September is bad” mostly does not.
The honest use of this table is not prediction. It is calibration: it shows you the size of move that is normal, so a 20% month does not feel like the end of the world or the start of a new era.
Bitcoin on this date, in every past year
What one bitcoin cost on today’s date each year, and what holding from then to now would have returned.
Bitcoin on July 28, year by year
Held to today at $63,354.00| Year | Price that day | Return since | Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $119,461.83 | −47% | 0.5× |
| 2024 | $67,826.14 | −6.6% | 0.9× |
| 2023 | $29,213.94 | +117% | 2.2× |
| 2022 | $22,950.29 | +176% | 2.8× |
| 2021 | $39,405.95 | +61% | 1.6× |
| 2020 | $11,042.40 | +474% | 5.7× |
| 2019 | $9,473.99 | +569% | 6.7× |
| 2018 | $8,178.33 | +675% | 7.7× |
| 2017 | $2,656.53 | +2,285% | 23.8× |
| 2016 | $655.37 | +9,567% | 96.7× |
| 2015 | $293.93 | +21,454% | 216× |
| 2014 | $593.68 | +10,571% | 107× |
| 2013 | $94.12 | +67,212% | 673× |
| 2012 | $8.95 | +707,766% | 7,079× |
| 2011 | $14.10 | +449,219% | 4,493× |
If I had bought back then
The question everyone actually asks. Pick an amount and a month.
Buying at a month's closing price and holding to today, ignoring fees, spreads and taxes. Annualised is the compound annual growth rate. Past returns of this size are a fact about the past, not a forecast — Bitcoin has also spent years below an earlier high.
Frequently asked questions
Where does this price history come from?
The daily average USD price published by blockchain.com, which covers Bitcoin’s entire traded history. We use it because free crypto data APIs generally cap historical access at one year, which is useless for a returns table. The live price for the month in progress comes from CoinGecko.
Why do your numbers differ slightly from other sites?
Because “the price of Bitcoin” on a given day is not one number. We use a daily average across exchanges and measure a month from close to close in UTC. A site using a single exchange, a different time zone, or the last trade of the month will land a percentage point or two away. The shape of the table is identical; the decimals are not.
Why is the current month outlined?
Because it has not finished. That cell is the change from last month’s close to the live price right now, and it will keep moving until the month ends. It is excluded from the average, best and worst statistics for the same reason.
Does the calculator account for fees or taxes?
No. It is a clean price-to-price calculation. Real returns would be lower: exchange fees, spreads, withdrawal costs and — in most countries — capital gains tax on disposal. Treat the output as a ceiling.
Do these returns mean Bitcoin will keep going up?
No, and the table itself is the argument. It contains multi-year stretches of deep losses alongside the gains. Historical returns describe what happened to an asset that grew from nothing into a trillion-dollar market; that specific journey cannot repeat from here. Nothing on this page is financial advice — see our risk disclaimer.