Put in a fixed amount every period for a while — roughly what do you build up? Fill in the amount, frequency, number of periods and an assumed annual return, and see the long-run shape of DCA under compounding. The assumed return is only a demo, not a prediction.
The assumed annual return is an example only, not a forecast of future returns. Crypto is extremely volatile — real prices can climb for years, crash hard, or go to zero. DCA can average your cost and ease the pressure of timing, but it doesn't guarantee a profit, and it's neither a sure thing nor capital-protected.
The whole point of DCA is sticking with it. Binance can buy on a set schedule for you, so you don't have to think about it every day. Register with code BN771 for up to 20% off trading fees*.
Sign up on Binance with BN771 →DCA stands for dollar-cost averaging: you invest a fixed amount at fixed intervals, no matter whether the price is high or low that day. When it's low, the same money buys more; when it's high, it buys less. Over time your cost averages out, and you don't have to agonize daily over "is this the top right now."
What this tool does is a compounding demo: it splits the assumed annual return you enter across each period, rolls the existing balance forward period by period, adds each new contribution, and totals it through to the last period to get the projected value; subtract the total invested and you get the assumed gain. It answers "if the return really were a steady X% a year, compounded smoothly, roughly what would this build up to over that stretch."
This has to be spelled out: that return is an assumption you typed in, not a promise from the market. Real crypto doesn't rise a steady X% every year — it can double in a year or lose half, on a bumpy, potholed path. What a real DCA plan actually ends up at depends on how the market actually moves over that time, which can be a long way from this smooth curve. So treat it as a teaching aid for the "shape" of compounding and the effect of sticking around, not as a return forecast.
A few pointers for beginners: one, only invest money you can afford to lose and won't need soon; two, DCA's power comes from persistence — the more it falls, the less you should stop, since quitting often means missing the cheapest coins; three, don't set the assumed return absurdly high — put in a modest number and you'll see more clearly that the long run rides on time, not on a windfall. To get a feel for the long-run rhythm while you're at it, take a look at the Halving Cycle Locator.