What liquidation means in practice
When a leveraged position loses too much value, the remaining collateral becomes too small for the current exposure. At that point, the risk engine can close the position automatically. This is liquidation. For a trader, the practical meaning is simple:- the closer the market gets to your liquidation price, the less room the trade has left
- higher leverage usually brings the liquidation price closer
- more margin usually pushes the liquidation price farther away
What affects liquidation price
The liquidation price is not a random number. It moves because the platform is constantly checking the risk of the open position. The most important inputs are:- position size: larger exposure creates more risk
- margin assigned to the trade: more margin gives the position more room
- selected leverage: higher leverage means less room before liquidation
- margin mode: Cross and Isolated behave differently
- mark price logic: derivatives platforms usually monitor risk using the mark price, not only the last trade
- maintenance margin requirements: the position must keep enough collateral to remain open
more exposure + less remaining collateral = liquidation price gets closer
Why mark price matters
Many traders look only at the last traded price on the chart. But liquidation risk is usually evaluated using the mark price. This matters because:- the chart can briefly print a price that is different from the mark price
- unrealized PnL can move based on the mark price
- liquidation can become closer even if the last visible trade does not look extreme
Cross vs isolated in real scenarios
The same position can behave differently depending on margin mode.Isolated margin
With Isolated, only the margin assigned to that position is supporting it. Example:- account balance:
1,000 USDC - isolated position margin:
100 USDC - leverage:
10x
- liquidation can happen faster
- the rest of the account is better protected
- risk is easier to reason about per trade
Cross margin
With Cross, the broader available derivatives balance can support the position. Example:- account balance:
1,000 USDC - position initially opens using
100 USDC - unrealized losses grow while the position is open
- liquidation price may stay farther away than in isolated mode
- one position can consume more of the account’s risk capacity
- losses on one trade can reduce the safety buffer for other trades
Why liquidation price can change while the position is open
Many traders expect liquidation price to stay fixed after entry. In practice, it can move. Common reasons:- you change leverage or margin settings
- you add or reduce position size
- you partially close the trade
- unrealized PnL changes under Cross
- active orders reserve or release collateral
Where to see liquidation risk in Entry Finance
In the current terminal, liquidation-related information appears in the places traders already use during position management:- the trade summary area in the right trade panel
- the Positions tab in the lower panel
- related margin and leverage controls when setting up the trade