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    Education only. Not financial, tax or legal advice. We never ask for wallet keys or seed phrases.Canadian rules dated October 2026
    Scenario 8 of 10 · illustrative

    Scenario: dollar-cost averaging through a dip and recovery

    Riley buys $250 of a token every month for a year with a 0.5% fee per purchase. Over the year the price falls from $60,000 to $30,000 and then recovers to $60,000 (an illustrative path, not a forecast).

    Mitey the yeti sitting with a notebook and a small plant, with a price chart
    Mitey: Same plan, different path, different result. Try a few paths.

    The assumptions

    InputValue
    Purchases12 × $250, 0.5% fee each
    Price path$60,000 → $30,000 → $60,000 (illustrative)
    Change the inputs in the calculator

    Step by step

    1. Units bought. Riley ends with 0.067179 units for $3,000 invested.
    2. Average cost. The average cost is $44,656.84 per unit, below the $60,000 start and end price, because more units were bought when the price was low.
    3. Result. At the final $60,000 the holding is worth $4,030.74 (34.4%). Investing all $3,000 at the start would be worth $2,985.00.
    4. Fees. Twelve purchases paid $15.00 in fees.
    The takeawayOn a dip-and-recover path DCA beats a lump sum; on a steadily rising path it usually trails. DCA changes timing risk; it doesn't remove market risk.

    Questions people ask

    Does DCA work on a falling market that never recovers?

    It lowers your average cost, but the holding is still worth less than you put in if the price ends lower.

    Names, rates and prices in this scenario are illustrative and computed for education. They aren't forecasts, quotes or recommendations.