Ledger

How many units of the cryptocurrency this lot currently holds. Computed as Σ buy.tokens − Σ sell.tokens across the lot's transactions.

The weighted-average price you paid per token across all your buys in this lot: Σ(buy_tokens × buy_price) / Σ buy_tokens. Selling doesn't change the average — only buying moves it.

The total dollar amount you spent to acquire the tokens you still hold: tokens × avg_cost. When you sell, gains/losses are calculated against this number. This is the most important number for taxes.

tokens × current_price. A snapshot of what you'd theoretically get if you sold right now at the current market price. Doesn't trigger taxes — it's a paper number.

"Paper" profit or loss — what your gain/loss would be if you sold everything in the lot at the current price. current_value − cost_basis. Doesn't affect taxes until you actually sell.

The profit or loss you've actually locked in by selling: Σ sell.tokens × (sell.price − avg_cost). This is your taxable amount for the year. Short-term rates if held < 1 year; long-term rates if held ≥ 1 year.

A named bucket of tokens you treat as one position. Each lot tracks its own buys, sells, and resulting basis/average. Useful when multiple people share one wallet, or when you want to keep different strategies separate (long-term hold vs. short-term trade).

Your crypto wallet shows one number — the total tokens of each coin. The ledger lets you record that number per coin so it can verify your tracked lots sum to it. IN SYNC means the math checks out. MISMATCH means a transaction is missing here, or someone else's tokens are mixed in.

Watchlist = coins whose price you track but don't own. Useful for spotting entries. Holdings = coins where you have at least one lot with real tokens.

Buying a fixed dollar amount on a regular schedule (e.g. $50 every Friday) regardless of price. You buy more tokens when the price is low, fewer when high. Smooths your average cost over time and removes the "did I pick the right moment?" stress.

The gap between the price you expected when you placed the order and the price you actually got. Common on DEXes for thinly-traded tokens — your order moves the market against you. Higher slippage tolerance = order is more likely to execute, but at a worse price.

DEX (decentralized exchange, e.g. Uniswap, Raydium): trades execute on-chain via smart contract, you keep custody of your tokens, no signup. CEX (centralized exchange, e.g. Coinbase, Kraken): a company holds your funds, you have an account, usually cheaper fees but counterparty risk. Small/new tokens often live only on DEXes.

How much a price swings within a given period. Higher volatility = bigger moves both directions = more profit potential AND more loss potential. Memecoins are extremely volatile; BTC is volatile compared to stocks; stablecoins are designed to have almost none.

circulating_supply × current_price. Total dollar value of all tokens in circulation. This matters more than per-token price. A $0.0001 token with 1 trillion supply has a $100M market cap — same size as a $100 token with 1 million supply.

Crypto slang for holding through volatility instead of trading. Originated from a 2013 forum post by a drunk user who misspelled "HOLD." Now used unironically to mean "long-term conviction position."

How easily you can buy or sell without moving the price. Bitcoin has massive liquidity — you can move millions without budging the price much. A new memecoin might have $50k of liquidity total, meaning even a $5k trade slips badly. Always check the pool size before trading low-cap tokens.

In the US, every sale of crypto is a taxable event — even trading one coin for another. Keep accurate records all year; the IRS will not. This ledger tracks cost basis automatically, but you still owe income tax based on realized gains. Talk to a CPA familiar with crypto before a big sell.

Reputable, non-pumping resources for learning more: