Margin & Leverage

Perpetra uses cross-margin: your entire balance backs all positions. No isolated margin—your account is one pool of collateral.

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Key Concepts

Collateral — USDG you deposit. Backs your positions and covers losses. Initial Margin (IM) — Margin required to open a position. Depends on size and leverage. Higher leverage = lower IM per unit of notional. Maintenance Margin (MM) — Minimum margin to keep a position open. If your margin ratio drops below MM, you’re liquidated. Free Collateral — Collateral available for new positions or withdrawals. = Total collateral − Initial margin on open positions.

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Leverage

Caps are set per market by the Lighter protocol. See Markets for the full list. Leverage amplifies gains and losses. 10x long that moves 10% against you = 100% loss of margin. Start low until you’re comfortable.

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Margin Ratio

Margin Ratio = Total Collateral / Total Position Notional Higher ratio = safer. If it drops below the maintenance margin ratio, liquidation kicks in.

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Withdrawing

You can withdraw free collateral only. Collateral locked as initial margin stays until you reduce or close positions. Unrealized profits don’t count as withdrawable until you settle PnL. Formula: Withdrawable = Balance − Initial Margin − Positive Unrealized PnL Settling PnL moves profits into your balance, making them withdrawable.

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Formulas (Reference)