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Default margin calculations on dYdX Chain

Default margin calculations on dYdX Chain

Roselynn Chang avatar
Written by Roselynn Chang
Updated over a week ago

Default margin calculations on dYdX Chain

As part of the default settings of the v4 open source software (”dYdX Chain”), collateral is held as USDC, and the quote asset for all perpetual markets is USDC. Cross-margining is used by default, meaning an account can open multiple positions that share the same collateral.

As part of the default settings on the v4 open source software, each market has two risk parameters, the initial margin fraction and the maintenance margin fraction, which determine the max leverage available within that market. By default, these are used to calculate the value that must be held by an account in order to open or increase positions (in the case of initial margin) or avoid liquidation (in the case of maintenance margin).

  • Maximum Leverage: Each market has a specified maximum leverage. A trader cannot make a trade that would place their leverage above this limit. To limit risk, maximum leverage decreases linearly with position size after a certain threshold.

  • Maintenance Margin Fraction: Margin fraction is calculated as a trader’s position notional value divided by equity. If a trader’s margin fraction exceeds the maintenance margin fraction, their position will be automatically closed (liquidated) and a liquidation fee of 1.5% could be assessed.

  • Base Initial Margin Fraction: Margin fraction is calculated as a trader’s position notional value divided by equity. If a trader’s margin fraction exceeds the initial margin fraction, a trader will no longer be allowed to increase their position. To limit risk, the initial margin fraction increases by the square root of position size divided by Base Positional Notional multiplied by Base Initial Margin Fraction.

  • Base Position Notional: The maximum position size at which the margin requirements are not increased.

How are new margin fractions computed on dYdX Chain?

As part of the default settings of the v4 open source software, the initial and maintenance margin fractions for each perpetual position are dynamically calculated based on the position's size.

adjustedInitialMarginFraction = min( 1, max(1, sqrt(positional notional in human-readable USDC / base position notional in human-readable USDC)) * initialMarginFraction)

The max value of adjustedInitialMarginFraction is 1.

The adjustedInitialMarginFraction is the effective margin requirement for a trade, considering the size of the position relative to the base asset and the default initial margin requirement. This calculation helps ensure traders have enough collateral to cover potential losses in a trade while preventing excessive margin requirements.

Margin Calculation

The margin requirement for a single position is calculated as follows:

Initial Margin Requirement = abs(S × P × I) 
Maintenance Margin Requirement = abs(S × P × M)

Where:

  • S is the size of the position (positive if long, negative if short)

  • P is the oracle price for the market

  • I is the initial margin fraction for the market

  • M is the maintenance margin fraction for the market

The margin requirement for the account as a whole is the sum of the margin requirement over each market i in which the account holds a position:

Total Initial Margin Requirement = Σ abs(Si × Pi × Ii) 
Total Maintenance Margin Requirement = Σ abs(Si × Pi × Mi)

The total margin requirement is compared against the total value of the account, which incorporates the quote asset (USDC) balance of the account as well as the value of the positions held by the account:

Total Account Value = Q + Σ (Si × Pi)

The Total Account Value is also referred to as equity.

Where:

  • Q is the account's USDC balance (note that Q may be negative). In the API, this is called quoteBalance. Every time a transfer, deposit or withdrawal occurs for an account, the balance changes. Also, when a position is modified for an account, the quoteBalance changes. Also funding payments and liquidations will change an account's quoteBalance.

  • S and P are as defined above (note that S may be negative)

An account cannot open new positions or increase the size of existing positions if it would lead the total account value of the account to drop below the total initial margin requirement. If the total account value ever falls below the total maintenance margin requirement, the account may be liquidated.

Free collateral is calculated as:

Free collateral = Total Account Value - Total Initial Margin Requirement

Equity and free collateral can be tracked over time using the latest oracle price.

Disclaimer and Terms

This document may provide information with respect to the default settings of dYdX Trading Inc. (”dYdX”) v4 software, or non-mandatory guidelines and suggestions that may help with using v4 software. dYdX does not deploy or run v4 software for public use, or operate or control any dYdX Chain infrastructure. dYdX is not responsible for any actions taken by other third parties who use v4 software. dYdX services and products are not available to persons or entities who reside in, are located in, are incorporated in, or have registered offices in the United States or Canada, or Restricted Persons (as defined in the dYdX Terms of Use). The content provided herein does not constitute, and should not be considered, or relied upon as, financial advice, legal advice, tax advice, investment advice or advice of any other nature, and you agree that you are responsible to conduct independent research, perform due diligence and engage a professional advisor prior to taking any financial, tax, legal or investment action related to the foregoing content. The information contained herein, and any use of v4 software, are subject to the v4 Terms of Use.

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