Maintenance margin

Maintenance margin is the minimum equity the exchange requires you to maintain while a leveraged position is open. When your equity (margin minus unrealized losses) falls to this level, the exchange force-closes the position to protect itself from losses beyond what you posted.

Most exchanges express it as a percentage of notional, and the rate is tiered by position size: smaller positions get lower rates (e.g. 0.5%) and larger ones face higher rates (e.g. 2%+), reflecting the higher market impact of unwinding them.

Example: you hold a $10,000 notional ETH long with $500 initial margin. The maintenance margin rate is 0.5%, so the maintenance margin amount is $50. Liquidation is triggered once your margin equity drops to $50 — meaning a $450 adverse move on a $10,000 position (4.5% move).

The gap between initial margin and maintenance margin is your liquidation buffer. Narrowing that gap by using higher leverage leaves you more exposed to normal market volatility. Use the liquidation calculator to model exactly where your liquidation price sits for a given entry, leverage, and maintenance margin rate. Research output only — not investment advice.