When you create a grid, the "investment amount" you enter is not entirely used for placing orders. Part of it is held by the system as a "deposit." Your account clearly shows money, yet the system tells you the balance is insufficient. That deposit is the reserved fund, used to cover trading fees and prevent liquidation in extreme market conditions.
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Step 1: First understand where your money goes
The moment a grid strategy is created, the system divides your money into two parts: funds that actually participate in grid trading and locked reserved funds.
What to do: When creating a grid, the page asks you to enter an "investment amount." This number is not the final trading funds available. The system automatically calculates an "initial margin" and a "reserved fee" based on your grid parameters (price range, number of grids).
Completion standard: You can see the two fields "Initial Margin" and "Reserved Funds" on the order details page after creating the grid, and confirm that they add up to the total investment amount you entered.
What is that reserved fund actually for? It is used to cover future trading fees. Grid trading involves frequent buying and selling, and every trade has a fee. If all the money were used for placing orders, where would the fees come from? The system locks up a portion in advance to ensure your bot does not get stuck because "fees cannot be deducted."
Common cause of failure: Some people see there is still a balance in their account and think they can open another grid. But the system deducts the reserved funds of existing grids when calculating available balance. The balance you see may already be occupied in advance.
Step 2: How reserved funds are calculated when recalculating "available balance"
When you want to withdraw grid profits or check your total account balance, the system uses a formula to tell you how much money is truly available:
Withdrawable amount = Grid profit - Withdrawn amount - Reserved fees
What to do: Click "Withdraw Profit" on the details page of a running grid. The number the system shows is smaller than you expect—because reserved fees have been deducted.
Completion standard: You can confirm the current "Grid Profit" and "Reserved Fees" values on your grid details page, and understand why the latter must be deducted before you can withdraw.
There is another catch in practice: If the withdrawable grid profit is lower than the minimum notional value of that trading pair, you cannot withdraw at all. For example, if the minimum notional value of BTC/USDT is 5 USDT and you only have 4.97 USDT in profit, the system will not let you withdraw.
Risk reminder:The initial investment amount is the minimum amount the bot must keep, and it cannot be withdrawn at any time. The money you put in is locked until the strategy stops. Only the "grid profit" you earn can be moved.
Step 3: The "reserved margin" logic for futures grid is different
If you are using a futures grid, the situation is more complex. Futures grid has two leverage modes, and the calculation logic for reserved funds is completely different:
Cross margin mode: All positions share the same margin pool. You cannot add money to a single grid separately, and reserved fees are also deducted from the total pool. If one grid is liquidated, all positions sharing the margin will fail together.
Isolated margin mode: Each grid has its own independent margin and does not affect others. You can add or remove margin for a specific grid individually. After adjustment, the liquidation price will change, but the number of grids will not.
What to do: When creating a futures grid, select Cross or Isolated in the Advanced (Optional) section. This setting applies to all trading pairs.
Completion standard: You can find this toggle on the creation page and decide which one to choose based on whether you want to isolate risk.
Step 4: Why does it still say "insufficient available balance" when the main account balance is sufficient
Besides reserved funds being locked, there are two other common reasons that trigger this prompt:
The system does not lock funds in advance: After an algorithmic order (including grid) is successfully created, the system does not lock your account assets. If you transfer money out of your spot account while the grid is running, the bot may suddenly find it does not have enough money for the next trade, and the order will fail directly or only be partially filled.
Multiple grids cannot be opened for the same coin in cross margin mode: If a coin already has a running grid strategy in cross leverage mode, opening another one will prompt insufficient balance or fail to create.
Completion standard: Before opening a new grid, you checked whether the same coin already has a running cross margin grid, and confirmed that the account balance is not occupied by other trades.
How to verify after completing the operation
Go to Trading Bots → Running to find your grid strategy. Click details to see the three numbers: Grid Profit, Reserved Fees, and Withdrawable Amount. If the withdrawable amount shows a positive number and is higher than the minimum notional value, it means the reserved fund calculation is correct and the account balance is sufficient.
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FAQ
Q: Are reserved funds deducted "extra," or are they deducted from the funds I invested?
A: They are deducted from the funds you invested. If you enter 100 USDT, the initial margin may only take up 80 USDT, and the remaining 20 USDT is allocated as reserved fees. Your total investment is still 100 USDT, but part of it is temporarily unavailable.
Q: Will reserved funds be returned to me after the grid stops?
A: Yes. When the grid stops, all reserved funds will return to your spot account along with the remaining assets. Reserved fees are not charges; they are just temporarily held by the system.
Q: What if the reserved funds are not enough to cover trading fees?
A: The system will first deduct from your grid profit. If the profit is also insufficient, the bot may not be able to continue running normally, and some orders will fail due to insufficient balance. In extreme cases, you may need to manually add margin to the grid.
