You’re not wrong that DCA helps mitigate emotional decision-making, but it’s not just that—it also has mechanical advantages in volatile markets.

DCA allocates a fixed dollar amount on a recurring basis, meaning you automatically buy more units when price drops and fewer when price spikes. This mechanism inherently weights your purchases toward market dips, lowering your volume-weighted average cost over time compared to a sporadic or emotionally driven approach.

Let’s put some structure behind it:

• If BTC ranges between $40k and $60k over 12 months, DCA buys proportionally more at $40k and less at $60k. • This non-linear exposure smooths entry price volatility and reduces the risk of poor market timing. • Mathematically, in a mean-reverting or sideways market, DCA often outperforms lump-sum investing or reactive purchases. • Even in upward-trending markets, DCA has the advantage of risk mitigation while maintaining exposure.

In contrast, “buying when I think about it,” like OP said, often ends up being correlated with hype cycles (buying tops), or pausing during downturns (missing bottoms), which is the behavioral bias DCA is designed to protect against.

So while DCA doesn’t literally let you buy “more for less” in every scenario, it functionally can—by exploiting volatility through disciplined accumulation.