Recently, I started researching something that has been circulating in crypto communities for years: the Benner Cycle. And honestly, it’s fascinating how a 19th-century farmer managed to identify market patterns that are still relevant today.

It all began when Samuel Benner, a farmer from Ohio, went bankrupt during the 1873 market panic. Instead of giving up, he started studying why this happened. And he discovered something interesting: cycles. As a farmer, he already knew that seasons affected crops, which in turn influenced prices. But he went further. In 1875, he published his book "Trends and Phases of Business," explaining how the market moves in predictable cycles.

What Benner found was an 11-year pattern in corn and pig prices, with peaks every 5 or 6 years. This coincided with the 11-year solar cycle. He also identified a 27-year cycle in iron prices, where lows occurred every 11, 9, and 7 years. Essentially, he argued that these solar cycles affected agricultural productivity, which moved supply, demand, and prices.

Now, the Benner Cycle divides the market into three key moments. First are the panic years: extreme volatility, investors acting out of fear, irrational decisions buying or selling without logic. Prices plummet or skyrocket uncontrollably. Second, the good times: high prices, the perfect moment to sell. That’s when you see paper gains and everyone talks about opportunities. Third, the tough times: when prices fall, and Benner recommended accumulating assets to sell later during the good times.

What’s crazy is that the Benner Cycle predicted major economic events. The Great Depression of 1929, the dot-com bubble of 2000, even the COVID crisis in 2020. It wasn’t a coincidence. For over 150 years, this analysis has maintained almost perfect accuracy.

According to calculations based on the Benner Cycle, we are in a tough phase. Asset prices are falling, there’s uncertainty, fear. But for those who understand the cycle, this is exactly what Benner recommended: the time to buy and accumulate.

It’s not magic prediction; it’s observing historical patterns. And while it’s no guarantee of the future, it’s interesting to note that after more than a century, the Benner Cycle remains a tool many traders and analysts use to understand where we are in the economic cycle.