Bitcoin fell to a near four-week low yesterday evening, threatening to dip under the $12,000 (£8,900) barrier for the first time since 5 December.
But despite making big gains in the last three months of 2017 and rocketing to all-time highs in mid-December, savvy bitcoin investors made their biggest monthly gains much earlier in the year.
As many in Britain focused on the General Election, May (the month, not the Prime Minister) delivered the best returns. Bitcoin prices rose almost 73 per cent during the month, from $1,348 to $2,330, according to Coindesk. August was the second best month, with the cryptocurrency posting a rise of nearly 66 per cent.
Read more: Is the bubble bursting already? Bitcoin plummets to $12,500
Bitcoin monthly returns
| Date | Price ($) | Month | Percentage return |
| 31/12/16 | 968.23 | ||
| 31/01/17 | 967.67 | Jan-17 | -0.06% |
| 28/02/17 | 1190.89 | Feb-17 | 23.07% |
| 31/03/17 | 1079.75 | Mar-17 | -9.33% |
| 30/04/17 | 1347.96 | Apr-17 | 24.84% |
| 31/05/17 | 2330.23 | May-17 | 72.87% |
| 30/06/17 | 2499.98 | Jun-17 | 7.28% |
| 31/07/17 | 2873.83 | Jul-17 | 14.95% |
| 31/08/17 | 4764.87 | Aug-17 | 65.80% |
| 30/09/17 | 4353.05 | Sep-17 | -8.64% |
| 31/10/17 | 6447.67 | Oct-17 | 48.12% |
| 30/11/17 | 9916.54 | Nov-17 | 53.80% |
| 31/12/17* | 13321.07 | Dec-17 | 34.33% |
| Full-year return | 1275.82% |
*Taking prices at 1pm on 31/12/17 as proxy (Source: Coindesk BPI)
Bitcoin fell to $12,189 shortly before 5pm yesterday. But it has recovered today and surged more than $1,000 over the last few hours to $13,321, according to Coindesk.
Mid-December saw bitcoin hit highs nearing $20,000, if the notoriously volatile cryptocurrency had held onto such gains 2017's final month would have delivered the best returns.
But the opening of bitcoin futures trading, first on the Cboe futures exchange and then on the world's largest futures exchange, the CME, has seen prices fall away as we approach 2018. Long investors were delivered a fresh blow this week when South Korea announced a crackdown on cryptocurrencies.
Despite the sell-off in the second half of December, bitcoin prices have delivered monster returns for anyone to have invested at the start of the year, delivering returns of approaching 1,300 per cent.
Read more: South Korea crackdown sends bitcoin tumbling
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