After a partial take-profit, the margin ratio worsens because your position value decreases, but the maintenance margin rate tier does not drop correspondingly. The system recalculates your tier based on current position value. If the remaining position after taking profit still falls within a higher tier, the maintenance margin rate will not decrease, and the margin ratio naturally worsens.
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1. First, Understand the Relationship Between "Position Value" and "Tier"
OKX uses a tiered maintenance margin rate system: the larger the position, the higher the maintenance margin rate and the lower the maximum leverage.
The calculation of the maintenance margin rate is based on position value (position quantity × current price), not your initial opening amount.
After partial take-profit:
- Position quantity decreases, position value drops
- The system recalculates the tier corresponding to the position value
- If the position value still falls within the current tier range, the maintenance margin rate remains unchanged
- Higher position value means a higher maintenance margin rate, which naturally results in a lower margin ratio
2. How Margin Rate Is Calculated
The calculation formulas for different modes are as follows:
Isolated Margin:
Margin Rate = (Fixed Margin + Unrealized PnL) / Position Value
Isolated Perpetual/Futures:
Margin Rate = (Margin Balance + Earnings) / [Position Value × (Maintenance Margin Rate + Taker Fee Rate)]
Position value = position value of the holding + value of open orders.
When the margin rate ≤ 100%, the position may trigger forced partial liquidation or full liquidation.
After partial take-profit, the position value becomes smaller, but the maintenance margin rate might not drop, thus the margin rate worsens.
3. Example
Suppose you hold a perpetual contract in Tier 3, with a position value of 30,000 USDT and a maintenance margin rate of 3.00%.
After a partial take-profit, your position reduces to 20,000 USDT. If 20,000 still falls within Tier 3 (Tier 3 range: 20,000 - 50,000), the maintenance margin rate remains 3.00%.
- Before take-profit: Position value 30,000 × 3% = 900 USDT maintenance margin
- After take-profit: Position value 20,000 × 3% = 600 USDT maintenance margin
- Margin is reduced by 300 USDT, but the maintenance margin rate remains unchanged
When the position value drops, the margin buffer becomes smaller, and the margin rate will worsen.
4. Practical: How to Confirm the Position Tier
Step 1: Check the current position value
- What to do: Look at the current "Position Value" or "Position Quantity" on the holdings page.
- How to do it: Record the remaining quantity after partial take-profit and multiply by the current mark price.
Step 2: Compare with the contract's tier table
- What to do: Find the "Position Tiers" table for that contract.
- How to do it: On the contract trading page, click the upper right 【…】→【Market Info】→【Position Tiers】. See which tier your position value falls into.
Step 3: Confirm the maintenance margin rate for that tier
- What to do: Find the maintenance margin rate corresponding to the current tier.
- How to do it: If the position value after partial take-profit remains within the current tier interval, the maintenance margin rate will not decrease.
Prerequisites: You hold an OKX perpetual or futures contract position and have performed a partial take-profit.
Risk Reminder: Partial take-profit does not automatically lower the maintenance margin rate tier. If the margin rate is close to 100% after the take-profit, the system may trigger forced partial liquidation on the next adverse price move. OKX's forced partial liquidation mechanism will first cancel the reverse open orders of your position before carrying out the liquidation.
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5. What to Do If the Margin Rate Is Too Poor
- Add margin: Transfer more margin into the position to directly increase the margin rate.
- Continue reducing the position: Lower the position to a lower tier so that the system applies a lower maintenance margin rate.
- Use the contract calculator: Enter current parameters in OKX's contract calculator to estimate the liquidation price and margin requirements.
After doing the above, how do you know if you handled it correctly?
Go to the contract calculator, select "Liquidation Price", input the remaining position quantity after take-profit, the leverage multiplier, and the current average entry price to calculate the liquidation price of the current position. If the liquidation price is too close to the current market price (e.g., within 5%), it is recommended to add margin or further reduce the position. Partial take-profit is not a one-time solution—unless your position has indeed dropped to a lower tier range.
