Bitcoin price in 2016
How bitcoin's price moved through 2016, month by month, and the events behind the moves.
Bitcoin started at $429.68 on January 1, 2016 and ended 2016 at $968.97, a rise of 126%. Its highest daily close was $979.96 on December 28, 2016 and its lowest was $366.34 on January 31, 2016.
2016 at a glance
- Open
- $429.68
- Close
- $968.97
- Change over the year
- +126%
- Highest daily close
- $979.96 (Dec 28)
- Lowest daily close
- $366.34 (Jan 31)
- Intraday high (StatMuse)
- $979.40
- Intraday low (StatMuse)
- $354.91
Bitcoin price by month in 2016
| Month | Close | High (daily close) | Low (daily close) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | $366.34 | $459.21 | $366.34 | −14.7% |
| February | $437.78 | $440.20 | $368.10 | +19.5% |
| March | $415.96 | $432.81 | $397.31 | −5.0% |
| April | $449.90 | $469.61 | $417.20 | +8.2% |
| May | $530.94 | $533.49 | $437.72 | +18.0% |
| June | $674.28 | $767.42 | $537.61 | +27.0% |
| July | $624.80 | $702.74 | $624.80 | −7.3% |
| August | $572.27 | $606.51 | $526.98 | −8.4% |
| September | $608.87 | $630.55 | $572.22 | +6.4% |
| October | $698.90 | $715.45 | $610.01 | +14.8% |
| November | $742.20 | $751.21 | $689.94 | +6.2% |
| December | $968.97 | $979.96 | $752.67 | +30.6% |
"Close" is the price at the end of the month's last day. Change is against the previous month's close.
What happened in 2016
- July 9: the second halving at block 420,000 cuts the reward from 25 to 12.5 BTC.
- August 2: about 120,000 BTC are stolen from the Bitfinex exchange.
- The price roughly doubles over the year and ends near $1,000.
The second halving happened this year. Read how halvings work and when the next one is.
What $100 did in 2016
$100 of bitcoin bought at the start of the year ($429.68) would have been worth about $225.51 at the end of 2016, before fees and taxes. Bought at the year's high close instead, it would have been worth $98.88. Timing within a single year mattered a lot. To see what it would be worth today, use the Bitcoin investment calculator.
About these numbers
Prices are Coin Metrics' daily closing reference prices in US dollars. Other sources differ a little: the 2016 close was $963.74 on StatMuse and $963.74 on Coinlore, a gap of 0.5% from ours. See the method and cross-check for every year.
Frequently asked questions
What was the price of bitcoin in 2016?
It ranged from a low daily close of $366.34 to a high of $979.96. It started at $429.68 and ended the year at $968.97.
What was bitcoin's highest price in 2016?
The highest daily close was $979.96 on December 28, 2016. The highest intraday trade, per StatMuse, was $979.40.
Did bitcoin go up or down in 2016?
Up: it gained 126% from its opening price to the December 31 close.
Sources
- Coin Metrics free daily network data, PriceUSD (GitHub archive, CC BY-NC 4.0)
- Bitcoin price by year: open, high, low, close (StatMuse Money)
- Bitcoin historical data and yearly returns (Coinlore)
- Controlled supply (Bitcoin Wiki)
- 2016 Bitfinex hack (Wikipedia)
Written for beginners and checked against the sources listed. Last reviewed November 4, 2026. This page is educational and is not financial, tax or legal advice. How we write and check pages.