The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday edition that if 2022 was the year that "broke bitcoin," 2023 has been the year of trauma recovery. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe says that bitcoin has bounced pluckily in the face of depressed crypto prices, low trading volumes and tough economic conditions. It even found a second wind in October following a summer slump. "We've had a nice recovery, but we're just in the cusp of the new cycle," said Kevin Koh at investment firm Spartan Group. Indeed, 2023 has been a surprisingly good year for bitcoin. The king of cryptocurrencies has leapt 164 per cent since Jan. 1 and is trading above $40,000 (U.S.). It has outpaced traditional assets, including gold, which has risen 10 per cent, and the S&P 500, up 20 per cent. Bitcoin also increased its share of the total cryptocurrency market, from 38 per cent to above 50 per cent, according to CoinGecko data. Much of bitcoin's gains came later in the year as a potential U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund and hopes of easier monetary policy renewed investor energy. Trading volumes have picked back up too, with the combined spot and derivatives trading volume on centralized exchanges hitting $3.61-trillion (U.S.) in November.