Grid profit shows positive, yet total return is negative — this feeling of "earning but not really earning" is indeed confusing. The root cause is that total return = grid profit + floating PNL, and floating PNL is precisely the unrealized losses sitting in your current positions.
Here are the 2 key steps you need to understand and calculate.
Step 1: Understand the essence of the two amounts — grid profit is "realized", floating PNL is "paper"
Binance Spot Grid's total return is composed of two parts:
- Grid Profit: This is the profit already banked by the bot through matched buy and sell pairs. It is the sum of profits from filled buy and sell orders paired together — "realized" gains.
- Floating PNL: This is the "paper" profit or loss of the positions you still hold, calculated based on the current market price. As long as these positions haven't been sold, this number moves up and down with the price.
Grid profit being positive means the bot's "buy low, sell high" operations themselves are making money. But a negative total return means the unrealised losses on the coins you are still holding are greater than the already-realised grid profit.
Step 2: Understand how floating loss is calculated
Since the problem lies in floating loss, you need to know how it is calculated to estimate how big it is.
Binance's floating PNL formula can be simplified as: Floating PNL = current total value of holdings - total principal invested
This "current total value of holdings" follows the market price in real time. When the market price is below your overall holding cost, floating PNL will show a negative number, thereby dragging down your total return.
Example: You invest 1,000 USDT to run a grid. The grid itself earned 10 USDT through low-buy-high-sell (grid profit = +10 USDT). However, the market drops, and the coins you are still holding are now worth 30 USDT less at current market price (floating PNL = -30 USDT). Your total return = +10 + (-30) = -20 USDT.
How to confirm the operation is correct?
When you see "grid profit positive, total return negative", just open the grid details page and look for the item "Floating PNL". That will give you the answer. The floating PNL number will definitely be negative, and its absolute value will be larger than your current grid profit.
If you do not want to continue taking on the risk of this floating loss, the only way is to stop the grid and choose to close at market price, turning floating PNL into "realized PNL". After closing, the floating loss is locked in and your total return will no longer change with price fluctuations.
