A Margin Call triggers when your Collateral Account Balance drops below 125% of your Margin+ amount or your Maintenance Margin Ratio falls below 10. You have 12 hours to remedy the situation. Liquidation occurs if your balance drops below 110%, your ratio falls below five, or the 12-hour window expires.
When does a Margin Call happen?
A Margin Call on BitMEX triggers under two conditions tied to your Margin+ agreement. The first condition is when your Collateral Account Balance falls below your Minimum Top-Up Balance, which is set at 125% of your Margin+ amount. The second condition is when your Maintenance Margin Ratio (MMR) drops below 10 at any time.
Once a Margin Call is triggered, BitMEX immediately restricts your account to Reduce Only mode. This means you can only close or reduce existing positions — you cannot open new trades or increase position sizes. Withdrawals are also disabled for the duration of the Margin Call.
You have a 12-hour window to remedy the situation. If you fail to restore your account to healthy levels within that window, BitMEX will proceed to liquidation. The clock starts from the moment the Margin Call triggers, so acting quickly is critical. Understanding how to fix a Margin Call before the deadline is essential for protecting your positions and funds.
How do I remedy a Margin Call?
The remedy depends on which threshold triggered the Margin Call. Both conditions require increasing your available funds or reducing your exposure, but the specific actions differ.
Collateral Account Balance is below Minimum Top-Up Balance
If your Collateral Account Balance has fallen below 125% of your Margin+ amount, you need to bring the balance back above that threshold. For example, if you have a Margin+ of 10,000 USDT, your Minimum Top-Up Balance is 12,500 USDT. A Margin Call triggers when your Collateral Account Balance dips below 12,500 USDT. To remedy this, deposit additional funds into your BitMEX account or allow unrealised profits on open positions to push your balance back above 12,500 USDT.
Maintenance Margin Ratio is below the required figure
If your Maintenance Margin Ratio has dropped below 10, you have two options. You can increase the numerator (Available Funds) by depositing more funds or realising profits on existing positions. Alternatively, you can decrease the denominator (Maintenance Margin Requirement) by cancelling open orders or closing positions to reduce overall margin obligations. A combination of both approaches is often the fastest way to restore the ratio above 10 within the 12-hour window.
If the Margin Call is not remedied in time, BitMEX will initiate liquidation. The liquidation process is more severe and results in full position closure.
When does liquidation happen?
Liquidation under Margin+ occurs immediately — without a 12-hour grace period — if any of the following conditions are met:
- Your Collateral Account Balance falls below your Termination Amount, which is set at 110% of your Margin+ amount. For example, with a Margin+ of 10,000 USDT, liquidation triggers if your balance drops below 11,000 USDT.
- Your Maintenance Margin Ratio drops below five at any time. This indicates an extreme leverage situation where available funds are dangerously low relative to open positions.
- You have been in Margin Call for over 12 hours without remedying the situation. Once the 12-hour window expires, BitMEX proceeds to liquidation regardless of how close you are to meeting the thresholds.
The key distinction is between the 125% Margin Call threshold and the 110% liquidation threshold. The 15-percentage-point gap between them is your buffer zone. If your balance deteriorates slowly, you get the 12-hour warning via Margin Call. If it drops sharply past 110% or your MMR collapses below five, liquidation happens without warning. Understanding what BitMEX does during liquidation helps you grasp the full consequences.
What happens during the liquidation process?
During liquidation, BitMEX takes full control of your account and executes the following steps in sequence:
- Disable withdrawals and trading. You lose the ability to place orders, modify positions, or withdraw funds. This prevents further losses while BitMEX unwinds your exposure.
- Close all open positions. BitMEX closes every position on your account at the prevailing market price. This includes both profitable and unprofitable positions across all contracts.
- Reclaim the Margin+ funds. BitMEX takes back the full Margin+ amount that was advanced to your account under the agreement.
- Cancel your Margin+ agreement. The Margin+ programme is terminated for your account. You would need to reapply if you wish to use Margin+ again in the future.
- Lift restrictions and return account control. Once all positions are closed and Margin+ funds are reclaimed, BitMEX removes the trading and withdrawal restrictions. You regain full control of your account with whatever remaining balance is left.
This process is currently manual, meaning the BitMEX operations team executes each step. Expect delays, particularly during non-Asia business hours or periods of extreme market volatility when multiple accounts may be undergoing liquidation simultaneously.