What does PnL mean in crypto?

PnL in crypto stands for profit and loss. It is the figure trading apps and exchanges show to tell you how much a position or account is up or down. It usually comes in two parts, realized and unrealized.

What does P&L mean in crypto trading?

P&L and PnL mean the same thing. For a simple purchase, it is the current value of your coins minus what you paid for them, a starting figure known as your cost basis. For leveraged products such as futures, it is calculated from your entry price, the current or exit price and the size of the position. A long position gains when the price rises above entry, and a short gains when it falls below.

KuCoin gives a futures example. A long position of 0.1 BTC opened at 5,000 USDT, with a mark price of 5,100 USDT, shows 10 USDT of unrealized profit.

What is realized vs unrealized PnL?

• Unrealized PnL is the estimated profit or loss on positions still open. It changes with every price move and is not final. KuCoin's unrealized figure leaves out opening, funding and closing fees.
• Realized PnL is the result locked in when you close or reduce a position. KuCoin and CoinEx both calculate it after deducting trading fees and funding fees. In KuCoin's example, closing that same position at 5,100 USDT with 0.6 USDT of fees gives 9.4 USDT realized.

This is why a futures position can show a gain while open and a small loss once closed. If fees and funding payments are larger than the price gain, the final result is negative.

Many futures platforms value open positions at a mark price instead of the last traded price. Binance says it uses the mark price, built from index and order book data, to calculate unrealized PnL and liquidations, which limits the effect of brief price spikes. How leverage makes these numbers swing faster is explained in what are crypto futures and leverage.

What does total PnL mean?

CoinEx defines total PnL as realized plus unrealized PnL. Its daily account PnL compares today's assets with the start of the day and subtracts net deposits and transfers, so adding money does not count as profit.

Totals can still be misleading. Coinbase says that when crypto arrives from another wallet, it does not know what you paid, so it assumes a cost basis of zero for its gain and loss estimates.

Is crypto PnL the same as taxable gain?

Not exactly. The IRS says a gain or loss arises when you dispose of a digital asset, for example by selling it or swapping it for another coin, and that only holding it is not a reportable transaction. Unrealized PnL is therefore not a taxable event in the US, and an exchange's realized figure may use different rules from your tax records. See crypto losses and taxes for more.

Rules differ by country and change often. Check the tax authority or a qualified professional for your own situation.