Dollar-Cost Averaging (DCA): A Long-Term Crypto Investment Strategy

Cryptocurrencies are volatile by nature, and it’s easy to look at the market as a series of short-term gambles. However, a long-term investment strategy has been proven to work: Dollar-Cost Averaging (DCA).

Cryptocurrency is inherently volatile, and it’s easy to approach the market with a short-term mentality. However, a long-term investment strategy has been proven to work: Dollar-Cost Averaging (DCA).

Essentially, Dollar-Cost Averaging is a commitment to purchase a fixed dollar amount of a certain cryptocurrency at fixed, regular intervals. Many investors will automate these investments to avoid any emotion from getting in the way. One way to automate these investments is to buy a specific coin every 2 weeks with 1% of your biweekly paycheck.

This strategy is especially effective for new investors who want simple, long-term gains and don’t want to watch the market like a day trader, buying and selling dips and peaks. It’s protection against the market’s natural volatility.

Instead of buying $1000 of Bitcoin in a lump sum, you buy $100 every week for ten weeks straight. Then, you ignore the price and just make the same trade at weekly intervals.

During the course of that time, the price of a particular cryptocurrency will fluctuate. However, the overall entry point of the investment will average out and decreases the risk of buying high and selling low later for a loss. Your position price will average over time, giving you a stable return in the long run. Here are some practical steps to start with DCA:

First and foremost, figure out how much you’re comfortable investing on a regular basis. Most who invest using DCA want to invest small amounts that won’t affect them emotionally.

Decide on when you want to invest. It could be weekly, biweekly, or monthly. Some make it an auto payment from their paycheck biweekly or monthly, so they don’t even see it go out.

Use a reputable wallet app to keep your crypto assets safe. Remember you are investing for the long term, so set specific times quarterly or even annually to check on these investments.

The Binance team recently ran a dollar-cost averaging experiment where $10 per coin was invested on the same day each month for a three-month period. The experiment chose the coins listed on the Binance CMC Cryptocurrency Top 10 Equal-Weighted Index. The goal was to determine how each of the top 10 coins would perform when using a dollar-cost averaging strategy. The results showed that BNB saw a 56.23% return while BTC and SOL saw 21.70% and 30.69%, respectively.

Rachel Conlan, CMO of Binance, emphasized the benefits of Dollar-Cost Averaging (DCA) for crypto investors, stating, “With Dollar-Cost Averaging, consistency becomes your superpower—it’s about turning market ups and downs into long-term growth.” She highlighted how this strategy empowers investors to stay disciplined, avoid emotional decisions, and build stable returns over time, regardless of market volatility.

Benefits of Dollar Cost Averaging

1. Protects Against Volatility

Cryptocurrency experiences extreme price swings, which can be good or very bad. DCA is good for long-term investors who want to smooth out volatility and protect against painful losses in the short term. As long as you believe crypto will go up in the long run, then dollar cost averaging makes it so you don’t have to time the market for entries. Finding the “right time to buy” is a losing strategy in the long term because you never know when and by how much a particular coin is going to move.

2. Removes the Risk of Emotional Trading

Most experienced traders have horror stories of emotional trades made in the heat of the moment. Panic selling and trying to trade out of losses can start a spiral that sends new traders running from the crypto market forever. A consistent plan will help new traders steer clear of these pitfalls and avoid stress.

3. Low Barrier to Entry

Many people think they need a certain amount to start investing in crypto, but DCA proves that’s not the case. Investors can start with a small amount of capital, perhaps what they can spare from a weekly pay packet, and then consistently buy more tokens over time. So, it’s a great way for low-income investors to make their first move into the crypto market. Contrary to public perception, low-income households are some of the biggest crypto investors, and many use the DCA strategy.

4. Averages Out Price Points

Investing at regular intervals means investors inevitably buy coins during market highs and lows. It means a fledgling investor or an old hand can mitigate the risks of buying into a coin at an unsustainably high price.

Disadvantages of Dollar-Cost Averaging

1. Sacrifices Biggest Gains By Design

If investors can read the market, they can make more with a lump sum investment, especially in a strong and sustained bull market. When the prices keep rising, the tokens will cost more at every interval with the DCA strategy. It is still a winning strategy but leaves money on the table by design.

2. Longer Time