When you see your account balance turn negative, your first reaction may be that you need to add money right away. But in a Unified Account, a negative balance does not always mean "liquidation is coming immediately." It depends on what type of position you are holding.
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First, understand where your negative balance comes from
There are two types of negative balances in a Unified Account, and the time you have to cover them is completely different.
One type is debt caused by unrealized losses on futures positions under cross-currency margin mode. This type of debt enjoys an interest-free limit. As long as it stays within the interest-free limit, forced liquidation will not be triggered. You can hold this negative balance state for a period of time until the position is closed or the loss grows further.
The other type is debt caused by spot margin borrowing, or debt caused by realized losses on futures positions. This type does not enjoy an interest-free limit and will accrue interest. Interest is calculated every hour. The system records interest at every hour mark and deducts interest every 8 hours based on the 0:00 reference point. Interest is added directly to your debt, gradually increasing the amount you owe.
When will forced processing be triggered
OKX has two types of conditions that trigger the forced repayment mechanism:
User-level: A certain coin in your account has a negative balance and it exceeds your account's interest-free overdraft limit. At this time, the system will trigger "user-based forced repayment" and automatically sell other assets in your account to buy back the coin you owe, covering the negative balance. You are not given a "deadline to add money." Instead, the system actively liquidates part of your assets for you.
Platform-level: If the total platform-wide borrowing of a certain coin exceeds the platform's borrowing limit, the system will trigger "platform-based forced repayment." It will also automatically sell assets in your account to reduce the debt in that coin. This situation has nothing to do with your personal operations and is caused by tight liquidity across the whole platform.
Some unofficial information mentions that for account deficits, where account equity falls below zero, the platform may give users 72 hours to cover the shortfall and may first deduct from other positive balance accounts under the same identity system. But this is handling after an account deficit, and it is different from the normal forced repayment mechanism for general negative balances.
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What you should do now
Confirm the type of negative balance and your interest-free limit: Open the OKX assets page, switch to the Unified Account view, and check the "Liabilities" and "Interest-free limit" fields. If your debt is within the interest-free limit and is caused by unrealized losses on futures positions, you do not need to cover it immediately. Just confirm clearly whether this debt is within the interest-free limit and which type it belongs to.
If your debt exceeds the interest-free limit, or if you are holding spot margin positions, which have no interest-free limit, the system may trigger forced repayment at any time and will not reserve 72 hours for you to cover it. Go directly to the assets page, buy or transfer in the coin you owe, and repay the debt.
