Futures Trading

Cross Margin

Last updated: 12/30/2025

1. Cross Margin vs Isolated Margin in Futures Contracts

Isolated margin and cross margin are two different margin modes. Users can select the cross margin mode and the corresponding leverage on the trading page. The leverage affects the initial margin for cross margin positions and the position margin for isolated margin positions.
How to Choose Cross Margin Mode

Isolated Margin Mode

In isolated margin mode, the position margin is a fixed amount. When opening a position, this is the initial margin. Later, users can increase the margin to adjust the position. If the margin balance falls below the maintenance margin, the position will be liquidated. In this case, the position margin represents the maximum potential loss the user will bear.
  • Isolated position margin formula: Isolated Position Margin = Position Quantity × Entry Price ÷ Leverage
Example: If you buy 0.1 BTCUSDT contracts at 50,000 USDT with 25x leverage, the isolated position margin would be: 50,000 × 0.1 ÷ 25 = 200 USDT If the price fluctuates and the position is liquidated, the loss is limited to 200 USDT and will not affect other funds in the futures account.

Cross Margin Mode

In cross margin mode, all balances in the futures account are used as position margin. Positions with the same settlement currency share the margin. For example, all USDT-margined cross margin contracts share USDT margin, but coin-margined contracts do not share margin across different coins (e.g., ETH cannot be used as margin for BTC coin-margined contracts). This allows traders to maximize the use of their funds without frequently transferring or closing positions.
Example: In cross margin mode, if you buy 0.1 BTCUSDT contracts at 50,000 USDT with 25x leverage and your futures account balance is 1,000 USDT, the initial margin for this position is:
50,000 × 0.1 ÷ 25 = 200 USDT
  • If this position earns 200 USDT in profit, your account’s total margin becomes 1,200 USDT. The extra 200 USDT can be used to open new positions without closing or withdrawing funds, unlike isolated margins.
  • Conversely, if the position loses 200 USDT, the account’s total margin becomes 800 USDT, and the available funds for other positions decrease accordingly.

Summary

Isolated and cross margin provide two different margin modes. Isolated margin has a fixed position margin, making it easier to understand. Cross margin includes the entire account balance and unrealized PnL, maximizing fund utilization.

 

2. Advantages of Cross Margin Mode

In isolated margin mode, each position’s margin is managed separately. This means traders must close positions or withdraw funds before making new trades after earning a profit. Cross margin mode removes these extra steps, making fund management more flexible and efficient. Additionally, KuCoin’s cross margin mode offers the following advantages:

2.1 Maximum Open Position

In isolated margin mode or within the industry, the maximum position size is usually limited by risk limits. However, KuCoin’s cross margin mode uses a new algorithm that allows higher leverage to create larger positions with the same funds.
Benefits:
  1. Avoiding High Leverage Limits: Under the risk limits of isolated margin mode, 100x leverage might allow for a maximum of 1 BTC position, while 50x leverage might allow for 5 BTC position. Therefore, with enough funds, choosing 100x leverage actually results in a smaller position.
  2. No Need for Frequent Risk Limit Adjustments: Previously, users had to adjust risk limits or lower leverage to increase their position size. During this process, it might be impossible to adjust because of large positions or insufficient margin. In cross margin mode, no adjustments are needed. The system automatically calculates the maximum open position based on your funds and chosen leverage.

2.2 Margin Occupancy and Hedging

Usually, when placing an order, the margin is occupied before the order is filled to ensure the user has enough funds to cover the position margin. Traditionally, margin is required for both long and short positions. However, in cross margin mode, the margin for long and short positions can be hedged, so only the necessary margin is charged based on the positions and orders.
Margin for the same futures position order = max(abs(Position + Margin required for orders in the same trading direction), abs(Margin required for orders in the opposite trading direction)). If the size of opposite-direction orders are smaller than the positions, no margin is required.
Example:
Assume a user holds 100 long contracts, requiring 100 USDT margin. If a buy order occupies 100 USDT margin and a sell order for 200 contracts is placed, 100 contracts do not require margin (offset by the position), and the remaining 100 contracts require 250 USDT margin.
The final margin charged = max(abs(100 + 100), abs(250)) = 250 USDT.
According to the traditional algorithm, the margin charged = 100 + 100 + 250 = 450 USDT.

2.3 IMR and MMR

The calculation is more reasonable and efficient for the initial margin rate (IMR) and maintenance margin rate (MMR) for cross margin.
Initial Margin Rate (IMR): Generally, IMR is calculated as 1/leverage. However, it also factors in the Maintenance Margin Rate (MMR), especially if the MMR is higher than 1.3 times.
Maintenance Margin Rate (MMR): Mainly related to the user’s position and order size. The larger the position and order size, the larger the MMR. KuCoin’s IMR and MMR calculations are more continuous, avoiding the need to identify different risk limit levels like other platforms. There is a certain distance maintained between them to prevent minor fluctuations from triggering forced position reductions.
Example:
Assume a user holds 1 BTC/USDT contract, then MMR = (1 + N/m) * (1 / 2 / Maximum Leverage Constant) = (1 + 1/300) * (1/2/100) = 0.5%.

2.4 Risk Rate

The risk rate for cross margin is calculated by dividing the maintenance margin by the equity. KuCoin’s maintenance margin considers both positions and orders, not just positions. This prevents the overall risk rate of the account from rising quickly and even leading to negative account balance if an order is not canceled in time during extreme market conditions.
When calculating the maintenance margin, KuCoin’s risk rate analysis considers the worst-case scenario for both long and short orders. Positions and orders in different trading directions may offset each other, reducing part of the maintenance margin requirement. This method makes the maintenance margin requirements more reasonable, avoiding excessive margin requirements from simply adding up all orders and positions directly.
Example:
Assume a user holds 1 BTC/USDT contract, and has 2 BTC/USDT contract buy orders and 3 BTC/USDT contract sell orders.
The required maintenance margin = max(1 + 2,1 - 3) * Mark Price * MMR = 3 * Mark Price * MMR = 3 * 60,000 * 0.5% = 900
This is more reasonable than the following formula: 6 * Mark Price * MMR = 6 * 60,000 * 0.5% = 1,800
(Assuming the current mark price of BTC/USDT contract is 60,000, MMR is 0.5%)

 

3. Maximum Open Position Size in Cross Margin Mode

Unlike in Isolated Margin Mode, the max open position size in Cross Margin Mode is no longer restricted by risk limit tiers. Instead, it depends on multiple factors such as the total margin available in the futures account, leverage multiple, and order price. Simply put, the higher the chosen leverage multiple, the larger the size of your openable positions. This differs from Isolated Margin Mode, where selecting a higher leverage multiple leads to smaller openable positions.

  1. Calculation Formula

For Forward Contracts: Max Open Position Size = k * ln((C - F) * Lev / p / k + 1) For Inverse Contracts: Max Open Position Size = k * ln((C - F) * x * p / k + 1) C: Your total margin in Cross Margin Mode is the futures account balance minus the margin allocated to isolated-margin positions. If no isolated-margin positions exist, the entire account balance serves as the total margin. F: The funds allocated to positions and pending orders in other futures contracts, excluding the current contract. After subtracting this amount from the total margin, the remaining margin becomes what is available for the current contract. Lev: The leverage multiple used. P: The approximate order price, with the actual calculation factoring in the order book and fee rate. K: The amplification factor, which ensures that with the same available margin, the size of openable positions increase as the leverage multiple chosen increases, though at a decreasing rate. The K value is determined and adjusted by the platform based on the specifics of each contract. Example for forward contracts: Suppose you are buying a BTC/USDT contract at a price of 60,000 USDT with a leverage of 10x, your futures account balance is 100,000 USDT, and there are no other pending orders or positions. The K value for the BTC/USDT contract is 490. As such, your maximum open position size = 490 * ln(100,000 * 10 / 60,000 / 490 + 1) = 16.39 BTC

  1. More Scenarios

To calculate the maximum open position size, subtract positions and pending orders in the same direction (whether long or short) as the new order, and add positions in the opposite direction. For Forward Contracts: Max Open Position Size = k * ln((C - F) * Lev / p / k + 1), adjusted by subtracting positions and open orders in the same direction as the trade, and adding positions in the opposite direction. For Inverse Contracts: Max Open Position Size = k * ln((C - F) * x * p / k + 1), adjusted by subtracting positions and open orders in the same direction as the trade, and adding positions in the opposite direction. Example: Continuing from the previous forward contract example, if the calculated maximum open position size for going long is 16.39 BTC, but you already hold 10 BTC in long positions, the maximum amount you can open for a new long order is: 16.39 - 10 = 6.39 BTC. Similarly, if you already hold 10 BTC in long positions and have pending buy orders for 2 BTC, when placing a new buy order, the openable position size would be: 16.39 - 10 - 2 = 4.39 BTC. Additionally, if the calculated maximum short position size is 16 BTC, but you already hold 10 BTC in long positions, the maximum amount you can open for a new short order is: 16 + 10 = 26 BTC
In isolated margin mode, when the mark price reaches the liquidation price, the position will be liquidated. However, in cross margin mode, the position is liquidated only when the risk rate reaches 100%. The liquidation price can only be used as a reference, not as a basis for liquidation.

 

4. What is Cross-Margin Risk Rate?

The risk rate is the only factor for liquidation in cross margin mode. It is the ratio of the margin needed to keep your current positions and open orders to the total margin. Different risk rates will affect your positions and open orders.
Calculation of Risk Rate
(Sum of the maintenance margin for cross-margin positions + Maintenance margin for anticipated open order execution + Expected closing fees) / (Total cross-margin position margin - Expected opening fees)
Example:
User Positions and Open Orders Risk Rate
Assuming your total margin in the cross margin account is 5,000 USDT, the account currently contains the following positions and open orders:
Open Position
You currently hold a long position in the BTCUSDT perpetual contract with the following details:
BTCUSDT contract mark price: 62,000 USDT
BTCUSDT contract position size: 100 contracts (contract multiplier: 0.001 BTC)
Maintenance margin rate for the BTCUSDT contract: 0.5%

Open Order
At the same time, there is an open sell (short) order for the ETHUSDT perpetual contract in the account with the following details:
ETHUSDT contract mark price: 3,000 USDT
ETHUSDT open order size: 1,000 contracts (contract multiplier: 0.01 ETH)
Maintenance margin rate for the ETHUSDT contract: 0.8%

Fee Information
Applicable taker fee rate: 0.06%		 At this point, your account’s risk ratio =
(62,000 * 0.001 * 100 * 0.5% + 3,000 * 0.01 * 1,000 * 0.8% + 62,000 * 0.001 * 100 * 0.06% + 3,000 * 0.01 * 1,000 * 0.06%) / (5,000 – 3,000 * 0.01 * 1,000 * 0.06%) = 5.88%
Risk Rate Limits
When the cross-margin account risk rate ≥ 95%, the system will cancel your orders.
When the cross-margin account risk rate ≥ 100%, your positions will be liquidated. If your position amount > 600,000 USDT, your positions will be partially liquidated.

 

5. No Tiered Risk Limits

KuCoin Cross Margin adopts a traditional financial approach known as the no tiered risk limit model. This means that the more funds and leverage you apply, the larger the positions you can open — essentially, higher input leads to higher position size. The position limit depends solely on your margin amount, without a strict upper cap. Unlike other platforms that require frequent switching between risk limit levels, KuCoin’s Cross Margin offers a smoother, hassle-free trading experience that stands out.
Example:
A trader has a total margin balance of $10,000 in their account and wants to open futures positions using leverage.
On platforms with tiered risk limits, the trader might face predefined maximum position sizes that change as they increase leverage or funds, requiring them to manually switch risk levels or reduce position sizes to avoid hitting limits.
With KuCoin Cross Margin’s no tiered risk limit model, the trader can simply apply higher leverage to their margin, and their maximum allowable position size grows proportionally. For example:
At 10x leverage, the trader can open positions up to $95,000.
At 20x leverage, the trader can open positions up to $180,000.
There are no discrete caps or tier restrictions forcing the trader to switch between risk limit levels. This seamless scaling means the trader can freely adjust their position size based solely on available margin and desired leverage, enabling a smoother and more efficient trading experience.

 

6. A Superior Solution for Liquidation and Maintenance Margin Requirements (MMR)

  1. Challenges with multi-tier risk limits on many Exchanges

On many trading platforms, liquidation follows a tiered risk structure.
For instance, consider opening the largest permissible BTC position using $1 billion in funds with 2x leverage and a 48% maintenance margin rate (MMR). A mere 1% decline in price would trigger liquidation, forcing part of the position into the next risk tier with a lower 46% MMR. Even if the market subsequently recovers, the account’s equity cannot fully return to its original state, resulting in irreversible asset losses.
  1. KuCoin Cross Margin’s dynamic MMR solution
Reduced liquidation risk: A maximum MMR of only 30%.
No tiered forced liquidation: As long as the overall risk ratio remains below 100%, normal market fluctuations do not result in asset losses.
Lower MMR requirements for major cryptocurrencies: Further decreasing the likelihood of liquidation and enhancing capital efficiency.
For most major cryptocurrencies, KuCoin Maintenance Margin Ratio (MMR) is lower under equivalent conditions, thereby reducing the risk of liquidation for users.

 

7. How to Use Kucoin Futures Cross Margin Via API

The Kucoin Futures Cross Margin API has been upgraded recently. This article will help you complete the integration of the Futures Cross Margin API.

Step 1: Obtain symbol information

Call the Get All Symbols interface to get the basic information of Futures Symbols.

Step 2: Check Cross Margin risk limit

Call the Get Cross Margin Risk Limit interface to query the risk limit in batches, that is, the maximum open size corresponding to the specific leverage and margin. Click on the Kucoin Futures Cross Margin mode to learn more about the Futures Cross Margin mechanism.

Step 3: Switch the margin mode of the target symbols to Cross Margin

Call the Batch Switch Margin Mode interface to adjust symbols' margin mode in batches. Note that there must be no active orders or positions under the target symbol.

Step 4: Set leverage

Kucoin uses a fixed leverage model commonly used in the industry. You can check the current leverage through Get Cross Margin Leverage and adjust the leverage of specific symbol through Modify Cross Margin Leverage . Note that when the leverage is lowered, the margin required by active orders and positions will increase, and vice versa.

Step 5: Obtain market data

Ticker , Kline , Orderbook , Trades and other market data interfaces can continue to be used normally in cross margin mode.

Step 6: Place an order and trade

Cross margin mode shares the same trading interfaces for placing orders , canceling orders , order inquiry , etc with isolated margin. We recommend that you use the Get Max Open Size interface to obtain the actual maximum open position of the current account calculated by the system, so as to avoid the order quantity exceeding the risk limit and causing the order to fail.
Note that the two imported parameters "Leverage" and "MarginMode" in the order interface are only useful for isolated margin mode. When placing an order in full position mode, the leverage and margin modes will be based on the leverage and margin modes set in Step3 and Step4.

Step 7: Query position information

Use Get Position list and Get Positions History to obtain active and historical position information. If the interface returns "MarginMode" as "CROSS" in the data, it means that the corresponding position is in cross margin mode . In addition, for active cross margin positions, you can obtain the Maintenance Margin rate and Maintenance Margin of the position with "maintMarginReq" and "posMaint" in the returned messages.

 

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KuCoin Futures Team