Monitoring Your Position and PnL

After opening a position, it’s important to monitor its status and understand your PnL (Profit and Loss) and other metrics:

• Unrealized PnL: As mentioned, unrealized PnL is the profit or loss on your open position as the market price changes. It is “unrealized” because it will continue to fluctuate until you actually close the position. On OrbDex, unrealized PnL is usually displayed in the Open Positions table, updating in real time. For example, if you went long and the price has gone up above your entry, you will see a positive PnL (potential profit). If price has fallen below your entry, PnL shows negative (potential loss).

• Realized PnL: This is profit/loss that has been locked in by closing a position or by having a portion of the position closed (including via stop-loss/take-profit triggers or partial manual close). When you fully close a position, the unrealized PnL at that moment becomes realized and is added to (or subtracted from) your account balance.

• Margin and Leverage Metrics: Keep an eye on your Margin Ratio or Margin Level indicator (if provided). OrbDex might display a percentage that indicates how close your position is to liquidation. For instance, a margin level of 150% means you have a comfortable buffer, whereas nearing 100% means you’re near the liquidation threshold. If the margin ratio hits 100%, the position will be liquidated. Details of liquidation are discussed later.

• Funding Countdown (if applicable): Perpetual futures employ a periodic funding rate paid between long and short position holders. OrbDex may show a funding rate and a countdown to the next funding timestamp. If you hold a position through a funding interval, you’ll either pay or receive funding (depending on whether you are long or short and the sign of the funding rate). These funding payments will affect your PnL. (See the Fees and Funding section for more on this.)

• Price Alerts: While not a built-in feature of all trading interfaces, it’s wise to set up price alerts (via external apps or tools) for key levels like your stop-loss or take-profit, in case you want to be notified.

Monitoring the position involves regularly checking these metrics. OrbDex’s interface updates continuously, but you can also refresh or reconnect your wallet if something isn’t displaying correctly. Always ensure you have a stable internet connection when trading and monitoring positions on the platform.