$1,000 in Chainlink in 2018

A $1,000 investment in Chainlink (LINK) made in January 2018 would be worth about $12,582 as of May 2026 (latest complete month) — a ×13 return, or +35.5% per year. Adjusted for US inflation (CPI), that equals $9,375 in 2018 dollars. The same $1,000 in the S&P 500 with dividends reinvested would have grown to $3,086.

In plain terms: after stripping out +34.2% US inflation since January 2018, today's $12,582 buys roughly what $9,375 bought back in 2018 — a ×9.4 gain in actual purchasing power.

Chainlink is the dominant oracle network, feeding real-world prices into DeFi protocols. LINK was one of the strongest altcoins of 2019–2021, but like most infrastructure tokens its price has chronically lagged the actual adoption of the technology it powers.

Data as of · updated weekly

Worth today
$12,582
×13 · +35.5%/yr
Inflation-adjusted
$9,375
in 2018 dollars
S&P 500 instead
$3,086
same period, dividends reinvested
Gold instead
$3,560
same period, futures price

The actual numbers: Chainlink since 2018

LINK price in January 2018$0.722
LINK price as of May 2026$9.09
Nominal return×13 (+35.5%/yr)
US CPI inflation since January 2018+34.2%
Real (inflation-adjusted) return×9.4 (+30.8%/yr)
Same money in the S&P 500$3,086

Methodology: start-of-month prices, one-time purchase, no fees or taxes assumed. Full methodology.

What happened in 2018

2018 was the crypto winter: Bitcoin fell 73%, Ethereum more than 80%, and most 2017 ICO tokens lost 95%+. A brutal lesson in what follows vertical years.

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Year
Month
Worth today
$12,582
×13 · +35.5%/yr
Inflation-adjusted
$9,375
in 2018 dollars
S&P 500 instead
$3,086
dividends reinvested
Gold instead
$3,560
same period

Chainlink vs S&P 500 total return vs uninvested cash eroded by CPI. Monthly grid, start-of-month prices.

FAQ: Chainlink returns since 2018

How much would $1,000 invested in Chainlink in 2018 be worth today?

About $12,582 as of May 2026 — a ×13 return. Adjusted for inflation, that equals $9,375 in 2018 dollars. This assumes a one-time purchase in January 2018 at $0.722 and never selling.

What does “inflation-adjusted” mean here?

US consumer prices rose +34.2% between January 2018 and May 2026 (CPI). So $12,582 today buys roughly what $9,375 bought in 2018. We deflate by CPI to show the gain in actual purchasing power.

Did Chainlink beat the S&P 500 since 2018?

Yes. $1,000 in Chainlink grew to $12,582, versus $3,086 for the same money in the S&P 500 with dividends reinvested over the same period.

What was the average annual return of Chainlink since 2018?

+35.5% per year nominal (CAGR over 8.3 years), or +30.8% per year after CPI inflation.

Where does the data come from?

Crypto prices: Coin Metrics community data and Binance public market data. S&P 500: total-return index (^SP500TR). Inflation: US CPI (CPIAUCSL) from FRED. All series use a monthly grid and refresh weekly.

Chainlink in other years

201720182019202020212022202320242025

Other assets in 2018

Bitcoin BTCEthereum ETHDogecoin DOGECardano ADAXRP XRPLitecoin LTCBNB BNBTRON TRX

Educational purposes only — not investment advice and not a recommendation to buy or sell any asset. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Calculations assume a one-time purchase at the start-of-month price, no fees, no taxes and no selling.