What if I had invested in Ethereum
Every lump sum scenario for Ethereum, start year by start year, using real prices and each month's exchange rate.
Prices updated on September 21, 2026
If I had invested $1,000 as a lump sum in Ethereum in January 2018, today I would have $3,652
Over the same period
Worst moment: −90.4% between January 2018 and January 2019. To get this result, you had to hold on without selling.
Ethereum at a glance
Ethereum is the second-largest cryptocurrency and the main smart-contract platform: decentralized finance, stablecoins and NFTs largely run on it. Its volatility often exceeds that of Bitcoin.
$1,000 invested in Ethereum, by start year
Bought in January, valued at the latest price. Click a year for the full story.
Lump sum or DCA in Ethereum?
Since January 2018, investing in Ethereum all at once (lump sum) multiplied the stake by ×3.65, +16.0% a year. Investing every month (DCA) multiplied the total contributions by ×5.03, an annual return (IRR) of +35.4%.
Here DCA did better: spreading the purchases avoided putting all the money in at the wrong time.
Frequently asked questions
What if I had invested $1,000 in Ethereum in 2020?
Invested in January 2020, $1,000 would be worth about $21,319 today, +57.3% a year on average.
What was the best year to invest in Ethereum?
Among the start years covered, 2020 gave the best result: $1,000 would have become $21,319. The weakest was 2022, worth $750 today. This ranking is only known with hindsight.
Are dividends included?
By default, the calculation follows the market price only. The "Reinvest dividends" option uses the adjusted price, which includes dividends paid and stock splits: the closest measure of what an investor actually earned.
Are exchange rates taken into account?
Yes. Ethereum trades in its own currency; every purchase and valuation is converted at that month's exchange rate. A US asset can gain in dollars and less in euros if the dollar weakened.
Are fees and taxes included?
No: results are before brokerage fees, fund fees and taxes. Your net result depends on the account you invest through.
Compare with
Before you have regrets
What this calculation does not tell you.
Hindsight bias
Picking Nvidia or Bitcoin today means picking known winners. Back then, nothing set them apart from hundreds of assets that went nowhere or vanished.
Holding on was the real test
The result assumes you never sold, including through the drawdowns shown above. Very few investors actually do.
The broad market, no bet required
The MSCI World never makes headlines, but it does not require guessing the winner. It is the fairest yardstick for any pick.
Past performance, computed from monthly closing prices (intra-month lows are smoothed out). Converted at each month’s exchange rate; no fees, no taxes. The MSCI World benchmark is the price index, excluding dividends. Not investment advice. NokxiHub.