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Create AccountLiquidation Price Calculator
Find the price at which a leveraged crypto position gets closed by the exchange.
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The calculation runs in your browser. Rates used for currency conversion are indicative — check your broker for the exact figure.
Liquidation is the exchange closing your position because the margin has run out. It is not the same as a stop loss: you do not choose the price, it usually fills worse than the level shown, and there is a fee on top. At ten times leverage it sits roughly ten percent from entry, which on Bitcoin is an ordinary week.
The number to take away is the distance. If your stop sits further from entry than the liquidation price, the stop will never be reached — the exchange gets there first, and the loss is the whole margin rather than the amount you planned.
When to use it
- Before opening any leveraged position.
- When choosing leverage — the level moves with it, and quickly.
- When placing a stop, to confirm it sits well inside the liquidation level.
- When adding margin to an open position to push the level further away.
Leverage sets how far price can move before the margin is gone; maintenance margin pulls that point slightly closer.
Long: Liquidation = Entry × (1 − 1 ÷ Leverage + Maintenance %)
Short: Liquidation = Entry × (1 + 1 ÷ Leverage − Maintenance %)
Margin Posted = Position Value ÷ Leverage- This is the isolated margin case, where only the margin on that position is at risk. Cross margin uses the whole balance and liquidates much later — and much more expensively.
- Maintenance margin varies by exchange and rises with position size. Large positions are liquidated sooner than the headline rate suggests.
- Funding payments on a perpetual contract erode margin over time, which drags the liquidation level closer on a position held for days.
A long on Bitcoin at $64,000 with 10x leverage, 0.5% maintenance margin, on a $10,000 position.
Working: $64,000 × (1 − 0.1 + 0.005) = $57,920. Bitcoin covers 9.5% in a bad session regularly, so this position is one ordinary day from being closed. At 5x the level moves to $60,800 and the distance nearly doubles.
What is the difference between liquidation and a stop loss?
A stop is your instruction, at a price you chose, and the loss is the amount you planned. Liquidation is the exchange closing you out when margin runs out — at whatever price it can get, plus a fee, and the loss is the whole margin.
What leverage is safe on crypto?
Low enough that your stop is reached long before the liquidation level. On Bitcoin that usually means single-digit leverage; on smaller coins it means less still.
Does adding margin move the liquidation price?
Yes, further away, because there is more to lose before the position runs out. It is a way to survive volatility, not a way to fix a wrong position.
What is maintenance margin?
The minimum margin the exchange requires to keep the position open. It is usually a fraction of a percent for small positions and rises in tiers as the position grows.
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