Recently, someone posted a trading screenshot showing an unrealized profit of over $10,000, but the statistics below indicated a loss of $2,700. This stark contrast can indeed be quite confusing.

Actually, this is a very good question and a common point of confusion for many beginners when trading futures.

The key lies in the fact that these two numbers reflect **different aspects** of trading. Unrealized profit usually refers to the current open position's unrealized gains — in other words, how much you would earn if you closed the position now; while the loss figure likely reflects the **realized gains and losses** over the entire trading cycle — that is, the actual profit or loss from positions you've already closed.

In other words, you might have lost $2,700 on your previous trades, but your current open LDO contract position is doing well, with an unrealized profit of over $10,000. Once you close this position and realize the profit, the final account total will reflect the true figure.

Therefore, to determine whether you're overall making a profit or loss, you need to look at the **total account equity change** — whether your account has increased or decreased from the initial investment to now. Don't just look at the unrealized profit at a single moment, nor only at the realized P&L; combining both numbers gives a complete picture of your trading performance.