Maintenance margin

Maintenance margin is the ongoing collateral threshold an exchange sets to keep a leveraged position open, distinct from the larger initial margin required just to enter the trade. Once a position is live, the exchange continuously compares account equity to this maintenance level, usually expressed as a maintenance margin rate applied to the position's notional value.

Exchanges typically tier maintenance margin rates by position size: larger notional positions carry higher maintenance requirements and lower maximum leverage, since bigger positions are harder to unwind safely during volatile moves. As unrealized losses eat into a trader's equity, the account's margin ratio rises toward this threshold.

If equity drops to the maintenance level, most crypto platforms trigger a margin call or move straight to automatic liquidation, closing the position to prevent the balance from going negative. Unlike traditional brokerages, where there is often a window between a margin call and forced closure, many crypto exchanges liquidate almost immediately once the threshold is breached, especially during fast price swings.

Maintenance margin directly determines a position's liquidation price: the further a trader's entry price sits from that trigger, the more room the position has to absorb volatility. Traders using leverage commonly keep a buffer of equity above the minimum requirement to reduce the risk of forced closure during sharp market moves.