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Estimate a cryptocurrency investment’s future value by applying an explicitly assumed rate of return to a stated investment amount and time horizon. The result is a scenario calculation—not a prediction of a crypto asset’s future price.
Use the future-value formula for a one-time investment
For a single investment with no additional deposits, use:
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Future value = present value × (1 + assumed annual return)years
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For example, if you invest $1,000 and assume an annual return of 5% for three years, the calculation is $1,000 × (1.05)3, or about $1,157.63. The 5% is an illustrative assumption, not a forecast or a claim about expected crypto returns.
Use the rate as a decimal in the formula: 5% becomes 0.05, while a negative 10% becomes −0.10. This annual formula assumes annual compounding. If your assumption uses monthly or another compounding interval, use the rate and number of periods that match that interval.
Account for recurring contributions
For equal contributions made at the end of each period, calculate the initial investment’s growth separately, then add the future value of the contributions:
Future value = initial investment × (1 + periodic rate)number of periods + contribution × (((1 + periodic rate)number of periods − 1) / periodic rate)
The contribution formula assumes each deposit is made at the end of the period and earns returns only in later periods. If deposits are made at the start of each period, multiply the contribution portion by (1 + periodic rate), because each deposit has one additional period to grow.
When the periodic rate is zero, the division in the formula is undefined; use the direct calculation instead: initial investment + contribution × number of contributions. Match the periodic rate to the contribution schedule—for example, a monthly rate with monthly deposits—and make clear how many periods and deposits you included.
Build scenarios rather than treating one result as a forecast
There is no source-backed universal return assumption for cryptocurrency investments. Compare scenarios using the same starting amount and time horizon, and label each return as an assumption. A negative, zero, and positive rate can show how sensitive the result is without suggesting that any one outcome is likely.
For a fair comparison, state the annual return assumption, compounding period, contribution amount and timing, and whether costs are included. Past performance does not necessarily predict future results, as the SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy cautions in its Investor Bulletin: Performance Claims, dated September 15, 2022. The bulletin also emphasizes that readers should understand which factors a performance calculation includes and omits.
Decide what the estimate includes
A formula only reflects the inputs you choose. Before interpreting a result, specify whether it accounts for:
- Fees and other costs: State whether transaction, trading, or custody costs are included. If omitted, the calculated amount is before those costs.
- Taxes: State whether the figure is before or after taxes; the calculation alone does not determine tax treatment.
- Staking or lending returns: Include them only as an explicit assumption, and distinguish them from a price-return assumption.
- Inflation: A nominal future value does not show what the money may buy. State whether the estimate adjusts for inflation.
- Recurring contributions: Identify the deposit amount, frequency, and whether deposits occur at the beginning or end of each period.
Understand why a calculated value is uncertain
Cryptocurrency outcomes can be affected by volatility and illiquidity; a platform or custodian can fail; a market can disappear or an asset can become untradeable; and regulatory changes, fraud, technical failures, hacking, or malware can cause losses. These are examples identified in the SEC’s Investor Bulletin: Crypto Asset Interest-bearing Accounts, which addresses interest-bearing accounts rather than providing a complete risk inventory for every crypto investment.
The SEC defines a crypto asset as a digital representation of value recorded on a cryptographically secured distributed ledger. Stablecoins are designed to maintain a stable value relative to a reference asset, but that design description is not a promise of investment return. See the SEC’s Crypto Assets and the Federal Securities Laws, updated May 15, 2026.
In the United States, securities laws apply to crypto assets when they are securities; an asset’s legal status depends on the relevant facts and circumstances. The SEC summarizes that analysis in Transactions Involving Crypto Assets, updated April 29, 2026. This is U.S. regulatory guidance, not a description of laws in every jurisdiction.
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