Liquidation price calculator

1. What liquidation price is (the mechanics)

Liquidation price is the level at which your perpetual position's remaining margin drops below the Maintenance Margin Ratio (MMR), and the exchange force-closes the position. Plain English: you put up $1,000 collateral at 10x long. If price drops far enough that your residual margin can't cover the minimum requirement, the system closes you out — that $1,000 is gone.

Simplified formula: long liq = entry × (1 - 1/leverage + MMR); short liq = entry × (1 + 1/leverage - MMR). MMR is the variable that drives how far liq sits from entry.

2. MMR differences across the three (and why Binance gives 0.1% more room)

BTC perp MMR: Binance is 0.4%, OKX and Gate are 0.5%. That 0.1% looks small but it matters at high leverage. At 20x long on BTC at $70,000, Binance liq is around $66,780; OKX/Gate are around $66,850. A $70 gap — about the size of one wick.

MMR isn't fixed; it scales with position size tier. Binance uses 0.4% for BTC positions up to about 500,000 USDT, then steps up to 0.5%, and so on. This tool uses the small-position-tier standard. Other coins (ETH / SOL / alts) typically have MMR 1-2x higher than BTC — check the exchange's "risk limit table" for exact values.

3. The truth about leverage

Newcomers often think "100x = 100x my profit." Yes — and 100x your loss, with liq sitting only ~1% from entry.

• 100x BTC at $70,000 long: liq around $69,300, only 1% adverse move. BTC moves 0.5-2% inside a single 5-minute candle — your 100x position doesn't live an hour.
• 50x: 2% tolerance. BTC intraday wicks of 3-5% happen routinely; 50x still gets wrecked most weeks.
• 20x: 5% tolerance. Some breathing room. BTC moves 5% intraday maybe 1-2 times per week.
• 10x: 10% tolerance. Needs a real trend move to liquidate. This is my own ceiling on perps.
• 3-5x: 20-33% tolerance. Hard to liquidate without a black swan. The right tier for holding through volatility.

4. Three ways to not get liquidated

In real trading I lean on three habits:

• Always set a stop loss. Put the stop on the order ticket the moment you enter — when the adverse move hits 30-40% of your tolerance, the stop closes you for a small loss instead of letting the engine wipe you for 100%. Stop line goes under the previous candle low, not "in your head."
• Cut or top up at 50%. If the move hits 50% of your tolerance, either halve your position (effective leverage drops by half) or double your margin (liq price pushes farther). Both convert "passive wait for blowup" into "active risk control."
• Never go fully loaded. My perp exposure never goes above 30% of net assets — the other 70% stays in spot and stablecoins. Even if every perp position blows, I'm down at most 30% of total. No zero events.

5. Isolated vs cross — the fundamental difference

Isolated: this position has its own dedicated margin. If it blows, it blows — the rest of your account is untouched. Pros: risk containment, beginner-friendly. Cons: smaller per-position tolerance, gets wicked out more easily.

Cross: all margin in the account is a shared pool. A losing position can draw from any unrealized equity in the account. Pros: bigger tolerance, useful for hedging legs (e.g., long BTC + short ETH at the same time). Cons: one runaway loss can liquidate the entire account.

Rule of thumb: directional one-way bets use isolated, multi-leg hedges use cross. Newcomers and anyone unfamiliar with risk controls — isolated only. I use isolated 90% of the time, switching to cross only when I'm running cross-pair arbitrage.

6. FAQ

Q1. How is liquidation price calculated?

Simplified formula: long liq = entry × (1 - 1/leverage + MMR); short liq = entry × (1 + 1/leverage - MMR). MMR is the maintenance margin ratio, about 0.4% on Binance and 0.5% on OKX/Gate for BTC perps. Real liq hits slightly earlier because fees and funding rate also eat into margin.

Q2. Why are the three exchanges different?

Different MMR. Binance BTC perp MMR is 0.4%, OKX and Gate are 0.5%. Lower MMR means liq sits farther from entry — more tolerance. At 10x BTC long, Binance gives you about 0.1% more room than Gate.

Q3. Can 100x leverage really blow up?

Yes. 100x = 1% adverse move wipes you. BTC moves 0.5-2% per 5-minute candle routinely; a 100x position doesn't live an hour. Fastest blowup I've seen: 47 seconds after entry. Anything above 50x is gambling, not trading.

Q4. Isolated vs cross: which to pick?

Isolated is safer. Loss is capped at that position's margin, doesn't drag the account down. Cross is more capital-efficient but lets one bad position liquidate everything. Newcomers and anyone unfamiliar with hedging — isolated only. Cross is for veterans running multi-leg strategies.

Q5. How to avoid getting liquidated?

Three habits: always set a stop loss; keep leverage low (I cap mine at 10x); when the move hits 50% of your tolerance, cut size or top up margin. Most important rule: never go fully loaded, keep 30% spare for the inevitable wick.

7. Data note

MMR data verified 2026-05-27, using BTC perpetual small-position-tier (under 500K USDT) standard MMR. Actual MMR scales with position tier, coin, and contract series (USDT-margined vs coin-margined) — check each exchange's official "risk limit table" for the exact value at your position. Formula here is simplified and does not include fee or funding rate deductions, so real liq will hit slightly earlier. Spot a data error? Email privacy@1088ex.com — corrections are logged on corrections.html.