Liquidation and how to avoid it

Liquidation starts when your account margin ratio falls below the maintenance margin required by your positions. It uses the mark price, not the last traded price, so a single thin trade cannot trigger it.

• All your open orders are cancelled and withdrawals are paused.
• Only as much of your position is liquidated as needed to bring your margin back above the initial margin requirement.
• Positions are taken over by liquidators at a small discount. An insurance fund covers any account whose losses exceed its collateral.

• Use less leverage than the maximum. Your liquidation price moves further away as leverage goes down.
• Always set a stop loss, so you exit on your terms before liquidation.
• Watch the liquidation price shown on every position and in the order form before you confirm.
• Keep spare collateral in your account, or add margin to an isolated position when the price moves against you.
• Use isolated margin for risky trades so one position cannot drain your whole balance.
• Be careful with stocks and forex around market closes: prices can gap when the market reopens.