Your liquidation price is the point where your losses equal your collateral. The formula: for a long, liquidation price = entry price x (1 - 1/leverage). At 10x leverage on a $80,000 BTC long, you get liquidated at roughly $72,000, an 10% drop. At 5x, it's $64,000, a 20% drop. Lower leverage means a farther liquidation price.
For a long position: liquidation price = entry price x (1 - 1/leverage + maintenance margin).
For a short position: liquidation price = entry price x (1 + 1/leverage - maintenance margin).
The maintenance margin on Hyperliquid is typically 0.5% to 3% depending on the asset. For BTC and ETH, it's on the lower end. For smaller altcoins, it's higher.
Ignoring maintenance margin for simplicity: at 10x leverage on a long, your liquidation is about 10% below entry. At 5x, it's 20% below. At 20x, it's 5% below. The higher the leverage, the thinner the margin between your entry and your exit.
| Entry price | Leverage | Direction | Approx. liquidation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $80,000 | 5x | Long | ~$64,000 | -20% |
| $80,000 | 10x | Long | ~$72,000 | -10% |
| $80,000 | 20x | Long | ~$76,000 | -5% |
| $80,000 | 50x | Long | ~$78,400 | -2% |
| $80,000 | 10x | Short | ~$88,000 | +10% |
At 50x leverage, a 2% move against you wipes out your position. BTC moves 2% in a slow hour. This is why experienced traders rarely use more than 10x, and most stay at 3x to 5x for swing trades.
Hyperliquid uses cross margin by default. That means all your deposited USDC serves as collateral for all your positions. If one position moves against you, your other collateral absorbs the loss before liquidation.
This is different from isolated margin (used on some exchanges), where each position has its own dedicated collateral. Cross margin gives you a wider liquidation cushion but means one bad trade can eat into your other positions' collateral.
Three rules. First: use lower leverage. 3x to 5x gives you room to be wrong by 20-33% before you're liquidated. Second: set a stop loss above your liquidation price. If BTC hits $73,000 on your 10x long, close the trade manually instead of waiting for the $72,000 liquidation. Third: don't size your position so large that a normal market move wipes you out.
The pros lose money on individual trades all the time. They survive because they size correctly and cut losses early.
Yes. When you open a position on any Hyperliquid frontend, the estimated liquidation price is displayed on your position card. It updates in real time as funding accrues and your collateral changes.
Yes. On Hyperliquid's cross-margin system, depositing more USDC immediately increases your available margin and pushes your liquidation price further away.
The liquidation engine closes your position at market price. You lose the margin used for that position. There's no negative balance risk on Hyperliquid. You can't owe more than you deposited.
Hyperliquid charges a small liquidation penalty that goes to the insurance fund. The exact amount depends on the asset and position size, but it's typically a fraction of a percent.
Start at 2x or 3x. This gives you a 33-50% cushion before liquidation. Most professional traders rarely exceed 10x even on high-conviction trades.
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Last updated 2026-05-17