The world's worst Bitcoin buyer: $1,000 at the top every year (2015–2026)
Buy $1,000 of Bitcoin at the single highest price of every year since 2015 — the worst possible timing — and your $11,000 would still be worth $218,948 today (19.9×). Perfect timing would only have done about 3.2× better.
| Timing strategy | Total invested | BTC | Value today | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Worst timing — bought each year's high | $11,000 | 3.485 | $218,948 | 19.9× |
| Calendar — bought every 1 January | $11,000 | 7.104 | $446,278 | 40.6× |
| Perfect timing — bought each year's low | $11,000 | 11.059 | $694,732 | 63.2× |
What the worst buyer paid
Each year this unlucky investor bought on the single most expensive day:
| Start year | Bought at (year's high) | For reference: year's low |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | $463.18 | $164.92 |
| 2016 | $972.17 | $368.02 |
| 2017 | $19,345.49 | $785.43 |
| 2018 | $17,172.30 | $3,232.51 |
| 2019 | $12,913.28 | $3,375.33 |
| 2020 | $28,972.40 | $4,916.78 |
| 2021 | $67,549.14 | $29,388.94 |
| 2022 | $47,737.35 | $15,760.19 |
| 2023 | $44,186.18 | $16,613.87 |
| 2024 | $106,140.14 | $39,523.63 |
| 2025 | $124,723.00 | $76,255.10 |
Method
We invest $1,000 per year from 2015 to 2025 ($11,000 in total) and hold to June 2026, using real daily closing prices (CryptoCompare histoday (free, public)). Even with the worst possible timing every single year, the early, cheap tops dominate the coin count — so time in the market beats timing the market. Figures exclude fees and taxes and are not investment advice; past performance doesn't predict future results.
More: What $10/week of Bitcoin DCA since 2015 is worth today · Bitcoin: lump-sum vs dollar-cost averaging — which won? · Is there a best day of the week to buy Bitcoin? · Bitcoin vs Ethereum DCA: $10/week since 2018 · Bitcoin DCA calculator