What dollar cost averaging does is reduce short time price risk. The result is the long term.
What I mean is that dollar cost averaging is a myth and cargo culting in the world of investment. Let me explain:
Let's say you're "dollar cost averaging" by purchasing an asset during a few years, which fluctuates between $90 and $110. So after some time you have averaged around $100 per share. Now if the asset goes to $5000 next year, what has your dollar cost averaging accomplished? Or if it goes to $3, what has your dollar cost averaging accomplished. Nothing in both cases.
One of the hardest myths about investment, that seems to be impossible to beat out of people's heads even with a sledge hammer, is that there is a proper historical price for an asset and that prices only fluctuate around that price. So you buy when it's under that price and sell when it's over that price. Smart, right? No, it's dumb and the reason why most people trying to invest lose their money. An asset can go down and stay down on a new price level. Or it can go up and stay up on a new price level.
This is drivel. Being able to tag on infinite 0s after the decimal doesn’t make an asset have unlimited downside, the limit is $0 as you yourself apparently know.
Spot equities and crypto have limited downside. You put in x, most you can lose is x as you observed. Unlimited downside is not a thing outside certain exotic derivatives.