How Bitcoin, Tether and Other Cryptocurrencies Stack Up as Investments

The crypto fever has quieted down, but the roller-coaster trading has raised the stakes for investors to figure it out.

Are they financial assets, currencies, commodities or something entirely new? Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have defied easy categorization since they burst into the public consciousness last year, fueling an intense debate over how they should fit into the average investor’s portfolio—and whether they belong at all.

However you define them, cryptocurrencies have become hard to ignore since Bitcoin’s meteoric rise to $20,000 last December (as of May 2, it’s now $9,145 after a recent selloff). While past performance is of course no guarantee of future results, we’ve analyzed the last 16 months of action in digital tokens to shed light on what to expect if—as crypto diehards say—you decide to HODL (hold) despite the FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt).