How liquidation works on Hyperliquid: maintenance margin, cross and isolated

Updated 18 October 2026 · 7 min read

On Hyperliquid a position is liquidated when its equity — margin plus unrealized PnL — falls below the maintenance margin. That moment comes earlier than most traders expect: not when the margin is gone, but when only a small cushion is left. Below is how the exchange calculates it, what happens at the liquidation price and how to keep a position away from it.

Maintenance margin depends on the coin

Every market has a maximum leverage, and the maintenance margin is half of the initial margin at that maximum. On BTC with 40x it is 1.25% of the position, on a coin with 20x — 2.5%, on a coin with 5x — 10%. The lower the maximum leverage, the bigger the cushion the exchange keeps, and the closer the liquidation price is to your entry at the same leverage.

Here are the current numbers for the largest markets: how far the price can move against a long before liquidation.

Isolated and cross margin

• Isolated margin — only the margin of this position backs it. The leverage you choose sets the margin, so it directly moves the liquidation price. A loss can never take more than this margin.
• Cross margin — all free USDC on the account backs every cross position. The liquidation price depends on the account value, not on the leverage setting, and one losing position can pull the others down with it.

How the liquidation price is calculated

The formula from Hyperliquid’s documentation:

liq_price = entry − side × margin_available / size / (1 − l × side)
l = maintenance margin rate = 1 / (2 × max leverage)
margin_available = margin − position value × l
side = 1 for a long, −1 for a short

Example: a $10,000 long on a coin with 50x maximum leverage, opened at 10x with isolated margin. The margin is $1,000, the maintenance margin $100, so $900 can be lost. Liquidation comes after a drop of about 9.1%, not 10%. Run your own numbers in the liquidation price calculator — it takes the live price and maximum leverage of every coin.

What happens at the liquidation price

• Liquidation is triggered by the mark price, not the last trade, so a single wick on the order book does not liquidate you on its own.
• First the exchange tries to close the position with market orders. Positions above $100K are closed in parts of 20%, with a 30-second pause between them.
• Whatever collateral is left after that stays with you: unlike centralized exchanges, Hyperliquid charges no liquidation fee.
• If equity falls below two thirds of the maintenance margin, the liquidator vault — part of HLP — takes the position over, and the maintenance margin is not returned. With cross margin all cross positions go to the liquidator together.

Why liquidations come in waves

A liquidation is a forced market order: a long is sold, a short is bought. If many positions have their liquidation prices close together and the order book there is thin, the first liquidations push the price into the next ones. On Hyperliquid every position is public, so these clusters can be seen in advance on the liquidation map, and the squeeze guide explains how to read them.

How to stay away from liquidation

• Use lower leverage than the maximum: at 5x on BTC the price has to fall about 19% before liquidation, at 20x — under 4%.
• Keep risky positions on isolated margin so one trade cannot drain the whole account.
• Set a stop-loss above the liquidation price: closing at a loss you chose is cheaper than losing the whole margin.
• Add margin to an isolated position when the price comes close — it moves the liquidation price away.
• Watch the market: whale positions near their liquidation prices and big clusters on the map show where forced selling or buying can start.