Crypto ROI Formula: How to Calculate Return on Investment
The crypto ROI formula is (final value − total cost) ÷ total cost. See what belongs in total cost, how to handle partial sales, and when ROI can mislead you.
Key takeaways
- ROI = (final value − total cost) ÷ total cost × 100, where total cost includes every fee you paid to get in.
- Same investment, three answers: 29.69% on price alone, 28.17% after entry fees, 27.52% after entry and exit costs.
- With partial sales, final value = net cash already received + today's value of what you still hold, after exit costs.
- ROI ignores time. A 27.52% ROI over 20 months is about 15.71% a year, so compare periods with an annualized rate.
- Negative ROI is harder to reverse than it looks: a −40% ROI needs a +66.67% gain to get back to even.
On this page
- What is the crypto ROI formula?
- Worked example: three ROIs for one investment
- What belongs in total cost?
- ROI with partial sales or extra deposits
- Measure ROI in the currency you care about
- Which number answers which question?
- Negative ROI and the recovery trap
- Common ROI mistakes
- The bottom line
- Frequently asked questions
- Sources
What is the crypto ROI formula?
Return on investment (ROI) measures your profit or loss as a percentage of what you put in:
ROI = (final value − total cost) ÷ total cost × 100
Two definitions decide whether the answer is honest:
- Total cost is everything you paid to get into the position: the purchase amount plus trading fees, card or deposit surcharges, and any network or withdrawal fees to move the coins where you hold them.
- Final value is what you actually got out: sale proceeds after fees for a closed position, or today’s value minus the estimated cost of selling for an open one.
Professional performance standards take the same approach. The GIPS standards published by CFA Institute require that all returns be calculated after deducting the transaction costs incurred during the period. The dollar version of the same calculation, profit and loss, is covered in our guide to calculating crypto profit and loss.
Worked example: three ROIs for one investment
Suppose you put $3,200 into a hypothetical Coin C. You pay a 1% trading fee ($32) and $6 to withdraw the coins to your own wallet, so your total cost is $3,238. Twenty months later the holding is worth $4,150, and selling would cost an estimated 0.5% ($20.75), so the final value is $4,129.25.
| Version | Calculation | ROI |
|---|---|---|
| Price only | $4,150 ÷ $3,200 − 1 | 29.69% |
| After entry fees | ($4,150 − $3,238) ÷ $3,238 | 28.17% |
| After entry and exit costs | ($4,129.25 − $3,238) ÷ $3,238 | 27.52% |
The profit behind the last line is $891.25. The first version is what a simple price comparison shows, and it is 2.16 percentage points too flattering here. With higher fees or a smaller position, the gap grows.
ROI = (Final value − Total cost) ÷ Total cost × 100($4,129.25 − $3,238) ÷ $3,238 × 100 = 27.52%What belongs in total cost?
A quick way to check your total cost is to follow the cash: every dollar that left your bank account because of this position counts. The IRS uses the same idea for tax basis, which it defines as the amount spent to acquire virtual currency, including fees, commissions and other acquisition costs.
| Include in total cost | Leave out |
|---|---|
| Purchase amount | Money still sitting in your account uninvested |
| Trading fees and card surcharges | Costs of other positions |
| Network and withdrawal fees to move the coins | Hardware or subscriptions you use for everything |
| Fees taken in coins (they reduce your final quantity) | Your own time |
Rewards from staking or airdrops need no special handling if you value the whole holding at the end: they show up in the final value. Just make sure any commission on those rewards is not also counted as a cost, or you will count it twice.
ROI with partial sales or extra deposits
If you sold part of the position, final value has two pieces: the net cash you already received plus the current value of what you still hold, after estimated exit costs. Suppose the Coin C investment above had instead returned $1,500 from a partial sale, and the remaining coins are worth $2,900 after exit costs. Final value is $4,400, profit is $1,162 and ROI is 35.89%.
Extra deposits are harder. If you added money months after the first purchase, a simple ROI divides by the total you put in and treats every dollar as if it had been invested from day one. For a steady buying plan, that distortion can be large; our guide to time-weighted vs money-weighted returns explains the two standard fixes.
Measure ROI in the currency you care about
ROI also depends on the unit you measure in. Suppose you stake 100 units of a hypothetical Token Z worth $10 each, $1,000 in total, and earn 6 more units over a year. Measured in tokens, your ROI is 6%. If the price slips to $9, your 106 tokens are worth $954, so your ROI in dollars is −4.6%.
A staking rate describes the token return; the dollar result also depends on what the price does. Our guide to APR vs APY explains how reward rates compound, but for ROI, pick one unit, usually your home currency, and use it for both cost and final value.
Which number answers which question?
ROI is one of several numbers you can quote about the same investment. Each answers a different question, and mixing them up leads to bad comparisons.
| Question | Measure | Coin C example |
|---|---|---|
| How much did I make in dollars? | P&L | $891.25 |
| How much per dollar invested? | ROI | 27.52% |
| How fast, per year? | Annualized return (CAGR) | 15.71% a year over 20 months |
| How did the coin itself do? | Price change | 29.69% |
| What price do I need to avoid a loss? | Break-even price | See the break-even guide |
The annualized figure is the one to use when comparing investments held for different lengths of time. Our guide to CAGR for crypto shows the calculation, and our guide to the break-even price covers the last row.
Negative ROI and the recovery trap
ROI below zero needs extra care, because losses and gains are not symmetric. Suppose the Coin C holding had fallen to $1,942.80 instead. ROI is ($1,942.80 − $3,238) ÷ $3,238 = −40.00%. To get back to $3,238, the position needs a gain of 0.40 ÷ 0.60 = 66.67%, not 40%.
The general rule is gain needed = loss ÷ (1 − loss), explained in our guide to percentage gains vs losses. It is worth knowing before you size a position, not after.
Common ROI mistakes
- Dividing by the wrong base. ROI divides by total cost, never by today’s value.
- Leaving out fees. In the example, fees and exit costs cut ROI by more than 2 percentage points.
- Comparing different periods. A 27.52% ROI over 20 months is not “better” than 20% in 6 months.
- Ignoring position size. A 300% ROI on $50 is a $150 profit; a 20% ROI on $10,000 is $2,000.
- Treating later deposits as day-one money. Use a time-aware measure for regular buying.
Tip: Report ROI with its period and its cost basis attached, for example “27.52% over 20 months on $3,238, after fees”. A bare percentage invites the wrong comparison.
To run the numbers for your own holding, our ROI and CAGR calculator takes amount invested, fees, current value and dates, and shows both ROI and the annualized rate.
The bottom line
The crypto ROI formula is simple: final value minus total cost, divided by total cost. The honesty is in the inputs, so count every fee in total cost and subtract exit costs from final value. Then attach a time period, because an ROI without one cannot be compared with anything.
Frequently asked questions
How do you calculate ROI on crypto?
Subtract your total cost from your final value, divide by your total cost and multiply by 100. Total cost is what you paid for the coins plus every fee to buy and move them. Final value is your sale proceeds after fees, or today's value minus estimated selling costs. For example, ($4,129.25 − $3,238) ÷ $3,238 × 100 = 27.52%.
Should fees be included in crypto ROI?
Yes. Leaving fees out overstates your return. Professional performance standards take the same view: the GIPS standards published by CFA Institute require returns to be calculated after deducting the transaction costs incurred during the period. In this article's example, fees and exit costs lower ROI from 29.69% on price alone to 27.52%.
What is a good ROI for crypto?
There is no single benchmark, because ROI depends on how long you held and how much risk you took. A 27.52% ROI over 20 months is roughly 15.71% a year, while the same ROI in 20 days would be a very different result. Compare ROIs only over matching periods, or convert them to an annualized rate first.
How do I calculate ROI if I sold only part of my crypto?
Add the net cash you have already received from sales to the current value of the coins you still hold, after estimated exit costs, and use that as your final value. Divide the difference between that total and your total cost by the total cost. If you received $1,500 and still hold $2,900, a $3,238 cost gives an ROI of 35.89%.
Sources
- Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS) for Firms, 2020 Edition — CFA Institute
- Understanding Fees — U.S. SEC — Investor.gov
- Frequently Asked Questions on Virtual Currency Transactions — Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
This content is for education only and is not financial, investment, tax or legal advice. Crypto assets are volatile and you can lose money. Examples use hypothetical numbers. See our disclaimer and editorial policy.