Leverage & Liquidation Price Calculator
This liquidation calculator is for leveraged crypto futures on exchanges such as Binance, Bybit and OKX, and for any margin or futures position. See your liquidation price, how far the market can move against you, and the leverage that keeps your stop-loss safe. Runs in your browser; nothing is uploaded.
Amounts can be in rupees, US dollars or a stablecoin, as long as margin is in the same currency you want the results in.
A worked example
Say you put up Rs 1,000 as margin, take 10x leverage on a long position, and enter at Rs 60,000 with a 0.5% maintenance margin requirement. Your position size comes to 0.166667 units, a notional of Rs 10,000, ten times your margin. The price does not have to fall anywhere near zero to wipe you out: it only needs to drop about 9.55%, to roughly Rs 54,271, before the exchange force-closes the position, which is the whole risk of leverage in one number.
Understanding the calculation
- Isolated margin
- Only the margin you put into this position is at risk. When the position's margin, adjusted for profit or loss, falls to the maintenance margin, the exchange liquidates it.
- Long liquidation
- Entry times (1 - 1/leverage) divided by (1 - maintenance margin rate).
- Short liquidation
- Entry times (1 + 1/leverage) divided by (1 + maintenance margin rate).
- Not included
- Trading fees, funding payments, tiered maintenance margin, liquidation fees and cross-margin. Real liquidation happens slightly earlier than this estimate because of those costs.
Common questions
How is the liquidation price of a leveraged position worked out?
With isolated margin, your position is liquidated when your margin plus or minus the unrealised profit or loss falls to the exchange's maintenance margin. For a long at leverage L and maintenance margin rate m, that is entry price times (1 minus 1/L) divided by (1 minus m). For a short it is entry price times (1 plus 1/L) divided by (1 plus m).
What is the maintenance margin rate, and where do I find it?
It is the minimum share of your position's value that the exchange requires you to keep as margin. It is set by the exchange, and on Binance, Bybit, OKX and similar crypto exchanges it rises in tiers as your position gets larger. Look it up on the exchange for your contract and size, and enter it here. The default is a common entry-level figure, not a guarantee.
Why is my exchange's liquidation price different from this?
Exchanges add details this estimate leaves out: tiered maintenance margin with a cumulative maintenance amount, closing and liquidation fees, funding payments, and cross-margin balances from other positions. Use this as a planning estimate and rely on the exchange's own figure before you trade.
Should my stop-loss be before the liquidation price?
Yes, well before. If liquidation comes first, the exchange closes your position and can take a liquidation fee, and you lose most of your margin instead of the amount you planned. The calculator shows the highest leverage that keeps liquidation beyond your stop.
Does higher leverage mean more profit?
It scales gains and losses on your margin by the same factor. At 10x, a 5% move against you costs half your margin, and a move of about 10% liquidates you. Higher leverage mostly reduces how far the price can move against you, not how much you can expect to make.
How are crypto futures gains taxed in India?
Crypto gains are generally taxed at a flat 30% under Section 115BBH, with no set-off of losses against other income and no deduction for costs beyond the purchase price. How a specific leveraged crypto derivative on an overseas exchange is treated is a question to put to a Chartered Accountant. Use the Crypto Tax Calculator for spot trades.