Errors and warnings

What does a CoinTracking negative-balance warning mean?

A negative balance in CoinTracking means: at the time of the sale or outflow, not enough of that asset had been imported. The tax-report warning is the symptom. Typical causes are a missing purchase year, a wallet that is not connected, a purchase booked as a deposit, or an unmatched transfer. CoinTracking still calculates — often with cost basis zero and a gain that is too high.

Why does CoinTracking set cost basis to zero?

CoinTracking sets cost basis to zero when no purchase price is known at the outflow. Often because the purchase was booked as a deposit, the price is missing, or the lot was invented by a negative balance. Sale proceeds then become the entire gain. That is not a display bug — the cost basis is really missing.

How do I find missing transactions in CoinTracking?

You do not see missing transactions as their own list. You see the result: negative balance, cost basis zero, exchange balance mismatch. Almost always a purchase year, a closed exchange, a hardware wallet or a chain is missing. The fix is to reload — not another report button.

What does a mismatched balance in Blockpit mean?

A mismatched balance in Blockpit means: the amount reported by the exchange and the amount calculated from transactions differ. Almost always trades, transfers or a period before the import window are missing. The hint is correct — the history is incomplete. A report with an open difference can still produce a number and still be wrong.

What do missing labels in Blockpit mean?

A missing label in Blockpit means: the software does not know whether the movement is a trade, transfer, stake, reward or something else. Unclear labels are the same problem as an unrecognised smart contract. Without an assignment, DeFi quickly becomes a sale or an inflow without cost basis.

What if a swap is detected as a deposit?

If a swap lands as a deposit and a withdrawal, the exchange is missing. The outgoing side becomes a sale without proceeds, or the inflow arrives without cost basis. Both distort the gain. The cause is almost always an on-chain or Ledger import that only sees transfers, not the economic swap.

What if a transfer is detected as a sale?

A transfer detected as a sale means: the software saw the withdrawal without a matching deposit and valued it like a disposal. Typical after moving to a hardware wallet, a bridge or another exchange account. Cost basis is missing on the receiving side, and a phantom gain appears on the sending side.

Why is my crypto tax bill unrealistically high?

A tax bill that is far too high almost never happens because FIFO “calculates wrongly”. It happens because sales are valued without cost basis, without a purchase, or with the wrong classification. Cost basis zero, a negative balance, a swap as a deposit or a transfer as a sale turn ordinary movements into full gains. Close the data first, then believe the number.

chain.report, Blockpit or CoinTracking — when which tool?

All three produce crypto tax reports for Germany. Blockpit and CoinTracking are the well-known full suites. chain.report is built for the moment the other tool only still shows warnings: missing prices, balance gaps, misread DeFi. The calculation is only as good as the history.