In trading, PNL stands for "Profit and Loss." The terms "unrealized PNL" and "realized PNL" refer to different states of profit or loss:
1. **Unrealized PNL (Paper Profit/Loss):**
- This is the money you *could* make if you sold your asset right now, but you haven't sold it yet.
- Imagine you bought a car for $10,000, and now it's worth $15,000. Your unrealized profit is $5,000 because you haven't sold the car yet.
2. **Realized PNL (Actual Profit/Loss):**
- This is the money you *actually* make (or lose) when you sell the asset.
- If you decide to sell that car for $15,000, your realized profit is $5,000 because now the sale is complete, and you have the money.
In short, unrealized PNL is like a "what if" scenario, while realized PNL is the real deal after the transaction is done.