Isolated Margin for Perpetuals Is Now Live

Isolated Margin is now available on Crypto.com Exchange, giving traders a clearer and more controlled way to manage risk when trading perpetual contracts. Instead of all positions sharing the same margin, you can now allocate margin to a single position and keep its PnL, fees and risk completely separate from the rest of your account.

This provides a defined maximum loss for each trade and prevents one position from affecting others. It also makes higher-leverage or short-term strategies easier to manage with confidence. It’s designed for traders who want more control, especially when using higher leverage or running multiple strategies at once.

1. What Is Isolated Margin

Isolated Margin places the margin you assign to a trade into its own dedicated margin block. That allocation applies only to that specific position.

In simple terms:

• You decide how much margin to commit to the trade
• Only that amount is at risk
• Other trades remain untouched even if the isolated position is liquidated

This separation gives you more control over individual strategies and avoids situations where one trade accidentally impacts the rest of your account.

Comparison With Cross Margin

Cross Margin has traditionally allowed traders to share margin across all positions in an account. Profits from one position can offset losses in another, which can be helpful for hedging or multi-leg strategies.

Isolated Margin operates differently by keeping each position self-contained.

Traders can now choose the mode that suits the strategy they are running.

2. How It Works Behind The Scenes

When you select Isolated Margin, the system creates a virtual sub-account dedicated to that position. All margin, PnL, fees and funding changes are handled within this isolated block, separate from your main account.

What this means in practice:

• The margin you allocate moves into the isolated position
• PnL updates only affect that position
• Liquidation occurs within the isolated block without affecting other positions
• Margin inside an isolated position does not count toward available margin or withdrawal amount
• Supports USD (fiat) and USDC (stablecoin)

Your main account continues to operate normally for Cross Margin trading.

3. How To Open An Isolated Position

Opening an isolated position follows a simple flow.

Step 1: Select Isolated

On the order form, choose Isolated under Margin Mode. You can combine one Isolated position with one Cross position on the same symbol if needed.

Example:

• Cross long on BTCUSD-PERP
• Isolated short on BTCUSD-PERP

Step 2: Place Your Order

Once you enter the order size and leverage, the system will:

• Calculate the required margin
• Check your main account has enough available margin
• Transfer the required amount into the isolated virtual sub-account

Step 3: Position Becomes Active

After the order is filled:

• The isolated position is created
• Funding fees, PnL and risk checks run inside the isolated block
• The position remains fully separated from your other trades

This structure helps ensure clearer risk boundaries for each idea you trade.

4. Managing Margin And Leverage

Managing an isolated position is designed to be flexible and predictable.

Adjusting Leverage

• Increasing leverage keeps the existing margin unchanged and does not alter the liquidation price
• Decreasing leverage requires additional margin if the position does not meet the new requirement

Adding Margin

You can add more margin to increase your buffer against liquidation. The added funds are transferred from your main account into the isolated position. You can hold one Cross and one Isolated position on the same instrument, and you can open isolated positions across multiple instruments as long as you have enough available margin.

Removing Margin

If the position is in profit, you may withdraw some of the isolated margin back to your main account. The system calculates the maximum removable amount while ensuring margin rules are still met.

5. Closing And Settlement

When closing an isolated position, settlement is straightforward.

Full Close

• Remaining margin plus realised PnL return to your main account

Partial Close

• Position size decreases
• Margin stays in the isolated block unless you choose to transfer it out

This lets you keep an additional buffer if you want extra protection.

6. Liquidation And Risk Containment

If the isolated position no longer meets maintenance margin requirements:

• Only that single position is liquidated
• No funds are drawn from your main or Cross Margin account
• Other positions remain fully unaffected

Any remaining balance after liquidation is moved to the insurance fund. This behaviour ensures losses are strictly contained to the margin you allocated.

7. When To Use Isolated Margin

Isolated Margin is most helpful when you want tight control over risk.

It is particularly useful for:

• High-leverage or short-term trades where you want a clear max loss
• Testing new symbols or strategies without exposing other positions
• Running multiple strategies in parallel without risk crossover
• Event-driven or speculative ideas that require isolated risk

Disclaimer:

Trading perpetual contracts and using margin involves significant risk and may result in loss of capital. Ensure you understand how perpetual contracts, margin and liquidation work before trading.

Trading perpetual contracts and using margin involves a high level of risk and may not be suitable for all users. Perpetual contracts are complex financial instruments subject to significant price volatility, and losses can occur rapidly. You may lose all or more than your initial margin, particularly during periods of high market volatility, low liquidity, or extreme market events.

When trading using Isolated Margin, only the margin allocated to the isolated position is at risk of liquidation. However, liquidation may occur quickly if market prices move against your position, and losses may equal the full amount of margin assigned. The use of leverage amplifies both gains and losses, increases liquidation risk, and does not eliminate the possibility of losing your entire allocated margin. Funding fees, trading fees, price slippage, system delays, and market gaps may further impact position outcomes.

Liquidation occurs when maintenance margin requirements are no longer met. In such cases, liquidation is applied only to the affected isolated position in accordance with Crypto.com Exchange rules, and remaining losses or balances may be handled through applicable liquidation and insurance fund mechanisms. Past performance is not indicative of future results, and any examples or illustrations are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute investment, financial, or trading advice.

Product availability, margin modes, leverage limits, and supported collateral are subject to jurisdictional restrictions and regulatory requirements and may not be available in all regions. This content is provided for general informational purposes only and does not form part of any contract. Trading on Crypto.com Exchange is subject to the applicable Terms and Conditions, Risk Disclosure Statements, and Exchange Rules, which should be reviewed carefully before trading.