If I'd invested in Ethereum since 2021
$1,000 put into Ethereum at the end of 2021 would be worth about $456 today — a 0.46× return, or roughly -16.3% a year. Change the amount below to run your own number.
You'd have
$456
from $1,000 invested — down 54%.
The story behind the number
Ethereum since 2021 has been a fairly steady climb. $1,000 put in at the end of 2021 shrank to $456 — a 0.46× return, or about -16.3% a year. The S&P 500 actually did better over the same years, turning that $1,000 into $1,562 — about 3.42× what this returned.
The ride mattered as much as the destination. The strongest single year was 2022, up 57%; the worst was 2022, down 45%.
Holding on took nerve: the position fell as much as 71% from its 2021 peak to its 2022 low, before climbing back above that high by 2024. Inflation takes a bite, too — consumer prices rose about 19% over the period, so in today's money the result is closer to 0.38× what you put in.
Common questions
- How much would I have if I'd invested $1,000 in Ethereum in 2021?
- $1,000 invested in Ethereum at the end of 2021 would be worth about $456 today — a 0.46× return, or roughly -16.3% per year.
- What were the best and worst years for Ethereum since 2021?
- The best year was 2022, up about 57%. The toughest was 2022, when it fell about 45%. Across the window, 29 of 54 years finished lower than they started.
- What was the biggest drop along the way?
- The steepest decline was about 71%, from a peak in 2021 to a low in 2022, with the value recovering above its prior high by 2024.
- Would I have done better in S&P 500?
- Yes — the S&P 500 turned $1,000 into about $1,562, versus $456 for Ethereum over the same window.
The chart above shows the whole journey, not just the destination. Try switching to a bit each year to see how spreading your buying would have changed the outcome — or skip the latte to find out what a small daily habit could have grown into instead.
More Ethereum scenarios
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