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  "id": "realized-unrealized-trading-pnl",
  "canonical": "https://degreesofsatoshi.com/encyclopedia/realized-unrealized-trading-pnl/",
  "collection": "defi",
  "title": "Realized and unrealized trading P&L: what changed in the account?",
  "description": "Reconcile marked exposure, completed trades, funding and settlement without double-counting the same gain.",
  "aliases": [
    "realized unrealized PnL perpetual futures",
    "does funding count as realized profit"
  ],
  "dates": {
    "published": "2026-10-02",
    "modified": "2026-10-02",
    "verified": "2026-10-02T19:18:00.092Z",
    "dataAsOf": "2026-10-02"
  },
  "authorship": {
    "publisher": "Degrees of Satoshi editorial project",
    "process": "AI-assisted research and drafting with a separate automated source-verification pass; no external expert or named human review is implied."
  },
  "quickAnswer": {
    "text": "Unrealized P&L values exposure that is still open using the venue’s chosen reference. Realized P&L records amounts recognized through trades, funding or settlement under its accounting rules. Realized does not always mean the position is closed or the amount is immediately withdrawable; the cited Deribit daily settlement is a concrete example.",
    "claimId": "realized-unrealized-trading-pnl-quick-answer",
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      "x425-defi-deribit-mark",
      "x425-defi-deribit-settlement",
      "x425-defi-deribit-log",
      "x425-defi-dydx-funding"
    ]
  },
  "keyFacts": [
    {
      "label": "Valuation",
      "value": "A mark can value unrealized P&L.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "x425-defi-deribit-mark"
      ],
      "id": "valuation",
      "claimId": "realized-unrealized-trading-pnl-fact-valuation"
    },
    {
      "label": "Funding",
      "value": "dYdX funding changes realized P&L while a position is open.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "x425-defi-dydx-funding"
      ],
      "id": "funding",
      "claimId": "realized-unrealized-trading-pnl-fact-funding"
    },
    {
      "label": "Settlement",
      "value": "Deribit daily settlement can realize P&L without closing exposure.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "x425-defi-deribit-settlement"
      ],
      "id": "settlement",
      "claimId": "realized-unrealized-trading-pnl-fact-settlement"
    }
  ],
  "prerequisites": [
    "perpetual-futures"
  ],
  "sections": [
    {
      "id": "example",
      "heading": "Separate price profit from total outcome",
      "sourceIds": [
        "x425-defi-deribit-log",
        "x425-defi-dydx-funding"
      ],
      "paragraphs": [
        "For a hypothetical linear long of 2 units entered at 100 and valued at 108, gross price P&L is 16 quote units. If cumulative funding paid is 3 and trading fees paid are 1, the combined result is 12 before any other costs.",
        "Do not subtract funding again if the displayed total already includes it. Field definitions determine whether a figure is gross, net, session-only or lifetime."
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "session",
      "heading": "A reset is not an erased gain",
      "sourceIds": [
        "x425-defi-deribit-settlement"
      ],
      "paragraphs": [
        "Deribit documents daily settlement that transfers session results into balance and resets session counters. The position’s total history persists. A new session showing zero P&L therefore need not mean the prior gain disappeared."
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "reconcile",
      "heading": "Use a balance bridge",
      "sourceIds": [
        "x425-defi-deribit-log"
      ],
      "paragraphs": [
        "Start with opening balance, add deposits and recognized gains, subtract withdrawals and recognized losses or fees, then account for any still-unrealized value to reach equity. Keep transfers separate from trading performance. Downloaded records can round differently from the screen, so small differences need the underlying units and timestamps."
      ]
    }
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "question": "Can realized profit exist while my trade remains open?",
      "answer": "Yes. Funding and some venues’ periodic settlement can recognize amounts without closing the exposure.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "x425-defi-dydx-funding",
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      "statement": "Unrealized P&L values exposure that is still open using the venue’s chosen reference. Realized P&L records amounts recognized through trades, funding or settlement under its accounting rules. Realized does not always mean the position is closed or the amount is immediately withdrawable; the cited Deribit daily settlement is a concrete example.",
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        },
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      "scope": {
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        "notes": [
          "Checked Deribit daily session reset and transaction-log definitions plus dYdX funding;2×8−3−1=12, no double counting; UI/CSV rounding source explicit."
        ]
      }
    },
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        "notes": [
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    },
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          "Checked Deribit daily session reset and transaction-log definitions plus dYdX funding;2×8−3−1=12, no double counting; UI/CSV rounding source explicit."
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  ],
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      "locator": "Cash Flow; price; Funding",
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  "related": {
    "articles": [
      "perpetual-funding-payments",
      "options-settlement-currency",
      "leverage-margin-notional",
      "initial-vs-maintenance-margin",
      "open-interest-vs-volume"
    ],
    "dossiers": [],
    "wallets": []
  },
  "revisionHistory": [
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      "date": "2026-10-02",
      "kind": "published",
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    }
  ],
  "citation": "Degrees of Satoshi editorial project. “Realized and unrealized trading P&L: what changed in the account?.” Published 2026-10-02; updated 2026-10-02. https://degreesofsatoshi.com/encyclopedia/realized-unrealized-trading-pnl/"
}