Cryptocurrency is a volatile asset class that experiences a lot of ups and downs. Because of that, people often get the idea that they should be trying to time their investments -- purchasing within specific windows to get the best possible price. However, because cryptocurrency is traded 24 hours a day by investors around the world, timing a cryptocurrency buy is never cut and dried.
If you want to invest in crypto, your best bet is to practice dollar-cost averaging. Using this method, you buy a little bit at a time over an extended period. Even if you invest at some intervals that turn out to be not all that low, you will catch others that are very low, and it may average out.
There are ebbs and flows to the crypto market that vary wildly depending on the specific cryptocurrency you're buying. Tokens may trade with yet another pattern. For someone intent on timing a crypto purchase, it will pay to really analyze the history of specific investment types.
When is the best time to buy cryptocurrency?
To make it short and sweet, the best time to buy a cryptocurrency is when you're ready to buy a cryptocurrency. Using the dollar-cost averaging approach, you'll be able to control the volatility of your own cost (at least at some level) and avoid the roller coasters.
Never put more into a crypto than you're willing to lose. They are not guaranteed winners or asset classes that provide any sort of security, especially if they tank to zero. Some people have made significant amounts of money on the right buy at the right time, but this is often just luck and not from timing the market.
Best time of the day to buy cryptocurrency
Again, because crypto trades all day long, even into the wee hours of the morning (no matter where you happen to live), timing your trades to a certain time of day can be fraught with peril. However, if you analyze a few months of data, a few very general patterns emerge.
Comparing the trading activity of Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC), Ether (CRYPTO:ETH), Solana (CRYPTO:SOL), and Cardano (CRYPTO:ADA) -- cryptos with some of the highest cap rates -- shows that they tend to rise and fall together, which is pretty handy for the sake of comparing windows of time for buys.
Looking at data from October and November, the very best time of day to purchase these popular cryptocurrencies generally was in the morning, and the earlier, the better. Other coins that are not considered to be as "serious" also followed similar patterns as Bitcoin and Ether, such as Shiba Inu (CRYPTO:SHIB) and Dogecoin (CRYPTO:DOGE).
Best time of the week to buy cryptocurrency
Based on the same data used to determine the best time of day to buy crypto, the best time of the week to buy crypto seems to be Thursday. Yes, Thursday. Six of the eight weeks saw a dip on that day. If that trend continues (which is most certainly not guaranteed), Thursday morning is the best time to buy.
The second-best day of the week to buy is Monday (five of eight saw a dip), followed by Friday and Saturday (four of eight for both).
Best time of the month to buy cryptocurrency
With crypto, everything is constantly changing. It's a problem if you're trying to time purchases. For the moment, however, the best time of the month to buy is near the end. Values tend to rise in the first 10 days of the month, followed by a price collapse (probably because people are selling after increases) in the second half of the month.
Again, this may vary with other cryptos or smaller altcoins. Based on the coins with the highest cap rates, however, the trend seems to be fairly consistent.
What is the best move with crypto?
Timing a cryptocurrency buy can be a difficult if not treacherous thing to attempt since there are all kinds of elements that go into the price of a coin. Although there are fewer personality-based drivers (such as sex scandals involving CEOs of major companies, for example), there are more lemming-like sell-offs. People have only so much tolerance for risk, and the fear of missing out on selling a crypto holding for a short-term profit is a tempting siren song.
With crypto, like with any kind of investment, your best bet will always be to hold on for the longer term, and buy a little bit at a time. Your highest returns will come from this strategy, even though it's not particularly sexy and doesn't provide any of that Vegas-like thrill for investors hoping for a quick winner.
