Cross vs Isolated Margin
Choose the right margin mode so one bad trade cannot take down your whole account.
Margin mode decides which money backs a position. It is one of the most important — and most overlooked — settings on the order form.
Isolated margin
Each position gets its own fixed pot of margin. If the trade goes badly, only that pot can be lost; the rest of your account is untouched. You can add margin to the position manually to push its liquidation price further away.
Cross margin
All cross positions share your account balance. Profits on one position support losses on another, and the whole balance stands between you and liquidation — so cross positions are liquidated later. The flip side: if things go wrong, the whole balance is at risk.
| Isolated, $2,000 margin (10x) | Liquidated near a 9% drop; max loss ≈ $2,000 |
|---|---|
| Cross, whole account backing it | Survives a much larger drop; max loss ≈ $10,000 |
Isolated fails sooner but smaller. Cross fails later but can take everything.
Which to use
- Isolated: speculative or high-leverage trades, small coins, anything where you want a hard cap on the loss.
- Cross: hedged positions (e.g. long one coin, short another) or low-leverage trades where you want maximum breathing room.
- Either way, a stop-loss is still your main defence — margin mode only decides what is at stake if you do not use one.
Key takeaways
- Isolated: each position risks only its own margin.
- Cross: positions share the account balance — later liquidation, bigger worst case.
- Choose isolated when you want a hard cap on what one trade can lose.