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Crypto Liquidation Price Calculator (Long & Short)
Calculate liquidation price for long or short leveraged positions. Enter entry price, leverage, and margin type to see exactly where your position gets liquidated.
Long (approx): Entry × (1 − 1/Leverage + MM%). Short: Entry × (1 + 1/Leverage − MM%). Example: 10x long at $65,000 with 0.5% MM → liquidation near $58,825.
Typical: 0.4 to 1.0% on major exchanges
Estimated Liquidation Price
$58.83K
9.50% below entry
Position Size
0.153846
Notional Value
$10K
Max Loss (Margin)
$1K
Safe Stop (est.)
$60.59K
~3% buffer from liq.
Liq = Entry × (1 − 1/Leverage + Maintenance%)
Exchanges liquidate with slippage. Your actual exit can be worse than this price. Place stop losses at least 20 to 30% of the distance from entry to liquidation.
Liquidation price depends on entry price, leverage, position direction (long or short), and maintenance margin. Use the calculator above, or apply these formulas:
Long position
Example: 10x long at $65,000 with 0.5% maintenance → liq ≈ $58,825 (~9.5% below entry).
Short position with leverage
Example: 10x short at $65,000 with 0.5% maintenance → liq ≈ $71,175 (~9.5% above entry). Price must rise to this level to liquidate a short.
Liquidation is the forced closure of a leveraged position when losses approach or exceed your margin (collateral). It's the nightmare scenario for leverage traders: you lose your entire margin and the position is closed at the worst possible time. This calculator helps you avoid that fate by showing exactly where liquidation occurs.
The higher your leverage, the closer your liquidation price sits to your entry. With 10x leverage, a mere 10% move against you triggers liquidation. With 100x leverage, just 1% does. Understanding this relationship is critical before using any leverage in crypto trading, where 10% swings are common even in a single day.
Professional traders always calculate their liquidation price before entering a position. They then set stop losses well above (for longs) or below (for shorts) the liquidation price to exit gracefully rather than being forcibly liquidated. Learn more about managing leverage risk in our crypto risk management guide.
Know Your Risk
Exact liquidation levels
Set Safe Stops
Exit before liquidation
Plan Trades
Size positions properly
When you trade with leverage, you're borrowing funds to increase your position size. Your margin (deposit) acts as collateral. If the position moves against you enough that losses approach your margin, the exchange liquidates (force-closes) your position to recover the borrowed funds.
Liquidation Price Formula (Long)
For a 10x long with 0.5% maintenance margin: Liq Price = Entry × (1 - 0.1 + 0.005) = Entry × 0.905, about 9.5% below entry.
Liquidation Price Formula (Short)
For a 10x short with 0.5% maintenance margin: Liq Price = Entry × (1 + 0.1 - 0.005) = Entry × 1.095, about 9.5% above entry.
Why Liquidation is Worse Than a Stop Loss
Liquidation often occurs at the worst price due to slippage during forced selling. The exchange sells your position into a falling market (or buys into a rising one for shorts), frequently resulting in worse execution than your calculated liquidation price. Always set stops well before liquidation.
How far price must move against you to trigger liquidation at different leverage levels (approximate, assuming ~0.5% maintenance margin):
Pro Tip: Most professional traders use 5x leverage or less. The increased risk from higher leverage rarely justifies the potential reward, especially in crypto's volatile markets.
Isolated Margin
Only the margin assigned to this specific position is at risk. If liquidated, you lose only that margin. Your other funds are safe.
Cross Margin
Your entire account balance acts as collateral. More buffer against liquidation, but a losing position can drain your whole account.
Recommendation: Use isolated margin for most trades. The predictable risk makes position sizing easier and prevents catastrophic losses. Only consider cross margin if you're running sophisticated hedged strategies.
Use Lower Leverage
5x or less is plenty for most strategies. The extra buffer helps you survive volatility spikes that would liquidate higher-leverage positions.
Set Stops Before Liquidation
Always set stop losses at least 20-30% of the distance to liquidation. This ensures you exit gracefully rather than being force-liquidated.
Maintain Margin Buffer
Keep extra funds in your margin account to absorb drawdowns. Don't use 100% of available margin on any trade.
Avoid High-Volatility Events
Close or reduce leveraged positions before major events (FOMC, CPI releases, etc.) when price can gap through your liquidation level.
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