What if you'd held ETH-USD?
A $1,000 investment in Ethereum (ETH-USD) at the month-end close of 2015-08 would be worth $1.73M at the close of 2026-08 — +172490.7% total return, dividends reinvested. The same $1,000 in the S&P 500 would be worth $3,908.
Your scenario
Result
If you'd bought $1,000 at the start of each year
Value of $1,000 invested on January 1 of each year, held to 2026-08, dividends included. Click any year for the full story.
Every year, $1,000 from 2015
| Year | Value of $1,000 | Year return |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | $1,000 | — |
| 2016 | $8,563 | +756.3% |
| 2017 | $797,400 | +9212.5% |
| 2018 | $140,535 | -82.4% |
| 2019 | $136,576 | -2.8% |
| 2020 | $777,453 | +469.2% |
| 2021 | $3.88M | +399.1% |
| 2022 | $1.26M | -67.5% |
| 2023 | $2.4M | +90.6% |
| 2024 | $3.51M | +46.1% |
| 2025 | $3.13M | -11.0% |
| 2026 | $2.38M | -24.0% |
Best and worst month-end to buy
The best single month-end close to have bought ETH-USD was 2015-09 ($0.71): $1,000 then is $3.16M today. The worst was 2021-11 ($4,631): $1,000 then is $487.
FAQ
What would $1,000 in ETH-USD be worth today?
A $1,000 investment in Ethereum (ETH-USD) at the start of 2015 would be worth about $1.73M today, a total return of +172490.7%. Dividends are reinvested in these figures.
What were the best and worst years for ETH-USD?
Ethereum (ETH-USD)'s strongest calendar year since 2015 was 2017, a +9212.5% return — $1,000 held through that year became about $93,125 by year-end. Its weakest year was 2018, at -82.4%.
Does the calculator include dividends and splits?
Yes where available. Prices are adjusted for both stock splits and reinvested dividends (total return), the same measure brokerages use. Pre-exchange Bitcoin data uses Coin Metrics historical prices.
How much would $100 per month in ETH-USD have grown?
Investing $100 at the end of every month since 2015-08 would have grown to about $1.67M on $13,300 invested.
Did ETH-USD beat the S&P 500?
Over the same period, $1,000 in the S&P 500 index would be worth $3,908. ETH-USD beat the S&P 500 by +44059.4% in total return.
Is this investment advice?
No. What If I'd Held is an entertainment and education tool. Every number is a historical calculation, not a prediction, and past performance never guarantees future results.
Methodology
Ethereum (ETH-USD) historical total-return data from 2015-08 to 2026-08, reduced to month-end closes for the tables above.
Returns use adjusted close prices from Yahoo Finance historical data — adjusted for stock splits and reinvested dividends — the same convention used by major brokerages. For the period before exchange pricing existed, daily prices come from Coin Metrics. A "year" scenario invests $1,000 at the prior December's month-end close and values it at the latest available month-end close.
Month-end resolution means intra-month extremes are not captured in tables; the calculator uses exact trading-day closes where daily data is available. Figures ignore taxes, fees, and the currency effects of non-USD listings. History is not a forecast. What If I'd Held is entertainment, not investment advice.
What if you'd held…
Data: adjusted close prices via Yahoo Finance; pre-exchange history via Coin Metrics. As of 2026-08. Not financial advice.