Hyperliquid Maintenance Margin vs Initial Margin

Initial margin is what it takes to open: position value divided by the leverage you choose. A $10,000 position at 10x needs $1,000. Using less than the maximum leverage means posting more margin.

Maintenance is the floor. The official model uses half the initial-margin rate for the tier's maximum leverage. A market whose tier allows 20x has a 5% initial rate and a 2.5% maintenance rate; one capped at 10x has 10% and 5%.

Larger positions fall into tiers with lower maximum leverage, so the maintenance rate rises with notional.

The buffer between initial and maintenance is roughly the distance a position can move against you before liquidation. At 10x with a 5% maintenance rate, a long has about 5% before the boundary on a simple model, less fees and funding. This is an estimate: tier deductions and funding change the exact figure.

Liquidation is evaluated at the mark price rather than the last trade, which makes a single thin print less likely to trigger it. The mark price can still move quickly in fast markets.

Say you open a $10,000 long at 10x with $1,000 of isolated margin. Initial margin is $1,000. Maintenance at a 5% rate is $500. A simple model puts the boundary about $500 of loss away, near a 5% drop, before fees and funding shift it.

If funding has been charged for a few days, the true buffer is smaller. Use a calculator that shows the tier and deduction so you see the exact figure rather than this simple estimate.

Recompute the boundary after any change to size, margin, or funding.

• Confusing initial and maintenance margin.
• Using entry notional to pick the tier when notional changes with price.
• Treating the buffer as fixed after funding and fees accrue.

Take a position you are considering and write out three numbers: the initial margin at your chosen leverage, the maintenance rate for its notional tier, and the loss that separates the two. Then add the fees and the funding you expect to pay, which reduce the buffer. Run the same position through the liquidation calculator and compare it with your arithmetic. If the calculator shows a closer boundary than your estimate, the difference is usually the tier deduction or accumulated funding, which is a useful reminder of why the simple model is only a first pass.