Liquidation
When losses eat through the margin, Hyperliquid closes the position. Here is where that line is.
Key ideas
- 1Every position has a liquidation price. If the mark price reaches it, Hyperliquid closes the position and the margin behind it is lost.
- 2The higher the leverage, the closer the liquidation price is to your entry.
- 3Hyperliquid keeps a maintenance margin: liquidation comes a little before the margin is fully gone.
- 4A stop loss is how you leave on your terms, before liquidation does it for you.
What happens
As a position loses, the losses come out of its margin. Hyperliquid needs a little margin to remain, the maintenance margin. When the account falls to it, Hyperliquid closes the position at the market. The margin behind it is lost.
For BTC, the maintenance margin is half of what 40x needs: 1.25% of the position. So liquidation comes a little before the margin is completely gone.
Where the line is
- Entry
- 100,000
- Long at 3x
- 67,511 (−32.5%)
- Long at 10x
- 91,139 (−8.9%)
- Long at 25x
- 97,215 (−2.8%)
Hyperliquid’s maintenance margin for BTC is 1.25% of the position, so liquidation comes a little before the margin is all gone.
Push the price slider into the red zone to see the margin go.
- Position size
- $1,000
- $100 × 10
- Liquidation price
- 91,139
- −8.9% from entry
- PnL
- $0.00
- Before fees
- ROE
- 0.0%
- A 1% move is 10% of your margin
At 10x, a 8.9% move down would liquidate this position.
Liquidation follows the mark price
Hyperliquid checks liquidations against the mark price, a fair price built from its own book and prices on other exchanges. A single odd trade won’t liquidate you, but a real fast move will, even if it reverses a minute later.
Staying away from it
- Use a stop loss: it closes the position on your terms, before liquidation.
- Use less leverage: the line moves further away.
- Watch your bot’s warnings: it tells you when a position nears liquidation.
Common mistakes
- Ignoring the liquidation price shown before you trade. Lance shows it on the order panel and on the confirm card.
- Moving a stop loss past the liquidation price. Lance refuses a stop loss that would come at or after liquidation.
- Thinking a position is fine because the last price is. Liquidation follows the mark price, which can briefly differ.
Check yourself
What usually happens to the margin of a liquidated position?
Try it in Lance
Pick a size and leverage in the order panel: the liquidation estimate updates as you type.
See a liquidation price