The capital you post as collateral to open and maintain a leveraged position.
Last verified 13 September 2026 · written by the DexLadder team
What it means
The capital you post as collateral to open and maintain a leveraged position.
Why it matters when you trade
Initial margin is what it costs to open; maintenance margin is what you must keep to stay open. The gap between them is your entire room to be wrong. Unrealised losses eat that room continuously, so a position can be liquidated while your thesis is intact — the market only has to touch a level, not settle there.
Worked example
Maintenance margin of 0.5% on a $20,000 position means $100 of equity keeps it alive; below that the venue closes it for you.
See it on live markets
DexLadder runs margin against live market and pool data, with simulated capital, so you can watch it act on an order instead of reading about it — no account, no wallet, nothing installed.