Core Concepts
Double-Entry Accounting
How Ledger uses double-entry bookkeeping to keep your portfolio books balanced at all times.
Double-Entry Accounting
Ledger is built on double-entry bookkeeping — the same system used by every major accounting platform. Every financial event creates two entries: a debit on one account and a matching credit on another. The books are always balanced by construction.
Why it matters for crypto#
Crypto portfolios move value across many accounts — exchange wallets, on-chain addresses, DeFi protocols, staking contracts. Without double-entry, it's easy to lose track of where value came from and where it went. Double-entry makes every flow explicit.
Journals and ledger accounts#
Ledger organises transactions into journals. Each journal entry has:
A date and optional memo
One or more debit lines (value flowing in)
One or more credit lines (value flowing out)
Debit total must equal credit total
2024-03-15 Buy 0.5 BTC on Coinbase
assets:coinbase:btc +0.5 BTC @ $65,000
assets:coinbase:usd -$32,500Account types#
Type | Normal balance | Examples |
|---|---|---|
Asset | Debit | Wallet balances, exchange holdings |
Liability | Credit | Loans, leveraged positions |
Equity | Credit | Starting capital, unrealised P&L |
Income | Credit | Staking rewards, airdrops |
Expense | Debit | Trading fees, gas costs |
Reconciliation#
Because every debit has a matching credit, you can verify your books at any point by summing all account balances. If the total is not zero, an entry is missing or incorrect.
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