Trading BTC futures on deribit you get 10x leverage. This means that with a capital of 1BTC you can open a position with a size of 10BTC.


The platform calculates 2 types of margin.


Initial margin

This is the amount of BTC needed to open a certain position. Initial margin for futures is 10% of the order amount. The total initial margin is calculated as the initial margin of your current positions plus initial margin of your current orders.

You can only place a new order if the initial margin of that new order is lower than your Available Balance. Your available balance is "Equity - Initial Margin"


Maintenance Margin.

This is the absolute minimum of capital (BTC) needed in your account to maintain your position. Maintenance margin is calculated as a percentage of your futures positions. Maintenance margin is currently 5% of your position size. So if your position equals 100BTC, you need a capital of minimum 5BTC to maintain that position. If your Equity falls below your maintenance margin your position will be incrementally liquidated in small steps of 1 contract each (market orders of 1 contract worth $10) untill your maintenance margin falls again below your equity. Therefore it is very unlikely that your account will go into bankruptcy