What's liquidation and how do I reduce the risk?

Liquidation happens when a position no longer has enough margin to meet the required maintenance level under platform risk rules.

In simple terms, if losses increase and your available margin becomes insufficient, the position may be liquidated to limit further losses.

What does liquidation actually close?

Liquidation becomes possible when a position no longer meets the maintenance margin level required under platform risk rules — in the platform's own wording, when your margin level falls below 100%. It's assessed against the mark price rather than the last traded price, so a position can be liquidated at a mark price that differs from the last trade you see on the order book. For the mechanics, see System liquidation mechanism and Funding fee mechanism.The risk engine then acts on the position that no longer meets its requirement, and this can be a partial or a full liquidation: part of the position may be closed to bring it back within its requirement, or the whole position may be closed.How much of your balance is affected depends on the margin mode the position uses:

• Isolated margin — the margin assigned to that position is held separately from your other balances, so that margin is what supports the position.

• Selected margin — the position can draw on a wider pool of eligible margin balance, so risk may be shared more broadly across your account.

Check which mode your position uses, and what each mode covers, in Margin modes for X-Perps.After a liquidation, the margin that supported the position is gone, so your balance can look much smaller than before — or show zero. Open your position history to see the closing price and the realised loss on that position.

Why a liquidation can cost more than closing the position yourself

A liquidation is carried out by the platform's risk engine rather than by your own exit order, so the amount you end up losing can be larger than the risk you planned for:

• The position is closed at the price available in the market at that moment. In a fast-moving market that price can be well beyond the level you had in mind, and the difference is part of your loss.

• Trading fees apply when a position is opened and when it's closed, funding is exchanged for as long as a perpetual position is open, and converting between currencies can add a spread. You can see what applies to X-Perps in Fees overview.

• If your account has borrowed funds, interest keeps accruing for as long as the borrowing is outstanding and reduces the margin available to your positions.

• Because fees, funding and interest reduce your margin while the position is open, a position can reach liquidation even when the price hasn't moved as far against you as you expected.

This is why the amount you actually lose can be larger than the risk you set on a stop-loss. If you want a fixed maximum loss, close or reduce the position yourself before your margin runs low, rather than treating liquidation as an exit. To see how the numbers are put together, see Calculation of contract profit and loss and Futures margin calculation rules.

What are the actions that can trigger liquidation?

Liquidation risk can increase due to:

• adverse price movement

• insufficient margin

• high position size relative to account balance

• funding payments and fees reducing available margin over time

• volatility spikes

How do I reduce liquidation risk?

There's no way to eliminate risk completely, but you can reduce it by managing exposure more carefully.

Common risk-reduction practices include:

• using smaller position sizes

• adding margin (where appropriate and supported)

• using isolated margin for clear position-level risk control

• setting stop-loss / exit rules in advance

• avoiding overconcentration in a single trade

• monitoring funding rate impact on open positions

I added margin and my position was still liquidated. Why?

Adding margin only helps if it lands before the position breaches its maintenance requirement. In a fast move a position can breach it while your transfer is still being processed, and once the risk engine has acted on the position it can't be handed back. Adding margin early, when the market first moves against you, is far more effective than adding it once liquidation is close.

I had a stop-loss set. Can I still be liquidated?

Yes. A stop-loss only helps if the price reaches your trigger and the order can be filled. If the market gaps past your level, or if your available margin runs out first — for example because fees, funding or interest on borrowed funds have eaten into it — the position can be liquidated before your stop-loss does anything.

Does borrowing affect my liquidation risk?

Yes. Interest accrues for as long as the borrowed amount is outstanding, and it reduces the margin available to your positions. Repaying or reducing the borrowed amount frees that margin up again.

A price spike hit my stop and then the price came straight back. What happened?

The last price on any venue comes from that venue's own order book, and order books are independent of each other, so a short spike can appear on one platform and not on another. Leaving more room between your entry and your stop reduces how often a spike takes you out.

My liquidation price shows 0 or --. What should I check?

Start with your display settings: liquidation price is a field you can switch on and off, so check that Show liquidation price is enabled in your trading preferences (Preferences). Then check the position itself — margin mode, leverage and position size all feed into the calculation, which is set out in Calculation of contract profit and loss.If the field still shows 0 or -- after that, contact support with the instrument, your account and margin mode, whether you're on the app or the web, the app or browser version, and the time you saw it, so the position can be checked directly. Don't assume a single explanation for a blank or zero value.

Was my position liquidated, or closed some other way?

You can check this yourself in your own records. Position history and order history on the trading page show how and when each position was closed (How to trade X-Perps), and liquidations are also listed on the forced-liquidation page described in System liquidation mechanism. A position closing while you were away doesn't by itself mean it was liquidated — a take-profit or stop-loss order can trigger at any time, so check the record before drawing a conclusion.If your records don't make the closure type clear, contact support with the order ID and the time of the closure.

I'm getting liquidation risk alerts by email but I don't think I have an open position

You can control these messages yourself: go to the trading page > Settings > Preferences > Trade notifications and turn off the alerts you don't want (Preferences).Before you switch them off, it's worth checking what the alert may be reacting to. Look at your open orders, any borrowed funds, and any positions held under a different margin mode or in another part of your account, because margin calculations can take open orders, order fees and a wider margin balance into account, not only open positions (Futures margin calculation rules).If you have no open positions, no open orders and nothing borrowed, and the alerts keep arriving, contact support with the timestamps of the emails so the trigger can be traced.

Important reminder: X-Perps can move quickly. A position can become risky faster than expected during high volatility. Monitor positions regularly and use risk controls that match your strategy and experience level.

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Disclaimer: X-Perps are leveraged derivatives. Leverage can amplify gains and losses. Losses may occur quickly and these products may not be suitable for all investors.