Understanding how a unified trading account works is essential for traders who want to optimize their capital efficiency, manage risk effectively, and take advantage of advanced trading strategies like arbitrage and hedging. This comprehensive guide breaks down the most frequently asked questions about unified accounts—covering borrowing mechanics, interest calculation, liability repayment, margin computation, and more—using clear structure and SEO-friendly language.
Whether you're exploring cross-margin trading or leveraging combination margin modes for portfolio risk reduction, this resource delivers accurate, actionable insights tailored to both novice and experienced users.
How Does Borrowing Work in a Unified Account?
In a unified account system, borrowing is fully automated and not manually triggered by the user. There are three primary scenarios where borrowing occurs:
- Isolated Margin Leverage & Spot-Contract Unified Mode: When opening a leveraged position in spot or futures, the system automatically borrows assets if your available balance is insufficient. Upon closing the position, repayment happens automatically.
- Cross-Currency Margin Mode: If you've enabled auto-borrowing, any trade exceeding your current balance will result in automatic borrowing for the deficit amount.
This seamless integration eliminates manual steps while maintaining strict risk controls.
👉 Discover how automated borrowing enhances trading efficiency and reduces execution delays.
When Is Interest Calculated and Deducted?
Interest management in a unified account follows a precise hourly cycle:
- Interest Calculation: Occurs every hour on the hour. This calculation does not immediately affect your visible balance or open position values.
- Interest Deduction: Also occurs hourly. The actual interest amount is deducted from your account at each interval.
This frequent compounding ensures transparency and allows traders to monitor cost-of-carry dynamics in real time.
How Is Interest Deducted from the Account?
The method of interest deduction depends on the account mode:
- Isolated and Full-Position Leverage Modes: Interest is added directly to the liability of the specific leveraged position. As a result, the outstanding debt increases over time if left unpaid.
- Cross-Currency Liabilities: For debts across multiple currencies, interest is applied to the overall liability balance, increasing the total debt owed in the respective currency.
Timely repayment or offsetting positions can help minimize accumulated interest costs.
How Are Liabilities Repaid?
Repayment methods vary based on account type:
Isolated and Full-Position Leverage: Liabilities can only be cleared by closing the corresponding position. During liquidation:
- Interest is repaid first.
- Once interest is settled, the principal liability is reduced.
Cross-Currency Margin Mode: You can repay liabilities by:
- Transferring the required currency into your account.
- Buying the owed asset directly within the platform.
Once sufficient funds are available, the system automatically settles the debt.
This flexibility supports proactive liability management.
When Can You Enjoy Interest-Free Liability?
An interest-free buffer applies under specific conditions:
- Only unrealized losses from futures positions in cross-currency margin accounts qualify for an interest-free threshold.
Liabilities arising from:
- Spot leveraged trading
- Realized losses in futures
Do not qualify for interest-free treatment.
This feature offers temporary relief during market volatility but should not be relied upon as a long-term financing strategy.
Why Isn’t My Borrowable Amount Increasing Despite High Collateral?
Even with substantial collateral, borrow limits may remain unchanged due to several factors:
- Leverage Settings: Higher leverage tiers often reduce maximum borrowable amounts due to risk-based tiered margin structures. Try lowering your leverage—this may increase your borrowing capacity.
- Account Tier Limits: You might have reached your account’s borrow ceiling. Upgrading your account level could unlock higher limits.
- Platform Lending Capacity: During periods of high demand, the platform may hit its lending cap. In such cases, borrowing becomes temporarily unavailable until liquidity improves.
Always monitor market conditions and adjust expectations accordingly.
👉 Learn how optimizing leverage settings can unlock greater borrowing power instantly.
How to Execute Basis Arbitrage Using a Unified Account?
Basis arbitrage exploits price differences between spot and derivatives markets:
Positive Basis (Futures > Spot):
- Open a spot long position via margin.
- Simultaneously open a futures short position (e.g., delivery contract).
- Close both when the spread narrows.
Negative Basis (Futures < Spot):
- Open a spot short position via margin.
- Open a futures long position.
- Exit when convergence occurs.
Thanks to unified accounting, profits and losses offset across positions—significantly reducing margin requirements and lowering liquidation risk.
How to Perform Funding Rate Arbitrage?
Funding rate arbitrage targets yield differentials in perpetual contracts:
Positive Funding Rate (longs pay shorts):
- Go long on spot (using leverage).
- Go short on perpetual futures.
- Profit when funding rates decline or turn negative.
Negative Funding Rate (shorts pay longs):
- Go short on spot.
- Go long on perpetual futures.
- Exit when funding improves.
With all positions under one margin umbrella, capital efficiency soars compared to isolated accounts.
When Is Currency Discount Rate Applied in Margin Calculation?
Currency discount rates apply exclusively in cross-currency margin accounts:
- Different cryptocurrencies are assigned varying discount ratios based on volatility, liquidity, and market risk.
- These rates are used during portfolio-level margin calculations, reducing the effective value of certain assets as collateral.
- In contrast, single-currency (isolated) accounts do not use discount rates at the asset level.
This mechanism protects the system from correlated risks across volatile digital assets.
Does the Unified Account Support Independent Maintenance for Specific Services?
No. The unified account operates as an integrated system. All services—including spot, futures, options, and margin—undergo maintenance simultaneously. There is no capability to pause or update individual product lines independently.
Plan trading activities around scheduled maintenance windows to avoid disruptions.
What Is the Logic Behind Profitable Positions Being ADL-Closed?
Auto-Deleveraging (ADL) prioritizes positions based on two key factors:
- The counterparty’s account or position risk level.
- The return rate of their opposing position.
Highly profitable positions with low leverage and strong buffers are typically lower on the ADL list. However, during extreme market moves, even profitable traders may face partial closures if they represent optimal risk-matching opportunities.
What Features Are Supported in Combination Margin Accounts?
Combination margin accounts offer enhanced risk modeling but come with limitations:
Supported:
- Cross-currency mode only.
- Both full and isolated margin modes (with isolated functioning similarly to cross-currency full mode).
- Buy/sell functionality across supported products.
Not Supported:
- Adjusting leverage for any product except spot margin trading.
- Products outside defined scope (e.g., some structured products).
Ensure compatibility before initiating complex trades.
Why Does the Exchange Open Positions on Behalf of Users in Combination Margin Mode?
In rare cases, the exchange may initiate hedging trades during user liquidations. This occurs when:
- Closing a position outright would cause excessive market impact.
- Using derivatives (e.g., perpetual or delivery contracts) to hedge residual risk is more efficient than immediate liquidation.
These actions aim to minimize systemic risk and protect overall market stability.
How Does Derivatives Hedging Work in Combination Margin Mode?
This mode evaluates derivative positions (futures, options) under multiple stress-test scenarios to determine worst-case loss—the basis for required margin. Key features include:
- Offsetting risks across correlated positions reduce total margin.
- Spot and margin holdings do not contribute to risk scenario testing.
- Small positions may benefit less due to fixed tier-based thresholds.
Example Scenarios:
- Delivery Contract Calendar Spread: Requires only ~4M USD vs. 23M USD in standard mode.
- Single Long Futures Position: May require more margin under combination mode due to lack of offsetting exposure.
- Options Covered Call Strategy: Reduces required margin from $560K to $200K thanks to risk netting.
These examples illustrate how intelligent hedging lowers capital needs.
How Does Spot Hedging Mode Reduce Risk?
Spot Hedging Mode expands stress testing to include:
- Spot holdings
- Margin positions
- Futures and options
Users select a hedging category (coin-margined or USD-margined), which determines how spot assets are factored into risk units. By including spot inventory in portfolio-wide risk assessment, overall margin requirements are further reduced—especially in balanced portfolios.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: Can I manually trigger a borrow in a unified account?
A: No. Borrowing is fully automatic based on trade size and available balance.
Q: Is interest charged continuously or just once per day?
A: Interest is calculated and deducted hourly for precision and transparency.
Q: Do all types of liabilities qualify for interest-free thresholds?
A: Only unrealized losses from futures in cross-currency mode qualify. Spot leverage debts do not.
Q: Why did my borrow limit not increase after adding more collateral?
A: Borrow limits depend on leverage settings, account tier, and platform liquidity—not just collateral size.
Q: Can I use spot assets as collateral for futures trading?
A: Yes, in cross-currency and combination margin modes, diverse assets count toward unified collateral.
Q: Are there situations where the exchange takes action without my input?
A: Yes—during liquidations, the exchange may open hedging positions to manage systemic risk efficiently.
👉 See how advanced margin modes can reduce your capital requirements by up to 80%.