Cross-Currency Margin Trading Rules for Unified Accounts

Trading in a cross-currency margin unified account allows users to seamlessly engage in spot (leveraged or non-leveraged), futures, perpetual swaps, and options trading using a single pool of assets. In this model, all cryptocurrencies are converted into their USD value to serve as collateral for orders and open positions. When the auto-borrow feature is enabled, users can still trade even if a specific coin’s balance or equity is insufficient—provided the overall account value in USD remains healthy.

If a user oversells a cryptocurrency or incurs losses on contracts settled in that coin, their equity may drop below zero, resulting in a liability for that coin. Interest begins accruing on this negative balance. Risk across the entire portfolio is assessed in USD terms: as long as the effective margin exceeds the required maintenance margin, positions remain open. Otherwise, liquidation or deleveraging may occur. Users also have the option to use isolated margin to separate and control risk per position.

Understanding Key Asset Metrics

To manage risk effectively, it’s essential to understand how various account metrics are calculated in a cross-currency margin environment.

Core Per-Coin Formulas

Each cryptocurrency in your account has individual fields that determine its usability and risk exposure:

• Balance: The total amount of a specific coin available in the unified account.
• Unrealized PnL (Unified): Sum of profits/losses from all unified-margin positions where the coin is the settlement asset.
• Equity (Unified):
  Balance + Unrealized PnL + Option Market Value – Accrued Interest

• Occupied Equity: Amount of a coin currently reserved for:

  • Spot/leveraged sell orders
  • Option buy-to-close orders
  • Isolated order reservations
  • Estimated fees for derivative orders
• Available Equity:
  Max[0, Equity (Unified) – Occupied Equity]
  This determines how much of the coin you can use for new trades.
• Liability: Negative equity in a coin triggers a liability, which serves as the base for interest calculation.
• Potential Borrow: Occurs when equity is less than occupied equity:
  Abs{Min[0, Equity – Occupied Equity]}
• Borrow Margin:
  Potential Borrow / Coin Leverage Multiplier
  (Set via platform settings)

👉 Discover how cross-currency margin boosts your trading flexibility

Practical Example: Calculating Coin-Level Values

Suppose your account holds BTC, SOL, and USDT:

You open a long perpetual contract on BTC-USDT with:

• Position size: 0.5 BTC
• Leverage: 10x
• Entry price: $80,000

When the mark price rises to $100,000, your unrealized PnL becomes:
0.5 × (100,000 – 80,000) = $10,000

Now your equity per coin looks like:

If you place a sell order for 4 BTC and your BTC leverage multiplier is set to 5x, here's what happens:

Since occupied equity exceeds actual equity, a potential borrow of 2 BTC is created.

Account-Wide Calculations

The health of your entire portfolio is evaluated using USD-denominated metrics.

Key Unified Account Formulas

• Adjusted Equity (Effective Margin):
  ∑(Coin Equity × USD Price × Discount Rate) – Reserved Amounts
  Includes deductions for pending order losses and fees.
• Position Notional (USD): Total value of all open positions + potential borrows.
• Unrealized PnL (Unified): Total profit/loss across all unified positions.
• Used Margin:
  ∑[(Open Order + Position + Potential Borrow) × USD Price]
• Available Margin:
  Effective Margin – Used Margin
• Maintenance Margin:
  ∑(Position Value × Maintenance Margin Rate)
• Margin Ratio (Maintenance):
  Effective Margin / (Maintenance Margin + Deleverage Fee)
• Leverage (Account Level):
  Position Notional / Effective Margin

Example: Effective Margin Calculation

Using previous data with discount rates:

Total discounted equity: $1,445,000

With no pending losses or fees:

• Effective Margin: $1,445,000

• After placing an isolated order requiring $400K:

  • New effective margin: $1,445K – $400K = $1,045K

• If your futures position uses $50K and potential BTC borrow requires $40K:

  • Used Margin: $90K
  • Available Margin: $1,445K – $90K = $955K

Auto-Borrow vs. Non-Auto-Borrow Modes

Auto-Borrow Mode

Enable auto-borrow to allow temporary borrowing when your available equity in a specific coin is insufficient—as long as total account margin is sufficient.

Scenario: Selling Spot Without Enough USDT

You want to sell $120,000 worth of BTC/USDT but only have $110,000 USDT equity.

With auto-borrow enabled and a leverage multiplier of 5x:

• Potential borrow: $10,000 USDT
• Borrow margin: $10,000 / 5 = $2,000
• Order proceeds successfully

Scenario: Opening a Perpetual Position

Attempting to open a $200K long with $1K estimated fee:

• Effective margin ($1.445M) > required margin
• Order succeeds

👉 See how auto-borrow expands your trading opportunities

Non-Auto-Borrow Mode

Disabling auto-borrow means you must have sufficient available equity or balance in the relevant coin to place orders.

Spot Trading Example

Same attempt to sell $120K BTC/USDT:

• Only $110K USDT available
• Auto-borrow off → Order rejected

Derivatives Example

Opening a $100K perpetual long with $500 fee:

• Sufficient effective margin and USDT equity → Order accepted

Note: Even without auto-borrow, if losses cause negative equity in a coin and other assets cover the risk, a passive liability may form—subject to interest after exceeding the interest-free quota.

Interest-Free Quotas & Borrow Limits

All accounts have:

• Borrow limits based on leverage tier
• Main account borrowing cap
• Platform-wide lending ceiling

In auto-borrow mode, unrealized losses from futures or delivery contracts settled in a given coin are eligible for interest-free treatment up to a certain threshold.

In non-auto-borrow mode, while you can't proactively borrow, negative equity may still occur due to losses. As long as it stays within the interest-free quota:

• No interest charged
• If liability exceeds quota → triggers Forced Repayment Protocol (FRP) via automatic asset conversion

Learn more about Automatic Repayment Mechanism

Risk Management Framework

Two-tiered safeguards protect against sudden liquidation.

Risk Control Cancellation Check

Prevents full liquidation by canceling high-risk orders when risk levels rise:

1. If Effective Margin < Maintenance Margin + Initial Margin + Fees → Cancel all derivative opening orders.
2. In non-borrow mode: If Available Equity – Occupied < Required Margin, cancel increasing-risk orders.
3. In borrow mode: If Actual Borrow > Max Allowed, cancel orders that increase borrowing.

Pre-Deleveraging Check

Triggered when the maintenance margin ratio ≤ 100%:

System first cancels:

• All unified unexecuted orders (including strategies)
• Isolated opening orders
• Except for isolated stop-loss/take-profit orders

If ratio remains ≤1%, forced deleveraging begins.

Forced Deleveraging Process

Three-phase approach minimizes market impact:

1. Offsetting Positions: Reduce matched long/short positions on same contracts.
2. Delta-Neutral Reduction: Maintain delta neutrality while reducing risk—target larger-margin positions first.
3. Non-Hedged Position Reduction: Prioritize positions offering greatest risk reduction per unit.

Example: Reducing an options short position might improve margin health more than reducing a futures long—even if both reduce exposure.

If account value goes negative after liquidation:

• Risk reserve fund covers loss
• User receives bankruptcy compensation invoice

⚠️ Warning: Monitor your maintenance margin ratio closely. Add funds or reduce leverage to avoid forced exits.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is cross-currency margin?
A: It’s a unified account system where multiple cryptocurrencies act as collateral by converting their value into USD for margin purposes.

Q: Can I trade without enabling auto-borrow?
A: Yes, but you must have enough available balance or equity in the relevant coin to place trades.

Q: How is interest calculated on borrowed coins?
A: Interest applies only when actual liability exceeds the interest-free quota. Rates vary by asset.

Q: What triggers forced deleveraging?
A: When the maintenance margin ratio drops to or below 100%, even after order cancellations.

Q: Are option buyers subject to liquidation?
A: No. Option buyers cannot be forcibly reduced since their maximum loss is limited to premium paid.

Q: How does the platform value non-USD coins?
A: Based on real-time pricing:

• Coins with USD pairs → direct USD rate
• Only USDT pairs → USDT rate × USDT/USD index
• Only BTC pairs → BTC rate × BTC/USD index
• Only ETH pairs → ETH rate × ETH/USD index

👉 Maximize your portfolio efficiency with advanced margin tools