RISK Leveraged products can be liquidated fast and may result in the loss of your entire margin. Educational content only — not investment advice. Read the full risk disclosure →
K KipenO EXCHANGE REVIEWS // COMPARISONS // EDUCATION

Pillar 02

Liquidation mechanics, explained

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A liquidation is not a sudden exchange decision — it is the point where your remaining margin can no longer satisfy the maintenance requirement. Knowing how that price is derived, and what happens to your position when it triggers, is the difference between controlled risk and a zeroed account. This pillar covers the formula, the fee stack and market-wide cascade dynamics.

liquidation price maintenance margin bankruptcy price cascade risk ADL

Start here

// published guides first; rest in the roadmap
Liq 101

How Your Liquidation Price Is Calculated on Isolated Margin

The maintenance-margin formula worked end to end with a sample BTC position.

 ~11 min
Mechanics

Initial Margin vs Maintenance Margin: Why the Two Numbers Confuse New Traders

What locks collateral at entry and what keeps the position open afterward.

 ~8 min
Mechanics

Cascading Liquidations: Why Flash Crashes Accelerate on Perp Markets

The liquidation-engine feedback loop and how to read large liquidation clusters.

 ~10 min
Fees

Liquidation Fees and Bankruptcy Prices: What You Actually Lose

Why a position can close below bankruptcy and how clawbacks/ADL fill the gap.

 ~9 min
Prevention

Five Mechanics-Based Reasons Positions Get Liquidated (No Price Prediction Needed)

Oversizing, cross-mode exposure, funding drag, gaps and tier upgrades — a checklist.

 ~9 min
Tool guide

Reading Liquidation Heatmaps: Cluster Zones vs Hindsight Traps

What historical liq maps can and cannot tell you about the next move.

 ~8 min
Coming next A liquidation-price calculator for isolated long/short positions is on the tool roadmap. Available now: funding rate calculator →

Check your maintenance-margin tier before you size up

Every exchange publishes margin schedules that change with position size. Read them before depositing — a higher tier raises the capital needed to stay open.

Sign Up on OKX — Earn Up to 100 USDT → Affiliate link Affiliate disclosure: this site contains affiliate/sponsored links to OKX. If you sign up through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. It never changes our risk warnings: perpetuals and leverage are high-risk products — positions can be liquidated and you may lose your entire margin.