Cross margin vs isolated margin

Margin is the collateral that backs a leveraged position. Each market sets how much is needed. On N1, the initial margin to open a position is one divided by the market's maximum leverage: 10% of the position at 10x, 20% at 5x.

Cross and isolated margin answer a different question: how collateral is shared between positions.

With cross margin, one pool of collateral backs every position in the account. Profit on one position can support another, and a loss on one reduces the margin left for all of them.

Every N1 trading account is a cross-margin account. Positive token balances count as collateral, weighted for each asset's volatility and liquidity.

Round illustrative numbers, as in the N1 docs.

The 20,000 USDC is never assigned to either position. The BTC loss shrinks the room for both. The live BTC-USD and ETH-USD market pages list each market's maximum leverage.

With isolated margin, each position gets its own collateral. A loss can use only that position's margin. The rest of the account is untouched, but it cannot rescue the position either.

That is the trade-off. Isolated margin caps what one position can lose. It also means a position can be liquidated while the account holds spare funds.

Isolated margin is on the N1 roadmap. It is not live today.

A wallet can hold up to eight trading accounts. Each subaccount is its own cross-margin portfolio, with separate balances, positions, open orders and risk.

• Collateral in one subaccount does not support another.
• Liquidation is checked per account.
• Moving funds between your own accounts does not pay the external withdrawal fee.

To ring-fence a position, open it in a subaccount funded with only the collateral you want behind it. Inside that subaccount, margin still works as cross margin.

Cross margin keeps collateral working across positions and gives each one more room before liquidation. The cost is that one bad position can pull down the rest.

Separate collateral limits the damage from one position, at the price of less room for it. On N1, a subaccount gives you that separation now.

Portfolio margining, which would recognize offsetting positions in correlated markets such as BTC and ETH, is in private testing with select traders.

Does N1 use cross margin or isolated margin?

Every N1 trading account uses cross margin. Isolated margin is planned. To keep one position's risk apart today, open it in a separate subaccount.

Is cross margin riskier than isolated margin?

Neither is safer in every case. Cross margin lets a loss draw on all your collateral, but gives each position more room before liquidation. Isolated margin caps the loss at the position's margin, but that position can be liquidated sooner.

How many subaccounts can I have on N1?

A wallet can have up to eight trading accounts. Each is a separate cross-margin portfolio, and collateral in one does not support another.

What is portfolio margining?

It assesses risk across the whole portfolio, so offsetting positions in correlated markets can need less margin. On N1 it is in private testing with select traders.

• Margining overview
• Margin
• Subaccounts
• Roadmap

• What is a perp DEX?
• Funding rates explained
• The all-in cost of a trade