Why the lead trader got 5 USDT on day 4, not 10: how BYDFi's copy trade profit share actually settles

If you follow a trader on BYDFi copy trading and have a bad day, do you still pay them a cut the next time you're green? Not until you've made the loss back. BYDFi's help center has a guide on profit share rules with a day-by-day example, and it's the clearest way to see how the fee works for both sides.

The image is a screenshot from that BYDFi help article: a lead trader's My Lead Trades page with the Profit Share Stats tab outlined in red, showing the total profit share, expected profit share and profit share ratio cards.

The basic rule

The lead trader gets a percentage of the follower's realized profit. The default ratio is 10%. A lead trader can apply to change it, at most once a day, through the pencil icon on that ratio card.

• Actual profit share = follower's total realized profit from fully closed positions x ratio
• With several followers, each one is calculated separately and then added up

When it settles

• Once a day, for the window 16:00 to 16:00 UTC, paid out between 16:00 and 17:00 UTC
• Only if that follower's total realized profit since the last settlement is above zero
• Partially closed positions don't count
• If the follower still has any open position linked to that trader, settlement waits for the next day
• If the follower unfollows, the share settles immediately

The pre-freeze

When a follower fully closes a profitable position, BYDFi holds back ratio x profit in a separate account so the trader's cut is covered. At settlement, whatever wasn't owed goes back to the follower's USDT-M futures account: refund = amount held back minus the trader's actual share.

The worked example

A follower puts in 1,000 USDT behind a trader on 10%.

• Day 1: +200. Share is 20. Balance after: 1,180
• Day 2: -150. Cumulative since last payout is -150, so no share. Balance: 1,030
• Day 3: +100. Cumulative is -50, still no share. Balance: 1,130
• Day 4: +100. Cumulative is now +50, so the share is 50 x 10% = 5. Balance: 1,225

Total: 1,000 starting + 250 realized - 25 profit share = 1,225 USDT. The trader earned 10% of day 4's net recovery past the old mark, not 10% of the day's 100. The 1,225 becomes the new mark to beat before another share is due. The guide notes these numbers leave out trading fees.

Expected profit share

The trader's Expected Profit Share is the running total of amounts held back since the last settlement, refreshed every 5 minutes. It's a guide only. The guide's example: one copied position closed with 100 USDT profit while another stays open, so 10 USDT is held back and shown as expected.

Before you follow anyone

Check the trader's current ratio, because it can change once a day. Remember a position you leave open delays settlement. And read realized PnL, not the floating number, since only fully closed trades count toward the share.