The Bureau of Historic Losses · Counterfactual Division

What if you'd bought Cardano in 2021?

Q: How much would $100 of Cardano bought in 2021 be worth today?

About US$89 as of 28 July 2026 — a 0.89× multiple on the year's opening price of US$0.180. The figure updates hourly with the live ADA price.

Q: What was Cardano's highest price in 2021?

Cardano peaked at US$2.97 on 2021-09-03 and bottomed at US$0.180 on 2021-01-01. It closed the year at US$1.31.

The long-promised Alonzo upgrade finally brought smart contracts in September, and ADA touched US$3 on the anticipation — the peak it has measured itself against ever since. A year of patient holders briefly vindicated before the wider tide went out. The Bureau records that being early and being right are not always the same trade.

$100 on 2021-01-01, worth today

US$89

As of 28 July 2026, $100 of Cardano bought at 2021's open (US$0.180) is worth US$89 — 0.89×.

live valuation · refreshed hourly · usd

How much would $100 of Cardano bought in 2021 be worth today?

You'd have put in	You'd have now	Multiple
US$100	US$89	0.89×
US$1,000	US$889	0.89×
US$10,000	US$8,889	0.89×

Lump sum on the year's first trading day, valued at the live price. Past performance isn't a promise — it's a taunt.

What was Cardano's highest price in 2021?

Opened

US$0.180

2021-01-01

Peaked

US$2.97

2021-09-03

Bottomed

US$0.180

2021-01-01

Closed

US$1.31

2021-12-31

Would steady buying have beaten going all in?

US$29,100 deployed as $100 a week from 2021-01-01, under four temperaments — same money, different nerves.

All in on day one	US$25,867
Steady weekly buys	US$10,009
Sold dips, rebought rallies	US$8,939
Traded it perfectly	US$470,192

“Traded it perfectly” requires knowing the future. Nobody knew the future.

The same $1,000, different coin

DOGE

US$7,000

ETH

US$2,575

BTC

US$2,155

$1,000 at 2021's open, each valued live. Hindsight remains undefeated.

These were the round numbers. Run your real ones.

Your amount, your date, your certificate. Takes about a minute.

Calculate my regret

Adjacent timelines

← Cardano in 2020

every Cardano year on file

From the Archive

The Landfill — 8,000 BTC under Newport·The Exchange — Mt. Gox's 850,000 BTC

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