January 2015: The Days Bitcoin Was Declared Dead
At the start of 2015, the crypto community was holding its breath. The Mt.Gox collapse was barely a year old. Forbes had run a "Bitcoin Is Dead" headline. The price had dropped 85% from its 2013 peak — all the way down to $315.
In that darkness, someone put in $100 and received 0.317 BTC. Then they held.
What the Calculator Shows
That $100 grew 269× over a decade. As a compound annual return, that's roughly 68% per year — a figure no bank on earth can match.
Why Didn't Anyone Buy?
Because it wasn't easy. Exchanges were clunky, losing your wallet was a real risk, and the media largely framed Bitcoin as a tool for criminals. On top of that, the psychological weight of an 85% drawdown was enormous.
The hard part wasn't buying — it was holding. It crashed 80% again in 2018, and again in 2020. Each time, the people who said "it's over now" sold. Capturing today's value only required one thing: patience.
What If You'd DCA'd $10/Month Instead?
Investing $10 every month from 2015 to 2025 — a total of $1,200:
- Average purchase price of roughly $12,400
- Bitcoin accumulated: approximately 0.097 BTC
- Current value: roughly $8,200 — less than lump sum, but with far less concentration risk
You can't change the past. But if you don't want to be saying "I should have bought in 2026" ten years from now — run the numbers yourself.