Glossary
Maintenance Margin
Minimum collateral buffer required to keep a position open.
Reviewed as part of Derivatives, Margin, and Liquidation Language, using the primary references listed below. Updated 2026-07-19.
Plain-English meaning
Maintenance Margin is used here to describe minimum collateral buffer required to keep a position open. In the daily board, the word is grouped by the role it performs rather than by spelling or market popularity.
You may encounter it in a product interface, technical document, risk report, policy paper, or market dashboard. The term is included for recognition and comparison, not as a product recommendation.
Important boundary
Crossing it may trigger liquidation before the account balance reaches zero.
When this word appears in a report, identify the mechanism being described before treating the label as a conclusion. Similar terms can point to different causes, controls, or outcomes.
Why it belongs with Derivatives Risk Systems
These terms explain risk-management mechanics in margin and perpetual futures systems at a high level.
When solving the puzzle, compare the job this term performs with nearby cards. A correct group usually shares a function, risk type, workflow, or market structure rather than simply sharing similar wording.
Where you might see it
You might encounter this term while reading educational explainers, product documentation, risk disclosures, market dashboards, or beginner guides. Always separate vocabulary learning from financial decision-making.
Reading cue
Reading a leveraged position as a changing buffer
Use the full guide's applied scenario to ask where Maintenance Margin enters the process, what evidence supports it, and which nearby concept it could be confused with.
Read the complete applied scenarioNearby concepts
Compare before you memorize
Initial margin
Collateral required to open a leveraged position.
It is not the same as the lower ongoing maintenance requirement.Mark price
A reference price used for risk and liquidation calculations.
It may differ from the most recent trade price.Funding payment
A periodic transfer used by some perpetual contracts to balance positioning.
Funding is a carrying cost or receipt, not a liquidation penalty.Knowledge check
Check the distinction
Why does collateral type matter?
Volatile collateral can lose value at the same time as the position, shrinking the risk buffer faster.
Source trail
References behind this explanation
These references support the surrounding guide and concept boundaries. Open the full source when you need the original technical or policy context.
Primary regulator warning on leverage, volatility, platform, and counterparty risks.
U.S. Commodity Futures Trading CommissionDigital asset fraudsRegulator education hub for digital-asset products, claims, and risk signals.