Isolated vs cross margin
Isolated margin assigns a fixed amount of collateral to one position, so at worst that position loses only its own margin. Cross margin lets all positions share the account's available balance, so gains on one position support another, but a large enough loss can liquidate every position in the account.
Senzoukria · Glossary · Updated September 2026
The two modes
| Isolated margin | Cross margin | |
|---|---|---|
| Collateral | The margin assigned to the position | The whole available balance |
| Maximum loss on liquidation | That position's margin | Potentially the whole account |
| Liquidation price | Fixed by the position's own margin | Moves with the account balance and other positions |
| Offsetting positions | Each stands alone | Profits on one support another |
A worked example
Binance Academy illustrates the difference with a trader holding 10 BTC. In isolated mode, the trader allocates 2 BTC as collateral for a leveraged ETH position; if ETH drops sharply and the position is liquidated, the most that can be lost is those 2 BTC, and the other 8 BTC stay untouched. In cross mode, the same trader opens two leveraged positions backed by the whole 10 BTC; a profitable position can offset a losing one, but if the combined losses exceed the total balance, both can be liquidated and the entire 10 BTC lost.
Choosing between them
- Isolated suits a position whose maximum loss should be capped in advance, independent of the rest of the account.
- Cross can keep a position alive through a temporary adverse move by drawing on free balance, which also means that free balance is at risk.
- Under cross margin, adding an unrelated losing position moves the liquidation price of every other position.
- Neither mode changes the trade's risk per point; they change which funds absorb it and when liquidation happens.
In Senzoukria
Margin modes belong to the exchange account. The desktop does not connect crypto accounts: it reads public trades and order books from Binance Spot, Binance USD-M perpetuals and Bybit linear perpetuals for analysis, with no order ticket on crypto charts. For CME futures traded through a broker, margin is set by the exchange and the broker, not by a selectable isolated or cross mode.
Related
In the same section
- IV rank vs IV percentile
- Iron condor
- Kelly criterion
- Introducing broker
- Keychain credentials
- Intrinsic value
- Kill switch
- Intrabar delta
Sources
This page in other languages
Frequently asked questions
- Is isolated margin safer than cross margin?
- It caps the loss of each position at its assigned margin, which protects the rest of the account. It also liquidates positions sooner, because they cannot draw on the free balance. Which is safer depends on whether the priority is protecting the account or keeping a position open.
- Does cross margin reduce liquidation risk?
- For a single position, yes, because the whole free balance supports it, which moves its liquidation price further away. The trade-off is that a liquidation, when it happens, can take the whole balance, and other positions' losses count against it.