Main points
- DCA Removes Emotion — No more panic buying at tops or fear selling at bottoms
- Time > Timing — Time in the market beats timing the market, especially in crypto
- Weekly is Optimal — Best balance of cost averaging and convenience
- Automate It — Set up recurring buys and forget about it
- Stick to BTC/ETH — DCA works best with assets that trend up long-term
- 5+ Year Horizon — DCA requires patience through full market cycles
What is Dollar Cost Averaging?
Dollar Cost Averaging (DCA) is the simplest investment strategy that actually works. Here's the entire strategy in one sentence:
"Invest a fixed amount at regular intervals, regardless of price."
— The Entire DCA Strategy
That's it. No charts. No indicators. No YouTube gurus. Just consistent buying over time.
How DCA Works in Practice
Bitcoin at $60,000
You invest $100 → Buy 0.00167 BTC
Bitcoin crashes to $50,000
You invest $100 → Buy 0.00200 BTC (more sats!)
Bitcoin pumps to $70,000
You invest $100 → Buy 0.00143 BTC
Bitcoin at $65,000
You invest $100 → Buy 0.00154 BTC
After 4 weeks, you've invested $400 and own 0.00664 BTC. Your average cost? $60,241 — not the high of $70K, not the low of $50K, but a nice average in between.
The magic: When prices drop, you automatically buy more. When prices rise, you buy less. No thinking required.
Contrarian Take
Everyone's worried about Meta's metaverse spending. They should be. But what they miss is that Meta's AI advertising engine is so far ahead, they can burn $10B yearly on moonshots and still dominate.
Real-World DCA Results: The Numbers
Let's see what $100/week DCA into Bitcoin would have returned at different starting points:
$100/Week Bitcoin DCA Results
*Values as of February 2026. Past performance doesn't guarantee future results.
Notice something powerful? Even if you started at the absolute peak (January 2021), you're still up 48% despite Bitcoin crashing 75% after your first purchase. DCA turned a disaster into a profit.
The DCA Superpower
Starting at the worst possible time (2021 peak) still resulted in positive returns because you kept buying the dip automatically. DCA removes the "what if I buy at the top" fear entirely.
DCA vs Lump Sum: Which is Better?
This is the most common question. Let's settle it:
- Invest everything at once
- Maximizes time in market
- Historically wins 66% of time
- Requires perfect timing luck
- Psychologically brutal in crypto
- Spread investments over time
- Averages out volatility
- Removes emotional decisions
- Sleep-at-night peace of mind
- Perfect for volatile assets
In traditional stocks, lump sum slightly outperforms because markets trend up most of the time. But crypto's 80% drawdowns make lump sum psychologically unbearable.
"The best strategy is the one you'll actually stick with. Lump sum will likely have higher expected returns, but DCA has higher completion rates. And in investing, finishing matters more than optimizing."
— Behavioral Finance Wisdom
Our recommendation: DCA for crypto. The peace of mind and reduced timing risk are worth the small theoretical underperformance.
What's the Best DCA Frequency?
Daily? Weekly? Monthly? Here's what the data shows:
Studies show daily and weekly DCA produce nearly identical results over 5+ years. The difference is less than 2%. Don't overthink it — pick weekly and move on.
Which Day of the Week?
Historically, Sunday and Monday show slightly lower average prices. But the difference is tiny (~1-2%). Pick whatever day is convenient for you. Consistency matters more than the specific day.
How to Set Up Automated DCA
The best DCA is one you set and forget. Here are your options:
Exchange Recurring Buys
Coinbase, Kraken, Gemini: Built-in recurring purchase feature. Set amount, frequency, and payment method. Runs automatically. Higher fees (0.5-1.5%).
Indian Exchanges
CoinDCX, WazirX: SIP-style recurring investments available. Set up weekly/monthly auto-buys in INR. Check for TDS deductions on each purchase.
DCA Bots
3Commas, Pionex: Advanced DCA with customizable strategies. Can increase buys during dips. Lower fees on Binance/KuCoin integration.
Manual DCA
Set calendar reminders and buy manually on low-fee exchanges. More effort but lowest fees (0.1% or less). Best for disciplined investors.
Pro Tip: Value Averaging
Advanced DCA variant: Instead of fixed amounts, adjust purchases to reach a target portfolio value. Buy more when portfolio is below target (prices down), buy less when above (prices up). Studies show 1-2% improvement over standard DCA.
What Should You DCA Into?
DCA works best for assets with long-term upward trends. Not everything qualifies.
✅ Good for DCA
- Bitcoin (BTC) — The Schelling point of crypto. If any crypto survives, it's Bitcoin. Primary DCA target.
- Ethereum (ETH) — Largest smart contract platform. Institutional adoption growing. Secondary DCA target.
- Solana (SOL) — High risk, but if you believe in it, DCA reduces timing risk.
❌ Bad for DCA
- Most Altcoins — 95% go to zero eventually. DCA into dying assets just means losing money slowly.
- Memecoins — Pure speculation. No fundamental reason to expect long-term appreciation.
- Low-Cap Coins — Too volatile and risky for consistent accumulation strategy.
Recommended DCA Split
Conservative: 80% BTC, 20% ETH
Balanced: 60% BTC, 30%
ETH, 10% SOL
Aggressive: 50% BTC, 30% ETH, 20% altcoins (high risk)
DCA Mistakes to Avoid
Stopping During Crashes
The WORST thing you can do. Crashes are when DCA works best — you're buying at discounts. Keep going.
Changing Amounts Based on Price
DCA means FIXED amounts. If you're adjusting based on whether you feel bullish/bearish, you're market timing.
DCA into Bad Assets
Consistently buying something that goes to zero is just consistently losing money. Stick to BTC/ETH.
Too Short Time Horizon
DCA needs 5+ years to work through full cycles. If you need the money sooner, don't DCA into crypto.
The DCA Mindset
DCA isn't just a strategy — it's a philosophy. It's accepting that you can't predict the future, so you prepare for all possibilities.
When Bitcoin crashes 50%, the DCA investor thinks: "Excellent, I'm getting more sats per dollar this week."
When Bitcoin pumps 100%, the DCA investor thinks: "Nice, my previous purchases are up. I'll keep buying anyway."
No stress. No checking prices every hour. No FOMO. No panic. Just steady accumulation.
"DCA is the only strategy where you win whether prices go up, down, or sideways. The only way to lose is to stop."
— Long-Term Crypto Investor
Set it up today. Check it in 5 years. Thank yourself later.