An unrealized gain is a paper profit on an asset you still hold, equal to its current value above your cost basis, not yet locked in by selling.
An unrealized gain, sometimes called a paper gain, is the profit you have on an investment you still own but have not sold.
It is the difference between the asset current market value and your cost basis. If you bought a stock for $50 and it now trades at $70, you have a $20 unrealized gain per share.
Unrealized gains are not final. They rise and fall with the market until you actually sell, at which point they become realized gains. Because of this, the value on paper can change at any moment.
In most jurisdictions, unrealized gains are not taxed because no sale has occurred. WalletLens shows your unrealized gains in real time so you always know where your positions stand before you decide to sell.
You buy 100 shares at $50 each, a $5,000 cost basis. The shares climb to $70, making your position worth $7,000, so you hold a $2,000 unrealized gain. Until you sell, that $2,000 is only on paper and can shrink or grow as the price moves.
In most jurisdictions unrealized gains are not taxed, because tax is typically triggered only when you sell and the gain becomes realized. Rules vary by country, so check your local tax treatment for specific cases.
Selling or otherwise disposing of the asset converts an unrealized gain into a realized one. At that point the profit is locked in and no longer changes with the market, and it usually becomes relevant for taxes.
WalletLens is a free, private net-worth tracker that puts concepts like this into practice — it tracks your crypto, stocks, gold and cash in one dashboard, computing cost basis, P&L and allocation automatically with live prices. No account, and your data stays on your device.
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