Customers are required to post margin to open positions. We offer two types of margins: cross and isolated.
You can only have one type of margin open at a time for each market. For example, you can't have a cross margin and an isolated margin BTC PERP position open simultaneously.
Select the margin type in the order form when placing an order. This will be the default for your next trade.
Cross margin
Cross margin uses all the funds in your Perpetuals portfolio as collateral for your trades. All cross margin positions use the same collateral.
Example: You have 10,000 USDC in your Perpetuals portfolio. You go long 1 BTC PERP with 5x leverage and short 5 ETH PERP with 5x leverage. Both positions use cross margin.
If the price of BTC rises and the price of ETH falls, both positions would be in profit.
If the price of both BTC and ETH rises, your profits from the BTC position can be used to offset the losses from your ETH position.
If the price of BTC falls and the price of ETH rises, both positions would be at a loss. If the losses exceed your maintenance margin requirement, your positions could be liquidated.
Note: One poorly performing position can put your entire portfolio at risk of liquidation. Isolated margin limits your risk to only that position.
Isolated margin
Isolated margin limits the amount of margin to a specific position. You decide how much to post as margin for a specific position and your remaining funds aren't affected by that particular trade.
Example: You have 10,000 USDC in your Perpetuals portfolio. You go long 1 BTC PERP with 5x leverage using isolated margin and you post 8,000 USDC as margin.
If the price of BTC rises, your position will be in profit.
If the price of BTC falls, you'll be at a loss and risk liquidation if the losses exceed your maintenance margin requirement. However, only the 8,000 USDC you posted as margin is at risk (the other 2,000 USDC isn't subject to liquidation).
Note: If a position is at risk of being liquidated, you can add margin to help prevent liquidation, but the additional margin will also be at risk.
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