Down in dollars, up in lira: why you should count crypto in your own currency
Why the dollar misleads
Almost every exchange and tracker shows your result in dollars. That is fine if you live in the US. But if you earn and pay rent in lira, reais, pesos or euros, the dollar number mixes two different movements:
- The crypto market. Coins went up or down against the dollar.
- Your currency’s exchange rate. The dollar went up or down against your money.
A dollar tracker only sees the first one. Your wallet feels both.
Example 1: the lira. Down in dollars, up in your own money
Ayşe from Istanbul exchanged 100,000 ₺ and got 3,125 USDT, so she bought dollars at 32 ₺. She used them to buy BTC and ETH. A year later the market had dipped a little, and the dollar had risen to 37.3 ₺.
| In dollars | In lira | |
|---|---|---|
| Put in | $3,125 | 100,000 ₺ |
| In the portfolio now | $2,969 | 110,744 ₺ |
| Result | −5.0% | +10.7% |
A tracker shows a red −5%, and Ayşe thinks she lost. But if she sold everything today and cashed out, she would have 10,744 ₺ more than she spent. Crypto protected her money from the falling lira, and that is a result too.
Example 2: the real. Up in dollars, down in your own money
It works the other way too. João from São Paulo exchanged R$20,000 at 5.0 and got 4,000 USDT. His portfolio grew to $4,300, but meanwhile the real strengthened to 4.6 per dollar.
| In dollars | In reais | |
|---|---|---|
| Put in | $4,000 | R$20,000 |
| In the portfolio now | $4,300 | R$19,780 |
| Result | +7.5% | −1.1% |
João is up in dollars, yet he can take back fewer reais than he put in. Both examples say the same thing: count in the currency you live in.
Which exchange rate to record
Not the central bank rate and not the exchange quote for that day. Record what you saw with your own eyes when you exchanged: P2P, an exchange office, a bank or a broker all add their markup and fees, and those are part of the price of your money.
The easiest way is to forget about the rate and record two numbers from the receipt:
- Spent: 100,000 ₺
- Got: 3,125 USDT
The rate follows: 1 USDT = 32.00 ₺. That is your real rate, fees included.
How it works in Crypto Journal
We made counting in your own currency the core of the journal, not a setting hidden in a corner.
- Money comes in only through “Deposit”. The form has three main fields: how much of which currency you spent, what you got and how much, and which portfolio it goes to. You can receive a stablecoin or a coin directly, for example BTC.
- The rate is calculated for you. The journal shows “Rate: 1 USDT = 32.00 ₺” and takes the coin’s dollar price for that date from the market. No need to look it up.
- Typo protection. If your rate differs from the market rate by dozens of times, the form warns you that the price looks like it is in another currency. One wrong field will not turn your portfolio into “a billion in the red”.
- Money goes out only through “Withdraw”. The same logic in reverse: how much crypto you gave and how much of your currency landed on your card.
- You choose the reporting currency. One tap switches the Overview and portfolio cards between dollars and your currency. Even free stablecoins are shown in the chosen currency.
- USDT or USDC — your choice. Some people live in USDT on Binance, others in USDC on Solana or Coinbase. Pick the journal’s base currency, and every amount is shown in the stablecoin you are used to.
Common mistakes
- Converting old purchases at today’s rate. That loses exactly what you count in your own currency for.
- Entering the coin price in your currency where dollars are expected. One such entry and the average price of ETH becomes $244,000.
- Forgetting the exchange markup. 2–3% on every deposit and withdrawal adds up to a noticeable sum over a few years.
FAQ
Which currency should I calculate crypto profit in?
The one you earn and spend in. The dollar figure is useful for comparing yourself with the market, but only your own currency answers “am I up?”.
Which rate should I use: the central bank’s or the exchange’s?
Neither. The one you actually got: what you spent divided by what you received.
What about old purchases with no receipts?
Use a bank statement or your P2P trade history on the exchange: both show the fiat amount and the USDT amount. If you have neither, record an estimate and say so in the note.
I live in Turkey, Brazil or Mexico. Does this affect taxes?
Every country has its own rules, and tax is often calculated in the local currency. This guide isn’t tax advice; check with a professional.
Calculate your result in your own currency ↗
From our team · AOSCrypto is only part of your capital. AOS shows all of it: assets, debts and the real cost of owning them.
aos.chaosless.app ↗This article is for information only and is not financial, investment or tax advice. Numbers and rates in the examples are illustrative.