Partial liquidations, along with the associated fees, will go live on March 26, 2026
The liquidation price for a given contract is an estimate of which mark price level can trigger a liquidation. This is only an estimate and should not be taken as static, as it can be impacted by a number of variables and you are responsible for monitoring your account balance and exposure to ensure you are taking the risk you are comfortable with.
A liquidation is triggered when the portfolio value of a derivatives margin wallet falls below the maintenance margin required for all open positions in the derivatives margin wallet. The estimated liquidation price for a contract in the margin wallet represents the mark price that, when reached, would result in the portfolio value falling below the maintenance margin level.
The liquidation price is determined by the liquidation threshold of the margin wallet.
For Coin-M contracts, the estimated liquidation price for a contract in the margin wallet represents the mark price that, when reached, would result in the portfolio value falling below the maintenance margin level.
For Multi-M contracts, the estimated liquidation price for a contract in the multi-collateral margin wallet represents the mark price that, when reached, would result in the margin equity falling below the maintenance margin level.
The liquidation price can be found on the legacy UI in the Open Positions tab, the Kraken Pro UI in the 'Margin positions' tab or via the Websocket API open_positions feed.
No, it means that given your current account balance and at the current premium/discount levels a liquidation price cannot be determined.
No, Coin-M contracts and Multi-M are margined separately and the PnL on one does not directly affect the other.
Kraken Derivatives does not offer margin calls or any warnings. Once the liquidation threshold is met, the relevant position(s) will be liquidated. It is important for traders to monitor their accounts accordingly.
You can reduce your chance of getting liquidated by reducing the total amount of effective leverage your position(s) has. This can be done by adding funds into the margin wallet for your open positions, or by reducing the size of your position(s).
No, the Equity Protection Process is designed to prevent your account balance from going negative from liquidation.
Yes, the mark prices of contracts within the same contract type can vary, which can lead to a loss in one contract that is not covered by a corresponding gain in another contract, resulting in a potential liquidation if the loss in one contract brings the portfolio value below maintenance margin.
The premium/discounts vary across maturities. The maximum premium/discount from the index price for perpetual derivatives contracts is 1% and the maximum premium/discount from the index price for fixed maturities is 20% at 210 days-to-maturity and 1% with 1 day to maturity and linearly interpolated in between.
For example, the Bitcoin Real Time Index (BRTI) is currently 35,000 and a trader has a short position in the perpetual contract and a long position in the fixed maturity, each with varying entry prices. In the fixed contract, there are ~87 days left to maturity, meaning that the mark price in the fixed market can drift as far away as ~8.82% from the index price (down to 31,913 or up to 38,087), whereas the perpetual contract can only drift as far away as 1% from the index price (down to 34,650 or up to 35,350).
If the price on the fixed contract dropped enough to bring the portfolio value below maintenance margin (even if the perpetual position was in profit), then all of the positions in that margin account would be liquidated. When managing risk on spread positions, it is important to account for these premium variations.
No, the margining for positions is based on the portfolio value of the same margin wallet (FI_BTCUSD in this example), and if the portfolio value drops below the maintenance margin in that wallet, all positions using that margin wallet will be liquidated.
Note: The exposure in one derivatives margin wallet does not affect others (e.g. FI_BTCUSD liquidation will not affect FI_ETHUSD positions, etc.)
More information on the liquidation process can be found in our Equity Protection Process.
If your PnL on your cross-margined position(s) causes your liquidation threshold to be met but your account Margin Equity is still higher than the Maintenance margin requirements of both Isolated and Cross positions, your isolated-margined position(s) will not be directly affected.
Yes, if your collateral value in your Multi-M wallet decreases in value such that it reaches the liquidation threshold, then both your isolate and cross margin positions will be liquidated. All collateral in the Multi-M wallet is at risk in an account-wide liquidation. See Leverage & Margin Summary
A liquidation fee is incurred if your Multi-M position(s) is partially or fully liquidated due to insufficient margin. The fee calculation differs for Full Liquidation Fees and Partial Liquidation Fees. See Fees for Derivatives Trading for more information.
When Multi-M Margin Account Equity falls below the maintenance margin requirement but above the liquidation margin threshold, a Partial Liquidation will be initiated in which a percentage of the position(s) will be liquidated until the Margin Account Equity is either:
Above the maintenance margin requirement, or
There are no remaining open positions
When Multi-M Margin Account Equity falls below the maintenance margin requirement and the liquidation margin threshold, a full liquidation will be initiated in which the entire position will enter the liquidation process.