Cross & isolated margin
How collateral is assigned, reserved and released.
On this page
Choose a collateral mode
| Cross | Isolated |
|---|---|
| Available cross collateral is shared by cross positions within one Iceberg account. | Collateral belongs to one position generation. |
| Other cross positions’ P&L changes the shared compartment’s equity. | Its unrealized P&L stays in that compartment until a permitted transfer or reduction. |
| A cross liquidation concerns the cross pool. | An isolated liquidation concerns that position generation. |
Both modes remain subject to account-wide prop loss floors. Iceberg treats approved native, XYZ and Paragon USDC markets as one unified simulated cross pool. This is an Iceberg account model, not a claim that real venue accounts share collateral in the same way.
Some venue markets require isolated margin. noCross forbids cross mode; strictIsolated also forbids manual collateral removal. You can change a market’s mode only while flat with no pending entry orders for that market.
Cash is counted once
Cross cash = total realized cash − allocated isolated collateral
Cross equity = cross cash + cross unrealized P&L
Isolated equity = that position’s collateral + its unrealized P&LAssigned isolated collateral is part of realized account cash, not a second balance. Moving collateral between compartments does not create cash or a trading profit.
Leverage and reserved margin
Initial margin depends on notional, selected leverage and the venue tier. Pending entry limits reserve their remaining notional conservatively using the larger of mark and limit, plus estimated fees. Placement reserves availability; it is not a filled trade. Reduce-only orders reserve no new entry margin.
Opening isolated exposure allocates margin from available cross collateral and pays the entry fee. A partial reduction releases proportional collateral with its realized P&L and closing fee. A reversal closes the old generation and opens a new one.
Increasing isolated leverage does not automatically withdraw collateral. Lowering leverage adds any required shortfall or fails without changing the account if available collateral is insufficient. Cross leverage changes initial usage, not the maintenance schedule.
Adding or removing isolated collateral
The margin control applies to the current position generation. Additions use available cross collateral. Removals must preserve the required buffer: the larger of initial margin and 10% of notional. Strict-isolated markets do not allow manual removal, although a reduction releases collateral proportionally.
Active isolated funding changes both total cash and that generation’s assigned collateral by the same amount, leaving the cross compartment unchanged. Historical funding after a close is reconciled to the original generation with explicit deficit rules.
Initial margin is not maintenance
Maintenance comes from verified venue tier tables, including the deductions that keep the schedule continuous at tier boundaries. It does not simply become half of the margin implied by your selected leverage.
Initial margin = notional / min(selected leverage, tier maximum)
Maintenance = notional / (2 × tier maximum) − tier deductionRead liquidation for the difference between a margin estimate, an available-depth close and a simulated backstop settlement.