From "The Wolf is Coming" to Gradual Desensitization, Talking About Memes May Become a Thing of the Past
After experiencing the significant drop in the cryptocurrency market on March 12, 2020, 312 has become an important symbol.Article Author: 0x9999in1, MetaEra
March 12, 2025, inevitably brings back memories of the fear dominated by the cryptocurrency market crash on March 12, 2020. On that day, the price of Bitcoin plummeted from around $8,000 to $3,800, a drop of over 50% in a single day, with hundreds of billions of dollars in total market value evaporating and countless leveraged positions being liquidated.
Since then, "312" has become an important symbol. Every year on March 12, crypto practitioners talk about it with trepidation. So what significant events or market changes have occurred in the crypto market on subsequent March 12s? MetaEra will outline them one by one.
March 12, 2021
Market Change: The price of Bitcoin rebounded significantly from the low of March 12, 2020 (around $3,800), reaching over $58,000 on March 12, 2021, setting a new historical high at that time.
The first anniversary of "312" saw reflections and discussions within the community about that crash.
Tesla announced it had purchased $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin and planned to accept Bitcoin as a payment method.
U.S. President Biden signed a $1.9 trillion economic stimulus bill, which had a positive impact on assets like Bitcoin.
Bitcoin was seen as "digital gold," and the narrative of hedging against inflation gradually became popular.
DeFi (Decentralized Finance) and NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) began to rise, driving up the prices of ecosystem tokens like Ethereum.
March 12, 2022
Market Change: The price of Bitcoin hovered around $40,000, a decline from the 2021 peak but still well above the low of March 2020.
Goldman Sachs began hiring professionals in the digital asset field, indicating increased interest from traditional financial institutions in cryptocurrencies.
Singapore's Finance Minister Lawrence Wong announced that Singapore would tax NFT transactions.
Bitfinex stated it would not freeze the accounts of ordinary Russian customers unless compelled to do so.
The crypto market entered a period of adjustment, but emerging fields like NFTs and GameFi (Gamified Finance) remained active.
March 12, 2023
Market Change: The price of Bitcoin was around $22,000, with the market in a bear cycle.
The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) shook global financial markets, particularly impacting the USDC stablecoin.
Circle pledged to use company resources to fill the liquidity gap and ensure USDC remained pegged to the dollar.
The Central Bank of Russia allowed limited purchases of cryptocurrencies, showing a relatively lenient attitude toward cryptocurrency regulation.
March 12, 2024
Market Change: The price of Bitcoin broke through $70,000, setting a new historical high.
Bitcoin's price surpassed the historical high of $72,000, indicating increased market confidence.
Bernstein released a report predicting Bitcoin would reach $150,000 by mid-2025.
The yield on Germany's 10-year government bonds hit its highest level since 2023, reflecting changes in the macroeconomic environment.
March 12, 2025
Market Change: The price of Bitcoin fell below $80,000, hitting a low of $76,000, with total liquidations across the network reaching $120 million.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) delayed its approval decisions on several cryptocurrency-related products, including Grayscale's DOGE ETF and six other cryptocurrency ETF applications, increasing market uncertainty.
The U.S. February CPI data was significantly below expectations.
A whale on Hyperliquid entered with 50x leverage, opening a long position of about $300 million in ETH, ultimately leading to the liquidation of 160,234.18 ETH (worth $306 million), leaving with $1.8 million in USDC.
Notably, Gate.io organized a "312" fifth anniversary event, reviewing the historical events of two consecutive days of significant declines in all cryptocurrencies five years ago. A KOL stated, "Spot holders may only bear asset depreciation, but contract players might be completely wiped out due to an extreme fluctuation. This is the most expensive lesson I learned from '312'!"
Looking back at the "312" events after 2020, while the market changes of "312" may not be replicable, the lessons of "312" continue to serve as a warning. The crypto community often reflects on the anniversary of this event to analyze market changes, reflect on lessons learned, and discuss the future direction of the industry.
