Trading term

What is All-time high?

An all-time high is the highest price a market has ever reached. Traders often measure it by the closing price, so one brief spike doesn't count.

Every fall in a market can be measured from its all-time high. How far below the high the price is today tells you how big the loss is for anyone who bought at the top, and how far it has to rise to get back.

That climb back is bigger than the fall. A 50% drop needs a 100% rise to return to the high. From April 2013 to September 2026, bitcoin set a new all-time-high close on only 3.5% of days, and it closed at least half below its high on 43% of them.

For example

Bitcoin's close of $124,728 on 6 October 2025 was its all-time high. By 30 June 2026 it had closed as low as $58,526, a 53% fall, so it needed to rise 113% from there to get back.

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Why it matters to you

Buying near an all-time high is when a big fall hurts the most. Someone who bought bitcoin at its December 2017 high waited 1,080 days to break even.

⚠ Treating a new high as a reason to buy

A new high says the price has never been higher. It says nothing about where it goes next. Check how far it could fall and how long you could wait to get back.

Frequently asked questions

How often does bitcoin hit an all-time high?

Rarely. From April 2013 to September 2026, 3.5% of bitcoin's daily closes set a new high. On 43% of days it was at least half below its high.

How long does it take bitcoin to get back to an all-time high?

After its three biggest falls, bitcoin took 1,177, 1,080 and 847 days to close back above the 2013, 2017 and 2021 highs.

Read the full guide

How markets workEvery Bitcoin Bear Market, Measured: How Deep and How LongBitcoin has fallen 50% or more from its high six times since 2013. Someone who bought at the 2013, 2017 or 2021 top waited 847 to 1,177 days to break even. Here's every fall, measured.8 min read

Related terms

Anchored VWAPAnchored VWAP is a volume-weighted average price that starts from one candle you choose, rather than resetting at the start of each session. You anchor it to a meaningful event — an earnings gap, a major low, a breakout — and it tracks the average price everyone has paid since.APY (annual percentage yield)APY is the rate you actually earn over a year once your interest starts earning interest of its own. It's the same money as the quoted rate, just counted properly: 5% APR compounded monthly works out to 5.1162% APY.Ascending triangleAn ascending triangle is a bullish continuation pattern: a flat horizontal resistance line on top, with a rising trendline of higher lows beneath it. As the higher lows squeeze price against the ceiling, pressure builds — and it usually resolves with a breakout up through the resistance.ATR (Average True Range)ATR (Average True Range) measures how much a security typically moves in a period — its volatility — as an average of recent trading ranges. It doesn't say which direction price is heading, only how far it tends to travel, which makes it a core tool for stop-losses and position size.
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