DCAloop

DCA metrics glossary

A short glossary for the four numbers that describe any DCA simulation or live plan.

Abstract illustration of DCA metrics on a dashboard.

Four numbers describe any DCA plan. Once you know them, you can read any simulation or dashboard without getting lost.

Realized profit

Realized profit is the profit that has already settled back into quote asset. Sells that closed at their take-profit and dropped the gain into your account.

It is the most stable number. It does not change if the price drops tomorrow.

Open positions

Open positions are buys that ran but have not closed at their take-profit yet. They are waiting for the market to reach them.

They show what has been spent but is not yet resolved. Always read them alongside realized profit, never on their own.

Deployed capital

Deployed capital is the amount of quote asset locked inside open positions at a given moment.

You usually see two flavors:

  • Average deployed capital: how much was locked across the period on average.
  • Max deployed capital: the worst single point of exposure.

The number your wallet must survive is the max, not the average.

ROI

ROI compares realized profit with the money that was actually tied up. It shows how productively the capital you put at risk worked.

It is a better comparison metric than absolute profit. Two plans with the same profit but double the deployed capital are not equivalent. ROI exposes this instantly.

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