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Explanation of Cross-Exchange Account Rules | Gate

2026-08-25 (UTC)
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Token-Level Metrics

Cross-Exchange Margin Mode Single-Exchange Margin Mode
Supported Exchanges USDT, BNB, BTC, ETH, SOL, XRP, USDC, KRAKEN_USD, and HYPERLIQUID_USDC can be used as cross-exchange margin assets, allowing margin to be shared across different exchanges. Each exchange now supports more tokens (such as BTC, ETH, USDT, USDC, XRP, BNB, SOL) as single-exchange margin assets. You can select the most suitable token for independent risk management as needed.
Token Balance Actual spot quantity Same as left
Available Balance = Token balance - Spot frozen - ∑ Initial margin for isolated contract orders - ∑ Isolated contract margin; where spot frozen refers to the amount frozen by spot orders Same as left
Token Unrealized P&L = ∑ (Unrealized P&L of cross margin contract positions + Unrealized P&L of margin positions) Same as left
Liabilities = ABS(Min(Available balance + Cross margin unrealized P&L, 0)) Same as left
Token Equity = Token balance + Cross margin unrealized P&L - ∑ Initial margin for isolated contract orders - ∑ Isolated contract margin; for non-margin tokens, this is 0 Same as left
Token Contract Initial Margin = ∑ (Initial margin of cross margin contracts for each settlement token + Initial margin for cross margin contract orders) Same as left
Token Contract Maintenance Margin = ∑ (Maintenance margin of cross margin contracts for each settlement token) Same as left
Token Borrow Initial Margin = ∑ (Initial margin for each margin position + Initial margin for margin trading orders) + Liabilities / Token leverage multiplier = Liabilities / Token leverage multiplier
Token Borrow Maintenance Margin = ∑ (Maintenance margin for each margin position) + Liabilities × Borrow maintenance margin rate = Liabilities × Borrow maintenance margin rate

Account-Level Metrics

Cross-Exchange Margin Mode Single-Exchange Margin Mode
Description In this mode, all exchanges are unified into a single account-level data set In this mode, each exchange has its own account-level data, calculated separately
Services Spot, USD-margined contracts, cross margin Spot, USD-margined contracts
Total Margin Balance = ∑ (Positive token equity of margin tokens × index price × tiered discount rate) + ∑ (Negative token equity of margin tokens × index price) - Spot order loss Same as left
Total Initial Margin = ∑ (Total initial margin of tokens × token's USDT index price + Total borrow initial margin of tokens × token's USDT index price) Same as left
Total Maintenance Margin = ∑ (Total maintenance margin of tokens × token's USDT index price) Same as left
Total Initial Margin Rate = Total margin balance / Total initial margin, used to determine whether to auto-cancel orders Same as left
Total Maintenance Margin Rate = Total margin balance / Total maintenance margin, used to determine whether to trigger forced liquidation Same as left
Total Available Margin = Total margin balance - Account initial margin; this is the remaining available margin after deducting already occupied initial margin Same as left

Comparison: Cross Margin vs. Isolated Margin

Cross Margin Isolated Margin
Margin All cross margin positions within the current cross-exchange account share the account's available margin Each position is allocated margin individually and does not share margin with other positions in the current cross-exchange account
Risk Scope Losses from a single position consume the available margin of the cross-exchange account and affect other cross margin positions in the account Losses from a single position are typically limited to the margin allocated to that position and do not use margin from other positions
P&L Offsetting Unrealized P&L from all cross margin positions in the cross-exchange account are combined into account equity, collectively impacting the overall margin rate P&L for each position is calculated independently and is not shared or offset with other positions
Liquidation Trigger Liquidation is triggered based on the overall margin rate of the cross-exchange account Liquidation is triggered when isolated margin + unrealized P&L ≤ position maintenance margin
Liquidation Impact When liquidation is triggered, one or more cross margin positions in the cross-exchange account may be reduced or liquidated When liquidation is triggered, only the corresponding position is processed, with no impact on other positions

Cross-Exchange Account Liquidation Risk Control Process

1. Auto-Cancel Orders

When the total initial margin rate < 100%, the system will automatically cancel open orders to reduce the initial margin occupied by these orders. Order cancellations are processed serially: spot orders are canceled first, followed by contract orders, according to the following rules:

  • Cancel spot buy orders, starting from the largest to the smallest order value
  • Cancel margin orders, starting from those occupying the most initial margin
  • When canceling contract orders, priority is given to opening orders without positions; if none, then to add-on orders with positions, again from the largest to the smallest initial margin occupied

After each serial cancellation, the system checks whether the initial margin rate is ≥ 100%. If so, the cancellation process stops.
When the account's total initial margin rate < 100%, the available margin balance is negative. In this case, you can only place closing orders, not opening orders, since closing orders do not occupy initial margin.

2. Forced Liquidation

For cross margin liquidation, when the total maintenance margin rate ≤ 100%, the system initiates the forced liquidation process. If MMR > 100%, the liquidation process stops. The process is as follows:

  • Cancel all open orders in parallel
  • For margin positions, start closing positions; priority is given to long positions first, then short positions, and then by liquidity. Liquidation fees are charged.
  • For dual positions, directly offset the smaller position at the mark price. Liquidation fees are charged.
  • For each contract position, begin risk limit tier downgrading, sorted by liquidity. Downgrade the risk tier until MMR is safe, sending all reduction orders to the exchange until MMR is safe or all positions are at the first tier. Liquidation fees are charged.
  • Once all contract positions are at the lowest risk tier, to minimize user losses, forced liquidation may continue. Once MMR > 100%, forced liquidation stops, or the system may take over the position and settle it at the bankruptcy price for the user, with no liquidation fee. After internal system takeover, the position is immediately sold at market price. If there is a profit, the positive USDT balance is added to the internal insurance fund; if there is a loss, the insurance fund covers the negative USDT balance.

For isolated margin liquidation, when isolated margin + unrealized P&L ≤ position maintenance margin, the system initiates forced liquidation and charges a liquidation fee after execution.

  • If the position value > 100,000, 20% of the position is liquidated each time until fully closed or until isolated margin + unrealized P&L > position maintenance margin, at which point liquidation stops
  • If the position value ≤ 100,000, the entire position is liquidated at once

3. Bankruptcy Price Calculation Rules

Long position: Bankruptcy price = Mark price at liquidation × (1 - maintenance margin rate of the position's risk tier)
Short position: Bankruptcy price = Mark price at liquidation × (1 + maintenance margin rate of the position's risk tier)

Margin Requirements for Margin Trading

1. Long Positions

Margin position maintenance margin = Position value × position tier maintenance margin rate - quick calculation amount + estimated full close fee
Margin position initial margin = Position value / leverage + estimated full close fee
Margin order initial margin = Order value / leverage + estimated close fee + estimated execution fee

2. Short Positions

Margin position maintenance margin = Position value × position tier maintenance margin rate - quick calculation amount + estimated full close fee
Margin position initial margin = Position value × index price / leverage + estimated full close fee
Margin order initial margin = Order value / leverage + estimated close fee + estimated execution fee

There are no initial margin requirements for platform-to-platform orders or reduction orders. The estimated fee is calculated at a rate of 0.075%.
Estimated close fee: This refers to the fee required if the order increases position size upon execution, and the margin requirement for contracts at the same price on the platform.

Margin Requirements for Contract Trading

1. One-Way Position Mode

Contract position maintenance margin = abs(position size) × mark price × maintenance margin rate of the user's risk tier - quick calculation amount + estimated full close fee
Contract position initial margin = abs(position size) × mark price × 1 / leverage + estimated full close fee
Contract order initial margin = abs(open order size) × order price × 1 / leverage + estimated close fee + estimated execution fee

There are no initial margin requirements for platform-to-platform orders or reduction orders. The estimated fee is calculated at a rate of 0.075% (same below).
Estimated close fee: This refers to the fee required if the order increases position size upon execution, and the margin requirement for contracts at the same price on the platform.

2. Dual Position Mode

Dual position maintenance margin = sum(long position maintenance margin - quick calculation amount + estimated full close fee, short position maintenance margin - quick calculation amount + estimated full close fee)
Dual position initial margin = sum(long position initial margin + estimated full close fee, short position initial margin + estimated full close fee)
Order initial margin = abs(order size) × order price × 1 / leverage + estimated close fee + estimated execution fee

There are no initial margin requirements for platform-to-platform orders or reduction orders.
Currently, only USDT/USDC are accepted as margin assets, so both the initial and maintenance margin requirements for contracts are accounted for in USDT/USDC:
Total maintenance margin for USDT/USDC in contract positions = sum(all contract position maintenance margins)
Total initial margin for USDT/USDC in contract positions = sum(all contract position and order initial margins)

Example: Cross-Exchange Margin Mode

Suppose a user is in cross-exchange margin mode and holds two contract positions as follows:

Trading Pair Leverage Position Size Entry Price Mark Price Notional Value Unrealized P&L
BINANCE_FUTURE_BTC_USDT 5 0.5 100,000 110,000 55,000 5,000
OKX_FUTURE_ETH_USDT 10 -2 4,000 4,500 9,000 -1,000

And a margin short position as follows:

Trading Pair Leverage Position Asset Liability Index Price Unrealized P&L
BINANCE_MARGIN_XRP_USDT 4 2000 USDT 1500 XRP 2 -1,000

Risk limits for BINANCE_FUTURE_BTC_USDT:

Tier Min Risk Limit Value Max Risk Limit Value Max Leverage Maintenance Margin Rate Quick Calculation Amount
1 0 10,000 20 0.0065 0
2 10,000 90,000 10 0.01 35
3 90,000 2,000,000 16 0.02 935

Risk limits for OKX_FUTURE_ETH_USDT:

Tier Min Risk Limit Value Max Risk Limit Value Max Leverage Maintenance Margin Rate Quick Calculation Amount
1 0 10,000 20 0.008 0
2 10,000 50,000 10 0.02 120

Borrowing tier limits for BINANCE_MARGIN_XRP_USDT:

Tier Min Risk Limit Value Max Risk Limit Value Max Leverage Maintenance Margin Rate Quick Calculation Amount
1 0 8,000 9 2% 0
2 8,000 15,000 3 3% 80

CrossEx uses a tiered risk limit system, meaning the notional value of a position determines which tier's maintenance margin rate applies. Here’s how to calculate the margin for each position:

  • BINANCE_FUTURE_BTC_USDT
    Initial margin: 55,000 × 1 / 5 + 55,000 × 0.00075 = 11,041.25
    Maintenance margin: 55,000 × 0.01 - 35 + 55,000 × 0.00075 = 556.25
  • OKX_FUTURE_ETH_USDT
    Initial margin: 9,000 × 1 / 10 + 9,000 × 0.00075 = 906.75
    Maintenance margin: 9,000 × 0.008 + 9,000 × 0.00075 = 78.75
  • BINANCE_MARGIN_XRP_USDT
    Initial margin: 1,500 × 2 / 4 + 1,500 × 2 × 0.00075 = 752.25
    Maintenance margin: 1,500 × 2 × 0.02 + 1,500 × 2 × 0.00075 = 62.25

Assume the user has 20,000 USDT and no other tokens or open orders. Summarizing, the user's account-level information is as follows:

Field API Field Value
Total Margin Balance Margin Balance 20,000 + 5,000 - 1,000 - 1,000 = 23,000
Total Initial Margin Initial Margin 11,041.25 + 906.75 + 752.25 = 12,700.25
Total Maintenance Margin Maintenance Margin 556.25 + 78.75 + 92.25 = 697.25
Total Initial Margin Rate Initial Margin Rate 23,000 / 12,700.25 ≈ 181.10%
Total Maintenance Margin Rate Maintenance Margin Rate 23,000 / 727.25 ≈ 3,298.67%
Total Available Margin Balance Available Margin 23,000 - 12,700.25 = 10,299.75

Disclaimer

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