Net Realized PnL
Daily net difference between realized profit and realized loss, denominated in BTC and smoothed over 7 days. Positive readings indicate net gain-taking; negative readings indicate net capitulation.
What is it?
Net Realized PnL is the daily on-chain profit-loss balance: `realized_profit - realized_loss`, smoothed over 7 days. The result, denominated in BTC, is positive when the aggregate market realizes more gains than losses, negative when the reverse. Zero-line crossings mark regime inflections - historically aligned with bull-to-bear flips or major capitulations.
How to read
Read sign and magnitude: persistently positive = market on average taking gains (typical bull market), persistently negative = market in average capitulation (typical bear market). Extreme zones (positive above empirical threshold or negative below) mark phases of euphoric profit-taking or deep capitulation respectively. The 7-day SMA filters out liquidation spikes.
Key zones
Zero line: regime inflection threshold. Positive zone: net profit-taking regime (bull dominant). Negative zone: net capitulation regime (bear dominant). Zero-line crossings, especially those confirmed over several weeks, historically mark macro regime flips.
What to observe
Watch confirmed zero-line crossings over 4-8 weeks: they mark macro regime transitions. Also watch extreme zones - an extreme positive Net PnL not seen since the previous cycle typically indicates distribution tops. Conversely, an extreme negative Net PnL typically indicates capitulation bottoms.
Historical context
Every major Bitcoin cycle has printed sharply positive phases in bull markets (accelerated profit-taking) followed by sharply negative phases in bear markets (forced capitulation). Zero-line crossings have historically coincided within a few weeks of major BTC price inflections. The 7-day SMA is the published convention for filtering daily noise without introducing excessive lag.
Expert notes
BTC-denominated Net Realized PnL is less sensitive to price variations than the USD version - useful for cohort reads or inter-cycle comparisons. For institutional magnitude analysis, prefer the USD version. The 7-day SMA is designed for tactical analysis; for structural analysis, use an additional 30-day SMA overlay.
Common mistakes to avoid
Do not confuse Net Realized PnL with the individual components `realized-profit-total` (profit alone) or `realized-loss-total` (loss alone) - those measure gross activity on each side, while Net measures the differential. An isolated zero-line crossing does not mark a reversal - require multi-week confirmation.
Programmatic access
REST API
curl -sS \
'https://api.trinityinsights.io/api/v1/onchain/net-realized-pnl/history?days=90' \
-H 'X-API-Key: $TRINITY_API_KEY'MCP server
{
"tool": "get_chart_value",
"metric_id": "net-realized-pnl",
"timeframe": "1y"
}Required tier: pro. See the pricing grid for the tier list and the MCP documentation for multi-client configuration.
Related metrics
Institutional disclaimer
Trinity Insights is an educational and analytical tool. The metric above does not constitute investment advice. Trinity Insights is not a Crypto-Asset Service Provider (CASP) registered under MiCA Regulation (EU) 2023/1114. See the full disclaimer.