Crypto Retirement Calculator

Assumptions & quick notes

• Contributions are monthly at the end of the month (ordinary annuity).
• Growth is a fixed annual rate converted to monthly: r = (1+APR)^(1/12) − 1.
• No fees, taxes, or withdrawals are included. Volatility and sequence risk are ignored.
• If your target is already met, we show 0 months/years.

Educational only, not financial advice. Real returns vary; consider taxes, fees, and risk tolerance.

Planning a crypto retirement timeline (and its limits)

Long-term planning with crypto mixes two opposing ideas: potentially high upside and very real volatility. This calculator uses a plain future-value model to turn your monthly DCA, a projected annual growth rate, and a target balance into an estimated time-to-goal. It’s deliberately simple: monthly contributions at period end, a fixed APR converted to a monthly rate, and no withdrawals, taxes, or fees. That simplicity is the educational point—once you see the baseline timeline, you can stress-test it by tweaking growth down, contributions up, or targets higher to reflect reality.

The math mirrors traditional retirement planning: FV = PMT * ((1+r)^n − 1)/r + PV * (1+r)^n, solved for n, where r is the monthly rate derived from your annual rate via (1+APR)^(1/12) − 1. If the monthly rate is zero, the model falls back to a linear solve. Because everything is monthly, the output shows both months and years. If your target is already met by your starting balance, it returns zero months/years, highlighting that contribution or growth assumptions aren’t needed to hit the goal.

A big educational takeaway is sensitivity: small changes in the assumed rate or in monthly contributions can shift the timeline dramatically. Try cutting the APR in half, or doubling contributions, to see which lever matters more. For many users, increasing DCA by a modest amount moves the finish line more reliably than assuming aggressive returns. Remember that crypto’s realized path (sequence of returns) can matter as much as the average—big drawdowns early can delay reaching your target even if the long-run average holds. This tool ignores sequence risk to keep the math clear, so consider running conservative scenarios to build buffer.

Opportunity cost is another angle. Compare your assumed crypto APR to a calmer benchmark (e.g., a diversified equity index). If the spread is small, the extra risk may not be justified; if it’s large, test what happens if that APR compresses. Also note what’s missing: taxes, trading fees, stablecoins vs volatile assets, and inflation. If your goal is in today’s dollars, you might need to target a higher nominal number to account for future purchasing power. And if you plan to adjust contributions over time (raises, bonuses), rerun the calculator with updated inputs periodically.

Treat this tool as a starting point to ground your expectations. It gives a clean, transparent timeline for a steady DCA plan, then invites you to layer in your own caution: lower growth, pauses in contributions, or higher targets. Revisit the numbers as markets and your finances change. Clarity beats optimism when planning decades ahead.