Crypto Market Storm: A Review of the "312" Incident and Subsequent Developments

March 12, 2025 once again evoked memories of the significant drop in the crypto market on March 12, 2020. At that time, the price of Bitcoin plummeted from around $8,000 to $3,800, with a single-day decline of over 50%, resulting in hundreds of billions of dollars in market value evaporating and a large number of leveraged trades being liquidated.

Since then, "312" has become an important symbol in the encryption community. Every year on this day, industry practitioners review the events of the year. Let us sort out the major events and market changes in the crypto market on March 12 in the following years.

March 12, 2021

The price of Bitcoin rebounded significantly from its low on March 12, 2020, breaking through $58,000 and setting a new historical high at that time. The community reflected on and discussed the crash that occurred a year earlier.

• A certain electric vehicle company announced that it has purchased $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin and plans to accept Bitcoin payments.
• The U.S. government has signed a $1.9 trillion economic stimulus bill, which has a positive impact on assets like Bitcoin.
• Bitcoin is regarded as "digital gold", and the view of it as a hedge against inflation is gradually gaining popularity.
• DeFi and NFTs are starting to rise, driving up the prices of ecosystem tokens like Ethereum.

March 12, 2022

The price of Bitcoin fluctuates around $40,000, down from the peak in 2021, but still significantly higher than the low in March 2020.

• A large investment bank has begun recruiting professionals in the digital asset field, indicating a growing interest in cryptocurrencies among traditional financial institutions.
• The Minister of Finance of Singapore announced that NFT transactions will be taxed.
• A certain trading platform stated that it will not freeze the accounts of regular Russian customers unless compelled to do so.
• The crypto market is entering a period of adjustment, but emerging fields such as NFT and GameFi remain active.

March 12, 2023

The price of Bitcoin is around $22,000, and the market is in a bear market cycle.

• The bankruptcy of a certain American bank has triggered shocks in the global financial markets, significantly affecting the USDC stablecoin.
• A stablecoin issuing company promises to use company resources to cover liquidity gaps, ensuring that USDC is pegged to the US dollar.
• The Central Bank of Russia allows limited purchases of encryption, indicating a relatively lenient regulatory attitude.

March 12, 2024

The price of Bitcoin has surpassed $70,000, setting a new historical high.

• The price of Bitcoin has surpassed a historic high of $72,000, indicating increased market confidence.
• A research institution predicts that Bitcoin will reach $150,000 by mid-2025.
• The yield on Germany's 10-year government bonds reached its highest level since 2023, reflecting changes in the macro economy.

March 12, 2025

The price of Bitcoin has fallen below $80,000, reaching a low of $76,000, with the total liquidation amount across the network reaching $120 million.

• The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has delayed its approval decisions on multiple crypto market-related products, adding uncertainty to the market.
• The US February CPI data is significantly below expectations.
• A whale entered a trading platform with 50x leverage, opening approximately $300 million in ETH long positions, ultimately leading to the liquidation of 160,234.18 ETH (valued at $30.6 million) and exiting with 1.8 million USDC.

A trading platform organized the "312" fifth anniversary event, reflecting on the historical event of the significant drop in the crypto market five years ago. An industry opinion leader stated: "Spot holders may only endure asset depreciation, but contract players could completely exit due to an extreme volatility. This is the most expensive lesson I learned from '312'!"

Looking back at the "312" incident following 2020, although the market may not be able to replicate it, the lessons from "312" are still worth heeding. The crypto market community is more focused on reviewing and analyzing market changes, reflecting on lessons learned, and discussing the future direction of the industry around the anniversary of this event.