What is cross margin?
In one line: Cross margin is a setting where your whole account balance backs all your open leveraged trades, so a losing trade can draw on money meant for others.
A simple example
You have $1,000 in a crypto futures account set to cross margin. You open one leveraged trade that uses $100 as margin.
Price moves against you. Under cross margin, the exchange can use the other $900 in your account to keep the trade open. The trade survives longer before Liquidation.
That sounds good. But if price keeps going the wrong way, the loss can keep eating into the whole $1,000, not just the $100.
Cross vs isolated
| Cross margin | Isolated margin | |
|---|---|---|
| Money backing a trade | Your whole balance | Only what you assign to it |
| Liquidation | Further away | Closer |
| Worst case | Much of the account | That one trade's margin |
The other side of this is isolated margin. Our isolated vs cross margin page goes deeper.
Why it matters
Cross margin changes what "how much can I lose?" means. With it, a single trade without a stop can use far more than you meant to risk.
Stock and futures margin accounts often work like cross margin by default. Your whole account backs your positions, and a Margin call can come from the total.
A common mistake
Using cross margin as a reason to skip the stop. "It won't liquidate, I have plenty of balance" can turn a planned $20 loss into a $400 one.
Set your Stop loss from the chart, then size the trade so hitting it costs about 1% of the account. The position size calculator does the math. The margin setting should never decide your risk.
Use the crypto liquidation calculator to see where a trade would be closed out at different leverage.
Questions
Is cross margin riskier than isolated?
It can put more of your account at risk on one trade. Liquidation is further away, but the possible loss is bigger.
When do traders use cross margin?
Often when they hold several related positions and want them to share one pool, such as a hedge. It needs careful sizing.
Can I switch from cross to isolated margin?
On many crypto exchanges, yes, often per trading pair. Some only let you change it when no position is open. Check your platform.
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