Crypto · Polkadot (DOT) · daily since August 20, 2020
Polkadot price history
The price of Polkadot (DOT) day by day: how much it grew, how deep its crashes went and how long it took to get back. Every figure can also be shown after US inflation.
Measured from the first day in the Coin Metrics data.
Record close $54.01 on November 4, 2021
After inflation: $242 (×0.24)
Nov 2021 → Aug 2026
since 2020
What if you had invested? Pick an amount and a date, and see what it would be worth today.
Open the Time Machine$2.87 → $0.896From August 20, 2020 to November 7, 2026 the price grew ×0.31, or −17.1% a year. US consumer prices rose by 29.2% over that time, so after inflation the gain is ×0.24.
Where the data startThe history of Polkadot here starts on August 20, 2020, its first day in the Coin Metrics data. The first months come from thinner markets, so returns measured from them are approximate.
2 falls of 70% or more after its first months2021 (−76.8%), 2021–2026 (−98.6%). Getting back above the old record took 6 months. The latest of these falls has not been made up yet.
98.3% below the recordThe record close was $54.01 on November 4, 2021. After inflation the latest close is 98.6% below the record.
Against stocks and goldAverage return a year, monthly averages to Oct 2026: over 5 years Polkadot −50.8%, the S&P 500 with dividends +13.2%, gold +18.2%.
Price chart
Daily close in US dollars, as quoted that day. With “After inflation” on, the bold line converts every day's price into October 2026 dollars with US consumer prices, and the quoted price stays as a gray dashed line.
Distance from the all-time high
How far each close was below the highest close so far; 0% is a new record. With “After inflation” on, the bold line measures records in today's dollars and the nominal one stays dashed: after a long slump the real record takes longer to beat.
The big crashes
Every fall of 50% or more from a record close; the record counts as regained at the first close above it. With “After inflation” on, the table is recalculated in today's dollars, where a newer nominal record can be lower than an older one.
| Peak | Peak close | Bottom | Bottom close | Fall | Fell for | Record regained |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 14, 2021 | $47.33 | Jul 20, 2021 | $10.97 | −76.8% | 2 months | Nov 1, 2021after 6 months |
| Nov 4, 2021 | $54.01 | Aug 18, 2026 | $0.751 | −98.6% | 4.8 years | not yetnow −98.3% from the peak5 years so far |
Data: Coin Metrics (CC BY-NC 4.0). Inflation: US CPI, Robert J. Shiller.
Returns by calendar year
From the last close of one year to the last close of the next: 2020 from August 20, 2020, 2026 to November 7, 2026. Red bars are losses; with “After inflation” on, the bars show the change after inflation.
| Year | Last close | Change | After inflation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 from Aug 20, 2020 | $9.29 | +224.2% | +223.5% |
| 2021 | $26.79 | +188.2% | +169.2% |
| 2022 | $4.31 | −83.9% | −84.9% |
| 2023 | $8.18 | +89.7% | +83.5% |
| 2024 | $6.63 | −18.9% | −21.2% |
| 2025 | $1.79 | −73.0% | −73.7% |
| 2026 to Nov 7, 2026 | $0.896 | −49.9% | −51.7% |
Returns by month
After its first months, Polkadot rose in 25 of 68 full months (37%) in US dollars. The best month was November 2024 (+127.2%), the worst May 2021 (−36.2%).
| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Full year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | −13.8% | +7.5% | −24.5% | −3.9% | −1.6% | −30.8% | −7.4% | +10.5% | +45.8% | −22.6% | −5.3%* | −49.9%* | |
| 2025 | −4.7% | −25.4% | −14.7% | +1.3% | +0.1% | −16.6% | +8.4% | +1.5% | +4.1% | −26.1% | −22.7% | −19.7% | −73.0% |
| 2024 | −18.7% | +24.2% | +16.5% | −33.5% | +8.9% | −10.9% | −13.4% | −21.0% | +4.3% | −10.8% | +127% | −26.3% | −18.9% |
| 2023 | +45.3% | +1.4% | −0.1% | −6.8% | −10.1% | −2.6% | −1.2% | −16.5% | −3.8% | +8.3% | +22.9% | +49.7% | +89.7% |
| 2022 | −27.5% | −2.6% | +13.0% | −32.1% | −28.0% | −34.0% | +25.9% | −19.1% | −10.0% | +5.1% | −17.4% | −21.3% | −83.9% |
| 2021 | +73.8% | +110% | +8.9% | −1.2% | −36.2% | −29.9% | +3.7% | +85.1% | −8.9% | +50.4% | −11.2% | −29.7% | +188% |
| 2020 | +120%* | −30.8% | −4.0% | +28.5% | +72.8% | +224%* |
Each cell: the last close of the month against the last close of the month before; the full year as in the table above. Shades step at 2, 5, 10, 20 and 40%; bigger moves keep the strongest shade. * Not a whole period: the data start on August 20, 2020, and the latest close is November 7, 2026. Data: Coin Metrics (CC BY-NC 4.0). Inflation: US CPI, Robert J. Shiller.
Compared with US stocks, gold and inflation
What $1 became: Polkadot, the S&P 500 with dividends reinvested and gold, next to US consumer prices (what $1 of goods cost later: inflation, not an investment). Monthly averages of daily prices, Sep 2020 to Oct 2026, so the numbers differ slightly from the daily ones above. With “After inflation” on, all are in today's dollars, and the last line is cash (dollar bills, no interest), which loses value.
| Period | Polkadot | S&P 500, dividends reinvested | Gold | Consumer prices (inflation) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Since Sep 20206.1 years | −21.3% a year×0.23 | +16.2% a year×2.5 | +13.3% a year×2.14 | +4.3% a year×1.29 |
| 5 yearsfrom Oct 2021 | −50.8% a year×0.03 | +13.2% a year×1.86 | +18.2% a year×2.31 | +4.0% a year×1.21 |
| 3 yearsfrom Oct 2023 | −34.6% a year×0.28 | +23.4% a year×1.88 | +28.9% a year×2.14 | +3.0% a year×1.09 |
| 1 yearfrom Oct 2025 | −67.0% a year×0.33 | +15.9% a year×1.16 | +1.1% a year×1.01 | +3.2% a year×1.03 |
Average return a year and, below it, what $1 became (net of inflation with “After inflation” on); for consumer prices, how fast and how far prices rose. No fees or taxes. Exchange and custody risks are not in the prices either: Mt. Gox (2014) and FTX (2022) failed while holding their customers' money.
How it is calculated
- Prices: Coin Metrics Community Network Data, metric PriceUSD — the reference rate at 00:00 UTC that ends each day, in nominal US dollars. Data: Coin Metrics (CC BY-NC 4.0).
- Where the data start: the history begins on the coin's first day in the Coin Metrics data, which for some coins is later than their first trade; the first months of a young coin come from thinner markets, so returns measured from them are approximate.
- After inflation (the switch at the top of the page): every price is converted into October 2026 dollars with US consumer prices (CPI-U) by month, from Robert Shiller's data — multiplied by the CPI of October 2026 and divided by the CPI of its own month; days after October 2026 use that latest value. The latest months are preliminary. Records, falls and returns are then measured on the converted prices.
- Crashes: the distance from the highest daily close so far. A crash is a fall of 50% or more from a record; it ends at the first close above that record. Records and crashes are found separately in nominal prices and after inflation.
- Calendar years and months: the last close of the period against the last close of the period before; the first starts on the first day of data, the current one runs to the latest day.
- Comparison: monthly averages of daily closes, against Robert Shiller's S&P 500 total return index (dividends reinvested, also monthly averages) and gold (World Bank, monthly average of the London fixing), next to US consumer prices (CPI). After inflation, all are deflated with the same CPI, and cash (a dollar bill that earns nothing) takes the place of consumer prices. No fees, taxes or custody risks.
- Charts: weekly closes for the whole history, plus the exact days of every peak and bottom in the crash table; daily closes for the last two years. The tables use every daily close. Candles and bars are built from these closes: each one opens at the previous one's close, and its high and low are the highest and lowest close in the period, not intraday prices.
- Not investment advice. Past returns, and past crashes, do not tell what will happen next.