Realized and Unrealized Profit: Partial Sales, Fees and Account Value

Start with two units and no fees

Assume two asset units are purchased at 100 each, costing 200. If the chosen valuation price becomes 110, their estimated value is 220 and the unrealized difference is twenty. No sale has occurred, so the account has not received 220 in cash from this holding.

If the valuation later falls to 103, the unrealized difference becomes six. That change does not remove cash profit previously collected, because the example never collected sale proceeds. A peak valuation is not a permanent balance guaranteed to be available later.

Now sell one unit at 108. Against an allocated entry cost of 100, that unit has a gross realized gain of eight. One unit remains held and must be valued separately. Do not keep the old twenty-unit unrealized gain on both original units and add eight to it; the holding quantity has changed.

Combine the components without counting one unit twice

Value the remaining unit at 110. Its unrealized gain is ten and the sold unit’s realized gain is eight, producing a combined gross result of eighteen. Check this from the assets: sale cash of 108 plus a remaining holding valued at 110 equals 218, versus the original 200 cost.

If the remaining unit is valued at ninety instead, its unrealized result is −10 and the combined result becomes −2. A realized gain on one portion does not guarantee that the total portfolio is currently positive. Conversely, a favorable remaining valuation can coexist with an earlier realized loss without rewriting the completed sale.

Allocate illustrative entry fees consistently

Add a hypothetical quote-currency entry fee of 0.20 to the original purchase, making inclusive cost 200.20. For this equal-unit example, allocate it evenly as 100.10 per unit. Sell one at 108 with a fee of 0.108. Net sale proceeds are 107.892 and the realized net result is 107.892 − 100.10 = 7.792.

The remaining unit valued at 110 has an unrealized difference of 9.90 relative to its allocated inclusive entry cost. Combining the two gives 17.692 before any future fee to sell that remaining unit. The asset check agrees: 107.892 cash plus 110 valuation minus 200.20 original spending equals 17.692.

This allocation illustrates accounting consistency; it is not a universal cost-basis rule. If estimating a later sale, calculate its assumed price and additional fee separately. Do not subtract a future charge twice if an imported projection already includes it. Preserve original fee assets and conversions when charges use something other than the quote currency.

Read each performance product’s definitions

Two dashboards can use different average-cost, fee and transfer assumptions while displaying similar labels. One can exclude fees from an average price but apply them elsewhere in performance. A receiving platform may also assign an assumed value to externally received assets when their original purchase history is unavailable.

The Kraken Pro portfolio-performance explanation documents its treatment of metrics, fees and transfers. The Coinbase portfolio-performance guidance describes its own tracking assumptions. These are product definitions, not a universal classification for every transfer.

Align asset, period, display currency, cost method, fees and valuation source before judging a disagreement. A single-asset lifetime result and a daily whole-account change do not share the same scope. Save the report name and settings beside a copied figure so its meaning remains available later.

Separate deposits and withdrawals from trading performance

Suppose an account worth 1,000 receives an external deposit of 200, with no market change or fees. Its value becomes 1,200, but the increase is funding rather than a 20% trading return. Withdrawing 100 later similarly moves value outside the chosen account scope without itself establishing a trading loss.

Record the date, asset and value of each external flow. A performance return with multiple deposits at different times requires a stated method; not every percentage produced by subtracting deposits from a final balance is comparable. Begin with a complete movement record instead of selecting a shortcut that discards needed timing information.

Moving an asset between accounts you own may cause one dashboard to use its receipt-time value for tracking. That does not change the historical purchase price in the other account. Combine both sets of records if your question concerns overall economic performance rather than the receiving product’s internal display.

Sale proceeds are not identical to realized profit

In the fee-free example, cash received is 108 but gross gain is eight; the remaining 100 recovers the allocated acquisition cost. Recording the entire sale receipt as profit confuses inflow with the return on the disposed asset. Compare the proceeds with the associated cost and fees.

The proceeds may also be held in a currency different from your budget or reserved for another commitment. A completed sale does not establish immediate withdrawal availability. The reserved-balance guide helps distinguish holdings, availability and external transfer conditions.

Changing the portfolio display currency is a valuation setting, not necessarily an executed currency conversion. To estimate cash obtainable in another currency, inspect a conversion quote with its actual terms. Keep that step separate from the original trade’s realized result.

A valuation price need not fill the whole remaining quantity

A dashboard might use a recent trade or another reference while selling your amount could require multiple book levels. Unrealized gain is therefore tied to a price source and time, not a promise that all units can be sold at that price. Record a full-size preview separately when studying execution.

Derivatives can introduce mark prices, settlement rules, funding and other product-specific calculations. Do not transfer this two-unit spot example directly to a contract. Identify the instrument and settlement currency before treating the displayed number as a comparable cash result.

Build a reconciliation from quantities to results

Set the scope, gather acquisitions and external movements, allocate cost consistently to each disposed portion, then calculate net sale results and remaining quantity separately. Value what remains using an identified source and time. State any excluded future costs and compare the dashboard only after reading its methodology.

For transport costs, use the transfer calculator; retain receipts as the evidence of actual execution. These educational calculations and product displays do not determine tax-reporting obligations or replace complete original records. The practical outcome is an explanation of what sold, what remains and how each difference arose.

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