How average cost is calculated
Average cost is total dollars spent divided by total coins held. It's a weighted average: a large buy at a high price pulls it up more than a small buy at a low price pulls it down. That's the whole reason dollar-cost averaging works in falling markets and disappoints in rising ones.
Averaging down: the target-cost formula
To move your average to a target, you need to buy enough at the current price that the new weighted average lands there. The target has to sit between the current price and your existing average. You can't average down below the price you're paying.
Cost basis, realized price, and what the chain sees
This is the same arithmetic the on-chain metric realized cap performs for an entire network: every coin valued at the price it last moved, summed, divided by supply. Your average cost is your personal realized price. When the market trades below the network's realized price, the average holder is underwater; when it trades below yours, so are you. The realized cap guide explains the network version, and the long-term versus short-term holder guide shows how cost basis splits the market into cohorts.
Frequently Asked Questions
The guides behind this calculator
- Realized cap The network-wide version of your average cost.
- Long-term vs short-term holders How cost basis cohorts behave at tops and bottoms.
- Exchange flows Where the coins you're averaging into are moving.
- Position sizing How large each buy should be relative to the account.
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Formulas last reviewed 2026-09-10. Educational tool, not financial advice. Results depend entirely on the numbers you enter.