GridBTUnderstanding PnL
Bybit can show a negative "Realized PnL" while your GridBT dashboard shows positive profit at the same time. Both numbers are correct. They measure different things.
The two types of profit
Grid trading produces two separate profit figures:
| Metric | What it measures | Can be negative? |
|---|---|---|
| Pure Grid Profits | Sum of all completed buy-sell grid cycles | No, always positive |
| Realized PnL (Bybit) | FIFO accounting across all fills | Depends on whether the market moves with or against your larger position side |
Pure Grid Profits is what GridBT displays on the dashboard. Every time a buy and sell pair completes one grid cycle, that spread is locked in as profit. It only ever increases.
Realized PnL is what Bybit shows in your account. Bybit uses FIFO accounting to calculate each realized gain or loss.
What is FIFO?
FIFO stands for first-in, first-out. When you sell, Bybit matches that sell against your oldest open buy position first. If that oldest buy was at a higher price than where you are selling, Bybit records a realized loss, even if the grid is cycling profitably and your average entry is improving. Learn more about FIFO on Investopedia.
Why Bybit shows losses while you're profitable
When price trends down, the grid buys at progressively lower prices to improve your average entry. Bybit accounts for each sell against the oldest (highest-priced) inventory first. The result is a string of realized losses on paper. Your average entry price is improving with every cycle, which is the intended behavior.
Example: Your long grid is anchored at $30.00 on HYPEUSDT. Price drops to $24.00.
- The bot buys at $29.89, $29.78, $29.67 ... building position and improving average entry
- Each close order that fills is matched by Bybit against your original $30.00 inventory
- Bybit shows realized losses
- Your average entry is now $28.50, setting up larger per-cycle profit when price recovers
- Pure Grid Profits on the dashboard continue to increase with every completed cycle
This is the expected cost of grid trading. The benefit is profit captured on every matched pair, whether price is rising or falling.
The key insight
If price starts at $30.00, drops to $24.00, spikes to $36.00, and returns to exactly $30.00 after 7 days:
- Hold strategy: Breakeven
- Grid bot: Captured every swing within the grid distance as pure grid profit
The more price oscillates within your grid distance, the more cycles complete and the more profit accumulates.
Worked example: 7 days on HYPEUSDT
Here is what that looks like with real numbers. Assume price oscillates between $24.00 and $36.00 and averages 40 matched cycles per day across your long position. With
spacingPct = 0.37, orderSizeUsd = $10, and Bybit maker fees at 0.02% per fill:| Per cycle | 7 days (280 cycles) | |
|---|---|---|
| Gross grid profit | $0.0370 | $10.36 |
| Round-trip fees (2 fills × 0.02%) | -$0.0040 | -$1.12 |
| Net pure grid profit | $0.0330 | $9.24 |
This is for a single direction with a $10 order size. With both your long and your short active, and larger order sizes, the numbers scale proportionally.
Below is real PnL history from a live HYPEUSDT grid over 7 days:
What to focus on
- Pure Grid Profits: your real earnings from grid cycles (the primary metric)
- Exposure health: is price still within your grid? Are you near exposure limits?
- Effective leverage: how much of your wallet is at risk relative to net position?
Negative Realized PnL on Bybit is normal during trending markets. It reflects improved average entry, not losses.
Your total performance picture
GridBT displays pure grid profits rather than total portfolio value. This is intentional: pure grid profits are the only metric that reflects what the grid strategy actually earned. The other components fluctuate with market conditions:
| Component | Direction | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Pure Grid Profits | Always positive | Increases with every completed cycle |
| Unrealized PnL | Varies | Fluctuates with current market price |
| Realized PnL (Bybit) | Varies | Reflects FIFO cost of position building |
| Fees | Negative | Maker fees and funding rate on open positions |
All four components together give you the true picture. During a sustained adverse trend, Unrealized PnL can be negative. As long as the position is not liquidated and the asset recovers, you are collecting pure grid profits the entire time.
What happens during a sustained trend
Price trends down continuously:
- Your long keeps buying, position size grows toward exposure limits
- Realized PnL goes negative as FIFO sells older inventory at lower prices
- Pure Grid Profits still accumulate on every completed cycle
- Eventually your long hits the net exposure limit and open orders pause on that side
Price trends up continuously:
- Your long keeps selling, position size shrinks
- Pure Grid Profits accumulate on every sell
- Eventually your long runs out of inventory and enters open-only mode: close orders pause, open orders continue until a fill rebuilds position
- Normal cycling resumes once price reverses and open orders fill
In both cases the grid resumes full operation automatically once price moves in the other direction. If you want to restore full two-way cycling faster, you can add more inventory at any time and any amount using the Seed Feature on the Dashboard, or add to a position manually through the Bybit Exchange Trading UI.
How GridBT Works
How the order cycle, anchor, and grid levels work under the hood.
Your Position Sizing
Seed amounts, grid distance, leverage, and exposure limits.
Config Reference
Every setting explained with defaults and examples.
Risk & Safety
Exposure limits, liquidation distance, and built-in protections.