Asset balances
How to read your crypto asset page: balance, available funds, PnL and average cost
Your coin balance tells you how much crypto you hold. The estimated value tells you what it is roughly worth now. Available funds, daily profit and loss, and average cost answer three different questions again. Here is how to read each figure after buying, and which record to open when one looks wrong.
The examples below use Binance. The important distinction is between a balance measured in coins and a value calculated from prices. Before comparing two numbers, check the account, the unit and the period each one covers.
Where to find your crypto balance in Binance#
On the website or app, open Assets, then Spot. This shows the account used for spot trading. An overview combines accounts, so its total need not match the Spot total. Older help pages use Wallets for the assets menu.
If you bought through P2P, do not assume that every purchase still lands in Funding. Binance’s Funding-to-Spot migration FAQ (Chinese) describes a phased change and priority use of Spot funds for ordinary P2P users. Check the order and the actual account holding the coin. If it remains in Funding, Funding account vs spot account explains when a transfer is needed.
Why the estimated balance differs from what you paid#
The large total at the top converts your holdings into a common unit. A BTC-denominated total does not mean that every asset you own is bitcoin. Likewise, a dollar estimate is not a cash balance waiting in your bank account.
Binance’s Spot Account Activity FAQ explains that its fiat estimate converts coin values to BTC and then to fiat. Conversion rates can differ from market prices. The estimate is a reference figure, not a price guaranteed for selling everything.
Read the coin quantity separately. A changing estimate can accompany an unchanged quantity, because prices move. That does not rule out a real investment loss: owning the same amount of BTC after a price fall leaves you with a lower-value holding.
When two screens disagree, match the display currency and account first, then consider their price and update times. If an amount has become a row of asterisks, check the eye icon before treating it as a missing balance. The display controls change what you see, not what you own.
Why your available balance is smaller than your total#
A coin’s total balance includes the amount held in that account. Its available balance excludes funds already reserved or otherwise unavailable. An open order is one place to look for the difference.
Suppose you have 100 USDT and an unfilled limit buy reserves 60 USDT. Ignoring fees and any other holds, the available amount is 100 − 60 = 40 USDT. The total is still 100 USDT; the order has reserved the other 60. A sell order reserves the coin being sold instead.
Check Open Orders. If an order has partly filled, separate the executed part from the amount still waiting. Cancelling releases what remains reserved for the unfilled part; it does not reverse the trades already completed. See how to check or cancel an unfilled limit order before changing it.
Binance applies T+1 withdrawal holds to certain P2P markets and users, while T+2 restrictions concern detected abnormal activity. Its withdrawal-limit explanation distinguishes these from trading restrictions. Read the reason, affected amount and expiry shown on your withdrawal page. A positive available balance alone does not establish that you can withdraw it.
What Today’s PnL measures after your first purchase#
Open the arrow beside Today’s PnL on the Spot page. Binance’s PNL help page calculates the change since the start of the day after allowing for money moving into or out of the account:
Today’s PnL = current Spot value − opening Spot value − net deposits and transfers for the day.
Use the same valuation currency throughout. Net inflows include the effect of withdrawals and transfers out; adding money is not a trading profit, and moving it out is not automatically a loss.
The day starts at 00:00 UTC, not necessarily your local midnight. Binance lists maintenance from 00:00 to 02:00 UTC, during which the previous day’s PnL is unavailable, and warns of delays or calculation errors.
Here is the original guide’s hypothetical example. The account starts the UTC day at zero. You transfer in 100 USDT, buy BTC, and make no other transactions. At the time you check, the BTC is valued at 99.8 USDT. The calculation is 99.8 − 0 − 100 = −0.2 USDT.
That 99.8 is an assumed valuation, not a recorded purchase or a fee quote. In an actual account, the difference may combine fees, the gap between execution and valuation prices, and a market move after buying. The negative sign cannot tell you which explanation applies. Check the fills and the fee charged on the purchase.
Is Average Cost the amount you actually spent?#
Not necessarily. Binance’s wallet Average Cost guide describes a calculation based on market prices when the amount of an asset increased, using platform data collected since 1 August 2021. Deposits and purchases through different services can contribute. It is not simply your card payment divided by the coins received.
The documented app route is Wallets → Overview → Crypto, then the asset. The help page limits availability to selected users, so a missing field is not evidence that a purchase failed.
For coins bought elsewhere and deposited later, keep the outside purchase records. Binance may not know that original cost. Adding more coins recalculates the displayed average; it does not replace the cost of every existing coin with the latest market price.
The Average Cost → Revise controls let you enter your own figures. Binance warns that overwriting the previous data is irreversible. Gather the records before changing it.
Two similarly named trading features use different inputs. Buy Average Price uses buy transactions from the past 365 days. Trade Analysis covers completed buys and sells for a selected pair and period, excluding deposits, withdrawals, transfers and distributions. These limits are set out in the trade-analysis guide. Do not expect either figure to match the wallet average automatically.
Which record to check when the numbers do not add up#
Start with the unit beside the disputed number. A mismatch in BTC quantity needs a different check from a mismatch in a dollar estimate.
- The quantity is right, but the valuation or PnL differs. Match the account, valuation currency and time period. Then reconcile money moving in and out and the fees on each fill. For Average Cost, also check deposits and any manual revision.
- The available amount is low. Look for an open order reserving it, and read any separate restriction notice.
- The coin or total quantity is missing. Check the account, display filters and whether the order actually filled. Bought bitcoin but cannot find it? covers that search.
A small quantity difference can also be a fee deducted in the purchased coin. Suppose you buy 0.001 BTC with an assumed 0.1% fee paid in BTC. The fee is 0.000001 BTC, leaving 0.000999 BTC. This is arithmetic with an invented fee rate, not a claim about your account’s rate. Your actual fee amount and fee currency are in the trade history; check each fill if the order executed in parts.
Follow the number you need to check
- How to check your crypto trade history and fees The price, quantity and fee on each fill
- Limit order not filled? Funds reserved by an order still waiting
- Bought bitcoin but cannot find it? A missing coin or unexpected quantity
- Funding account vs spot account A balance held in a different account
- Bitcoin buying fees: the three layers Costs beyond the displayed asset value
Last updated: 24 October 2026. The Binance help pages linked above were checked on that date. Their screenshots illustrate menu locations; the figures shown in them are not your balances or current price quotes. Use your account’s transaction records to reconcile an actual purchase.