The S&P 500 has now entered correction territory, defined as a 10% decline from its all-time high. A further 10% drop would signal a bear market. But is it time to panic? Since Bitcoin’s creation in 2009, the S&P 500 has experienced multiple 20% corrections.

Following the 2008 global financial crisis the index had plunged nearly 60%. In 2019, amid bitcoin’s bear market, the S&P 500 declined by 20%, bitcoin fell as much as 85% from its all-time high. The covid-19 crash in March 2020 saw the index drop almost 40% with bitcoin shedding 60% of its value. Most recently in 2022, the index corrected by 25%, bitcoin bottomed out one month later after dropping by a further 25% to a cycle low of $15,000.

Historically, 10% corrections in the S&P 500 have been common. Meanwhile, bitcoin has dropped 30% from its all-time high during this correction. Looking at past bull market corrections, such declines are a normal occurrence, with the most recent 30% correction happening in August 2024 during the yen carry trade unwind.