RiskIntermediate7 min
Impermanent Loss
Core question
Why can a liquidity pool be worth less than simply holding the tokens?
When you deposit two tokens into a classic 50/50 liquidity pool, the pool automatically rebalances the amounts based on the current price. If one token's price moves relative to the other, your position's composition shifts too — and it can end up worth less than if you'd simply held the tokens. This effect is called impermanent loss: “impermanent” because it reverses once the price ratio of the two tokens returns to where it stood at deposit — it only becomes real once you withdraw the liquidity.
Look up in the Glossary: Impermanent Loss →What happens to your value in the pool
Example: asset A's price doubles, asset B stays the same.
- Start: you deposit 100, half in asset A and half in asset B.
- Simply held: A is now worth twice as much – 150 in total.
- In the pool: the pool keeps both sides equal in value and gave up A as it rose – 141.4 in total. The gap of 5.72% to holding is the impermanent loss, before fees.
- Asset A
- Asset B
- Value if held
Schema with computed values, not market data: a 50/50 constant-product pool without fees. Set the price change yourself in the calculator below.
Try it yourself
Impermanent-loss calculator
Applies to a classic 50/50 pool (e.g. Uniswap V2). Other pool designs (stableswap, concentrated liquidity) behave differently.
How the comparison works
When Token A's price shifts relative to Token B, the pool automatically rebalances the amounts you hold. The result: your pool position grows more slowly (or shrinks faster) than simply holding both tokens.
- Move the slider to simulate a price change for Token A.
- The further the price moves, the bigger the gap between holding and pooling.
Impermanent loss
-$0(0.00%)
Difference between holding and pooling
A pure illustration using the values you entered — not a forecast, and doesn't account for trading fees or rewards.
One real figure from live data
No currently available multi-asset pool has a live IL estimate.