Leverage & Liquidation Price Calculator
Calculate the liquidation price of a leveraged crypto futures position for long and short trades.
How to use this tool
- Enter your entry price and leverage multiplier.
- Select Long or Short.
- Read the liquidation price — if the market reaches this level, your position is force-closed.
- Check the distance-to-liquidation percentage and set a stop-loss well before it.
Liquidation occurs when losses equal your margin. Higher leverage means a smaller price move can wipe out your position. Always use stop-losses. Not financial advice.
⚠ This tool provides general estimates for education only and is not financial, tax or legal advice. Figures may not reflect your situation — verify with a qualified professional.
Formula
For a long position: Liquidation Price = Entry × (1 − 1/Leverage)
For a short position: Liquidation Price = Entry × (1 + 1/Leverage)
Distance to liquidation: |Entry − Liquidation Price| ÷ Entry × 100
How it works
This calculator determines the price at which an isolated-margin leveraged futures position would be fully liquidated — the point where the initial margin is entirely consumed by unrealised losses. The margin fraction equals 1 ÷ leverage, so higher leverage means the liquidation price sits much closer to the entry price.
The model assumes isolated margin with no maintenance margin buffer or funding fees, which means real-exchange liquidation prices will differ slightly depending on the exchange's fee and maintenance-margin rules.
Worked example
Worked example: 10x long at $50,000
- Entry price = $50,000; leverage = 10x; direction = long.
- Margin fraction = 1 ÷ 10 = 0.10 (10%).
- Liquidation price = $50,000 × (1 − 0.10) = $50,000 × 0.90 = $45,000.
- Distance = |$50,000 − $45,000| ÷ $50,000 × 100 = 10%.
Liquidation price: $45,000 — the position is wiped out if price falls 10% to $45,000.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Ignoring maintenance margin requirements -- exchanges liquidate before 100% of margin is lost; the actual liquidation price is closer to entry than the simplified formula suggests, because the exchange keeps a maintenance margin buffer.
- Applying the long liquidation formula to a short position -- for a short, liquidation is above the entry price (Entry x (1 + 1/Leverage)), not below it; confusing the two gives a false sense of safety.
- Using the same leverage calculation for cross-margin and isolated-margin positions -- in cross-margin mode, the entire account balance backs the position, so liquidation price differs significantly from isolated-margin math.
Key terms
- Leverage
- A multiplier that lets a trader control a position larger than their deposited margin; e.g. 10x means $1 of margin controls $10 of position size.
- Liquidation price
- The market price at which the exchange forcibly closes a position because the margin has been fully consumed by losses.
- Margin fraction
- The share of the position value covered by the trader's own capital, equal to 1 ÷ leverage.
- Isolated margin
- A margin mode where only the funds allocated to one specific position can be lost, limiting risk to that deposit.
- Distance to liquidation
- The percentage move in price required to reach the liquidation level; lower leverage produces a larger distance.
Frequently asked questions
- What is liquidation in crypto futures?
- Liquidation happens when your losses consume your margin. The exchange force-closes your position to prevent a negative balance. At 10x leverage, a 10% adverse move liquidates a long position.
- How can I avoid liquidation?
- Use lower leverage, add more margin, and always set a stop-loss order well above (for longs) or below (for shorts) the liquidation price.