Admittedly, things are not looking good for crypto investors right now. Market bellwethers Bitcoin (BTC +0.34%) and Ethereum (ETH 0.11%) are down big this year, and it’s obvious that better returns — at least over the short term — are available elsewhere.

But what about over the long term? There’s plenty of evidence suggesting that crypto may continue to outperform other asset classes over a sufficiently long time horizon. But you’ll need to be patient.

Crypto is cyclical

The first thing to keep in mind is that crypto is inherently cyclical. Crypto typically follows a four-year cycle   of boom and bust, and right now investors are feeling the pain of a “bust.” Cryptos are down across the board, and the investment thesis for crypto…