Margin types and usage (Global Derivatives)

This article addresses our Global Derivatives offering, which is currently only available to eligible customers in supported regions outside of the U.S. Learn more about Coinbase's Derivatives products

The terms in this article apply to you starting on your effective date under the updated Coinbase Bermuda Limited User Agreement. For most customers, that date is October 1, 2026. If we notified you that your effective date is earlier, these terms apply to you from that earlier date instead.

At the account level, you can choose between Standard Margin and Portfolio Margin. Both use cross collateral: Cross Standard Margin (X:SM) is the default, and eligible customers can switch to Cross Portfolio Margin (X:PM).

Separately, you can choose isolated margin when opening a position. Isolated positions use Segregated Standard Margin (S:SM).

The table below explains these three margin models.

Name	Code	Definition	Usage
Segregated Standard Margin (used for isolated positions)	S:SM	A basic setup in which each position has its own margin requirements calculated separately. The margin requirements for all the positions are summed up to give the total margin requirement per asset.	Keeping a position's margin separate. If an isolated position is liquidated, the liquidation doesn't affect your other positions. Smaller sizes of future and perpetual trades will have lower margin requirements compared to portfolio margin setups.
Cross Standard Margin	X:SM	Cross Collateral Standard Margin. Each position has its own margin requirements calculated separately. The margin requirements for all the positions are summed up to give the margin requirement for all assets together.	Combining all Global Derivatives assets. Being able to hold one asset to trade another (haircuts and collateral fees apply). Smaller sizes of future and perpetual trades will have lower margin requirements compared to portfolio margin setups.
Cross Portfolio Margin	X:PM	Cross Collateral Portfolio Margin applies portfolio-margin calculations to positions within each relevant asset, recognizing hedges within that asset under stress scenarios. The resulting margin requirements are converted to USD and combined at the account level, allowing supported collateral assets to be used across the account. Positions in different assets are not risk-netted against each other.	Combining all Global Derivatives assets in one portfolio. Being able to hold one asset to trade another (haircuts and collateral fees apply). Although positions in different assets are not hedged against each other, their profits and losses flow into the same USD-denominated pool in real time. This means profits from one asset's positions are immediately available as margin for other assets, without needing to close the position first. Building a complex and hedged portfolio with multiple assets at once. Lowering margin requirements on larger sized future and perpetual trades.

Name

Code

Definition

Usage

Segregated Standard Margin (used for isolated positions)

S:SM

A basic setup in which each position has its own margin requirements calculated separately. The margin requirements for all the positions are summed up to give the total margin requirement per asset.

Keeping a position's margin separate. If an isolated position is liquidated, the liquidation doesn't affect your other positions.

Smaller sizes of future and perpetual trades will have lower margin requirements compared to portfolio margin setups.

Cross Standard Margin

X:SM

Cross Collateral Standard Margin. Each position has its own margin requirements calculated separately. The margin requirements for all the positions are summed up to give the margin requirement for all assets together.

Combining all Global Derivatives assets. Being able to hold one asset to trade another (haircuts and collateral fees apply).

Smaller sizes of future and perpetual trades will have lower margin requirements compared to portfolio margin setups.

Cross Portfolio Margin

X:PM

Cross Collateral Portfolio Margin applies portfolio-margin calculations to positions within each relevant asset, recognizing hedges within that asset under stress scenarios. The resulting margin requirements are converted to USD and combined at the account level, allowing supported collateral assets to be used across the account. Positions in different assets are not risk-netted against each other.

Combining all Global Derivatives assets in one portfolio. Being able to hold one asset to trade another (haircuts and collateral fees apply).

Although positions in different assets are not hedged against each other, their profits and losses flow into the same USD-denominated pool in real time. This means profits from one asset's positions are immediately available as margin for other assets, without needing to close the position first.

Building a complex and hedged portfolio with multiple assets at once.

Lowering margin requirements on larger sized future and perpetual trades.

Standard Margin vs Portfolio Margin

With standard margin (SM), the initial margin (IM) and maintenance margin (MM) requirements are calculated separately for each position in the account.

The margin requirements for all positions are then added together to give the total margin requirements for the account. This total is compared to the margin balance to determine margin usage percentages. This approach is straightforward and easy to calculate, but because it only looks at each position separately, it doesn't offer any benefits for positions that either partially or fully hedge each other.

Portfolio Margin (PM) is a margin system which considers the entire portfolio, including both futures and crypto options together. The system estimates the profit or loss of the portfolio across several different scenarios, including price and volatility changes, and uses the worst case scenario for the portfolio overall to calculate the margin requirements.

Because the system looks at the whole portfolio, positions that hedge each other automatically benefit from at least a partial offsetting of margin requirements. So the more hedged the portfolio is, the lower the margin requirements are likely to be, both as a whole and relative to SM.

Note: The Worst Case Scenario in the portfolio margin calculation is simply the worst result from the scenarios that the margin system tests. It doesn’t imply that it is the largest amount the account could lose.

Segregated vs Cross Collateral

Margin models differ in whether collateral is segregated by settlement currency or shared across eligible currencies. Both account-level margin modes use cross collateral.

With a segregated model, only an instrument's settlement currency can meet its margin requirements. On Coinbase, S:SM is used for isolated positions, not selected as an account-level margin mode.

With cross collateral, supported collateral currencies are valued in USD and contribute to the account's margin balance. This allows eligible collateral other than USDC to support USDC-settled derivatives positions. Applicable collateral haircuts reserve additional initial margin; they do not directly reduce margin balance. Learn more about Cross collateral specifications.

To change your account margin mode:

Toggle to Coinbase Advanced and navigate to your Global Derivatives portfolio.
Open Margin details, select Global Derivatives, then select Account margin mode.
Select Change.
Choose Standard margin or Portfolio margin, where available.
Review the margin information and risk disclosure, then select Accept risk & change.

Note: You can change your margin model up to 5 times within a 24-hour period.

Margin calculations

The following table shows how various margin parameters are calculated, depending on whether standard margin or portfolio margin is being used.

Parameter	Standard margin	Portfolio margin
Cash balance	The sum of all money transfers (internal and blockchain), option premiums, settlements and deliveries, corrections, costs, and insurance refills.	The sum of all money transfers (internal and blockchain), option premiums, settlements and deliveries, corrections, costs, and insurance refills.
Equity	Equity = CashBalance + Σ (UPL + RPL) for all Futures + Σ Value for all options	Equity = CashBalance + Σ (UPL + RPL) for all Futures + Σ Value for all options
Margin balance	CashBalance+∑Futures(UPL+RPL) which can also be written as: Equity−∑ Options Value	Equity
Initial margin	∑Futures + Options(InitialMarginPerInstrument+OpenOrderMargin)	Worst performing scenario of the PM risk matrix + delta shock + roll shock + decoupling shock + effective equity margin
Maintenance margin	∑Futures + OptionsMaintenanceMarginPerInstrument	0.8 * InitialMargin
Projected IM and MM	These values are calculated by excluding instruments that will expire during the nearest expiration. During the 30 minutes before an expiry, IM and MM will converge to projected IM and projected MM respectively.	These values are calculated by excluding instruments that will expire during the nearest expiration. During the 30 minutes before an expiry, IM and MM will converge to projected IM and projected MM respectively.
Available balance	MarginBalance - InitialMargin	MarginBalance - InitialMargin
Session profits	MAX(0,∑Futures(UPL+RPL)+∑OptionsRPL+∑Short OptionsUPL)	MAX(0,∑Futures(UPL+RPL)+∑Options(UPL+RPL))
Available to transfer	AvailableBalance - SessionProfits	AvailableBalance - SessionProfits (other restrictions may apply)