Practice Bitcoin trading with $500 in demo money.
Bitcoin fell 26.6% in the 12 months to Oct 10, 2026. Practice trading it with $500 in demo money in the Staxo app, at real market prices, before you put your own money on it.
Free on iPhone and Android. Bitcoin is on the free plan. Also on Google Play.Also on the App Store.
- 1-year change-26.6%$113,000 to $82,913
- Volatility44.3%annualized, from daily closes
- Max drawdown-49.2%Oct 2025 to Jun 2026
- Days with a 5%+ move1711 up, 6 down
Kraken XBTUSD daily closes (UTC), Oct 10, 2025 to Oct 10, 2026. Rebuilt every week from the saved data.
Bitcoin over the last 12 months
The year started near the top. Bitcoin's highest close in the window, $115,166, came on Oct 13, 2025, and the lowest, $58,532, on Jun 30, 2026, 260 days later. Three of the other seven coins on the free plan hit their own low within a week of that date. Its 26.6% fall was still smaller than the drop of six of the other seven free-plan coins. It closed higher on 175 of the 365 days, and 5 of the 11 full calendar months ended higher. The best month was August 2026 (+25.1%), the worst June 2026 (-20.4%).
Bitcoin's annualized volatility was 44.3%. Of the eight free-plan coins that are not stablecoins, only TRON was calmer, and Cardano swung the most at 76.2%. It moved more than 5% in a day 17 times (11 up, 6 down), about once every 21 days. Its worst day, Feb 5, 2026, was also the worst day of the year for six of the other seven coins. Its two biggest daily moves came back to back: -13.9% on Feb 5, 2026 and +12.2% the next day. On a typical day the price moved 1.26% either way (the median daily move).
The slide from Oct 13, 2025 to Jun 30, 2026 took 260 days and cut the price by 49.2%, from $115,166 to $58,532. By Oct 10, 2026 it had not won that back: the last close was 28.0% below the peak.
How Bitcoin compared with the other seven
- Only TRON did better over the 12 months (+2.9%).
- Only TRON had a shallower maximum drawdown (16.7% against 49.2%).
- Its weekly buying result, +8.1%, was second only to Solana's +13.1%.
| Close on Oct 10, 2025 | $113,000 |
|---|---|
| Close on Oct 10, 2026 | $82,913 |
| 1-year change | -26.6% |
| Highest close | $115,166 on Oct 13, 2025 |
| Lowest close | $58,532 on Jun 30, 2026 |
| Annualized volatility | 44.3% |
| Median daily move | 1.26% |
| Days that closed higher | 175 of 365 |
| Days with a move over 5% | 17 (11 up, 6 down) |
| Best day | +12.2% on Feb 6, 2026 |
| Worst day | -13.9% on Feb 5, 2026 |
| Maximum drawdown | -49.2%, Oct 13, 2025 to Jun 30, 2026 |
| Months that ended higher | 5 of 11 full months |
| Best and worst month | August 2026 +25.1%, June 2026 -20.4% |
Bitcoin DCA vs one buy, with $500 of demo money
Buying weekly turned a losing year into a gain. $500 spread over 52 weekly buys was worth $540.43 on Oct 10, 2026 (+8.1%), while one buy on Oct 10, 2025 was worth $366.87 (-26.6%).
The weekly buys paid an average of $76,710 per BTC, 32.1% less than the $113,000 of the single buy, because 51 of the 52 buys came after the price had dropped below its starting level.
33 of the 52 buys were below the final price of $82,913, so a small majority of them ended in profit.
One buy on Oct 10, 2025
$366.87
-26.6%
$500 bought 0.00442 BTC at $113,000.
52 weekly buys of $9.62
$540.43
+8.1%
0.00652 BTC at an average of $76,710.
How the test was calculated
- Prices: Kraken XBTUSD daily closes (UTC), Oct 10, 2025 to Oct 10, 2026.
- One buy: $500 at the Oct 10, 2025 close of $113,000, valued at the Oct 10, 2026 close of $82,913.
- Weekly buys: $500 / 52 = $9.62 at the close of every seventh day from Oct 10, 2025 to Oct 2, 2026, 0.00652 BTC in total, valued at the same last close.
- No fees, no spread, fractional coins allowed. Run other amounts and schedules in the DCA calculator.
What is Bitcoin?
Bitcoin is the first cryptocurrency. It was launched in 2009 by the pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto and runs on a public blockchain that no company or government controls. New bitcoin is created by proof-of-work mining, and the protocol caps the total supply at 21 million coins. It is the largest cryptocurrency by market value, which is why many traders read the rest of the market against it.
More in the guide What is Bitcoin?
How to practice Bitcoin trading in Staxo
- Step 1
Download Staxo and get $500
Staxo is free on iPhone and Android. Create your account in the app and your demo wallet starts with $500, plus a daily bonus when you come back.
- Step 2
Find Bitcoin in the Market tab
Bitcoin (BTC) is one of the 10 coins on the free plan, so you can buy and sell it with market orders, up to 10 trades a day. At the Oct 10, 2026 close of $82,913, $500 bought about 0.00603 BTC.
- Step 3
Size the trade before you buy
A $100 position in Bitcoin moved about $1.26 on a typical day here, and lost $13.91 on the worst one (Feb 5, 2026). Pick the loss you accept per trade first, then use the position size calculator to turn it into a trade size.
- Step 4
Repeat the weekly test
Buy $9.62 of BTC on the same day each week, as in the test above, and compare your average cost with the price. Each buy is one of your 10 trades that day.
- Step 5
Add shorts and leverage with Pro
Staxo Pro adds short selling and leverage (1x, 2x and 5x). A short gains when the price falls, and Bitcoin closed lower on 190 of the 365 days here. Leverage multiplies every move: at 5x, the -13.9% of its worst day would have meant a 69.5% loss on the position.
Free plan: 10 coins including Bitcoin, market orders, up to 10 trades a day, 6 courses. Pro: $1.99 for the first month, then $8.99 a month or $59.99 a year, for all top 100 coins, all 42 courses, short selling and leverage.
Bitcoin practice questions
Can I practice Bitcoin trading for free?
Yes. Bitcoin (BTC) is on Staxo's free plan: you start with $500 in demo money and can trade it with market orders, up to 10 trades a day, on iPhone or Android. At the Oct 10, 2026 close, $500 bought about 0.00603 BTC. Pro adds short selling and leverage.
How volatile was Bitcoin over the last year?
From Oct 10, 2025 to Oct 10, 2026, Bitcoin's annualized volatility was 44.3%. It moved more than 5% in a day 17 times. The biggest daily rise was +12.2% on Feb 6, 2026 and the biggest fall -13.9% on Feb 5, 2026.
What would $500 in Bitcoin a year ago be worth now?
$500 of Bitcoin bought at the Oct 10, 2025 close of $113,000 was worth $366.87 on Oct 10, 2026 (-26.6%). Spread over 52 weekly buys of $9.62, the same $500 was worth $540.43 (+8.1%). No fees are included.
What was Bitcoin's biggest drop in the last year?
Bitcoin fell 49.2% from $115,166 on Oct 13, 2025 to $58,532 on Jun 30, 2026, over 260 days. By Oct 10, 2026 it had not returned to that peak: the last close, $82,913, was 28.0% below it.
Is Bitcoin less volatile than other cryptocurrencies?
Over this window it was calmer than most. Bitcoin's annualized volatility of 44.3% compares with an average of 58.4% for the other seven free-plan coins on Staxo's free plan; only TRON (23.7%) moved less.
Keep practicing
Coins that moved like Bitcoin
Over the same 365 days, Bitcoin's daily moves matched Ethereum most closely (correlation 0.91), then Solana (0.87).
Practice Bitcoin with $500 in demo money.
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Educational content, not investment advice. The figures describe Bitcoin's price from Oct 10, 2025 to Oct 10, 2026 and say nothing about where it goes next. Staxo is a simulator: you practice with demo money, never real money.