Why tracking is worth the effort

Without tracking, it is surprisingly hard to answer a basic question: am I making money? Prices move constantly, you may have bought the same coin several times, and a rising coin price does not automatically mean you are in profit if you bought even higher. A good record replaces guesswork with a clear picture.

Tracking also helps you see the shape of your holdings — which coins make up most of your value, which are winners, and which are laggards. That perspective is useful whether you hold for the long term or check in occasionally.

Cost basis: what you actually paid

Cost basis is the total amount you spent to acquire a holding. For a single purchase it is simply the amount of coins multiplied by the price you paid. If you bought 0.5 ETH at $2,000, your cost basis is $1,000.

When you buy the same coin more than once, your cost basis is the sum of all those purchases, and your average buy price is the total spent divided by the total coins held. Getting cost basis right is the foundation for every profit-and-loss number that follows.

Calculating profit and loss

Your current value is the coins you hold multiplied by the current price. Profit or loss is just current value minus cost basis. If your holding is worth $1,400 today and cost you $1,000, you are up $400. If it is worth $800, you are down $200.

That single subtraction is the heart of portfolio tracking. Everything else — percentages, best and worst performers, totals across many coins — builds on this one relationship between what something is worth and what it cost.

• Cost basis = amount of coins × average buy price.
• Current value = amount of coins × current price.
• Profit / loss = current value − cost basis.
• Profit / loss % = (profit ÷ cost basis) × 100.

Realized vs unrealized gains

An unrealized gain (or loss) is a profit that exists only on paper because you still hold the coin. Its value changes with every price tick, and it is not locked in — it can grow or vanish before you ever sell.

A realized gain (or loss) happens when you actually sell. At that moment the paper number becomes a concrete result. This distinction matters for record-keeping and, in many places, for taxes, since selling is often the event that creates a taxable gain or loss. Rules vary by country, so check the guidance where you live.

Percentage returns and the whole portfolio

Dollar amounts alone can mislead when holdings are different sizes. A $400 gain on a $1,000 position (up 40%) is very different from a $400 gain on a $10,000 position (up 4%). Percentage return — profit divided by cost basis, times 100 — puts everything on a level playing field.

For a portfolio with several coins, you add up the cost basis of everything and the current value of everything, then apply the same profit and percentage formulas to the totals. This gives you one clear figure for how the whole portfolio is doing, alongside the per-coin details.

Practical tips for tracking

Record each purchase as it happens — the date, amount, and price — rather than trying to reconstruct it later from memory. Decide whether to include trading fees in your cost basis and be consistent about it, since fees quietly reduce real returns.

A dedicated tool removes the tedious math. This app’s portfolio tracker stores your holdings, pulls in live prices, and calculates profit, loss, and percentages for you automatically. You can also use the built-in converter to quickly check what an amount of one coin is worth in a currency you understand.

Frequently Asked Questions