What Is the Difference Between Isolated Margin and Cross Margin in Crypto Futures?
Isolated Margin allocates a dedicated margin to each individual position, so losses are capped at that position's own allocation and every other position stays untouched if it gets liquidated. Cross Margin uses your entire shared Futures account balance as collateral for all open positions at once — profit from one position can offset loss on another, but if combined losses outpace the balance, the mode can draw on and forfeit your entire shared balance and affect every position under it simultaneously. Both modes use the same rising 0%–100%+ Margin Level scale, with an Initial Margin Call above 50% and a Final Margin Call above 75%, but under Cross Margin that scale reflects your whole shared exposure, while under Isolated Margin it reflects only that one position. Margin mode is set per contract, not account-wide, so you can run Isolated Margin on one contract and Cross Margin on another at the same time.
| Aspect | Cross Margin | Isolated Margin |
|---|---|---|
| Margin Allocation | Entire shared Futures account balance across all positions | Dedicated margin allocated per position |
| Liquidation Risk | All positions under Cross Margin can be liquidated together, up to your entire shared balance | Only the specific position under Isolated Margin is liquidated |
| Margin Level Scope | Calculated against the whole shared balance across every Cross Margin position | Calculated per position, independent of your other positions |
| P&L | Positions can offset each other's unrealized gains and losses | P&L is fully separate per position |
| Funding Fee | Deducted every 8 hours from the shared account margin balance | Deducted every 8 hours from the position's own dedicated margin |
| Risk Control | Lower — losses from one position can affect the entire shared balance | Higher — losses are capped at the position's allocated margin |
| Capital Efficiency | Higher — one margin pool supports all positions | Lower — each position holds its own dedicated margin |
| Switching Fee | None — free to switch either direction once the contract has no open position or order | None — free to switch either direction once the contract has no open position or order |
Which should you choose?
- Isolated Margin — choose this when you want to cap the maximum loss on a specific trade at exactly the margin allocated to it, without risking your other positions or shared account balance. Ideal for risk-controlled trading, running multiple strategies at different risk levels simultaneously, and staying disciplined in volatile markets.
- Cross Margin — choose this when you want to use your full shared account balance as a buffer and allow profitable positions to support losing ones. Better suited to active traders managing a smaller number of correlated positions where capital efficiency is the priority, and who are comfortable with the concentrated liquidation exposure that comes with it.
Related questions:
Q: Can I use both Isolated Margin and Cross Margin at the same time on different contracts?
Yes. You can run Isolated Margin on one contract and Cross Margin on another at the same time — the margin mode is set per contract, not account-wide, so each open position can carry a different risk profile according to your own strategy for that trade. Margin Level and liquidation risk for each contract are then tracked completely independently of one another.
Q: Which margin mode has higher liquidation risk?
Cross Margin carries higher systemic liquidation risk — a large loss on one position can deplete the shared margin pool and trigger liquidation of every position under Cross Margin at once. Isolated Margin confines that same risk to a single position's own allocation, leaving your other positions untouched no matter how badly that one trade moves against you, which is why many traders reserve Isolated Margin for higher-leverage or more experimental trades.
Q: Which margin mode is more capital-efficient?
Cross Margin is more capital-efficient because one pool of margin supports all positions, rather than locking up separate margin for each one individually. Isolated Margin trades away some of that efficiency in exchange for a hard cap on how much any single position can cost you, which is why active traders often mix both modes depending on the trade and how much risk each specific position carries.
Q: Does the choice of margin mode affect funding fees?
Yes, in terms of where the fee is deducted from, though not the rate itself. In Cross Margin, funding fees are deducted every 8 hours from the shared account margin balance. In Isolated Margin, the same fee is deducted from that position's own dedicated margin instead, so it never touches the balance backing your other open positions or contracts you're trading.