Bybit leverage, fees & liquidation
Bybit lists crypto perpetuals up to 100x with a tiered maintenance margin that starts around 0.5% on majors like BTC and ETH and rises as your position grows. Taker fees are about 0.055%. The default 0.5% above matches Bybit tier-1 for the big coins; for smaller alts it is higher, which pulls liquidation slightly closer. Bybit offers both isolated and cross margin: isolated only risks the margin on that one position, cross pulls your whole balance, so isolated is safer while you are learning.
How liquidation price works
Liquidation happens when your losses eat the margin backing the position. For an isolated long, the rough formula is entry × (1 − 1/leverage + maintenance margin); for a short it is entry × (1 + 1/leverage − maintenance margin). Higher leverage puts liquidation closer to your entry — at 10x a long is wiped by roughly a 10% drop, at 25x by about 4%. That is why sizing matters: use the position size calculator to risk a fixed amount, and the PnL calculator to see the upside before you enter.
Frequently asked questions
How is crypto liquidation price calculated?
For an isolated long, liquidation ≈ entry × (1 − 1/leverage + maintenance margin); for a short, entry × (1 + 1/leverage − maintenance margin). Higher leverage moves liquidation closer to entry, so a smaller move wipes the position.
At what price do I get liquidated at 10x?
At 10x a long is liquidated by roughly a 10% drop from entry (slightly less with maintenance margin); a short by roughly a 10% rise. At 25x it is about 4%, at 50x about 2%.
Is this accurate for Bybit and Binance?
It is a close estimate using the standard isolated-margin formula. Real exchanges add fees and funding, use tiered maintenance margin that rises with position size, and cross margin pulls in your whole balance — leave a safety buffer beyond the calculated price.
How do I avoid getting liquidated?
Use lower leverage so liquidation sits far from entry, size from how much you are willing to lose, and place a stop-loss well before the liquidation price so you exit on your terms — not the exchange's.
Popular coin liquidation calculators
Bybit's specific margin tiers change liquidation distance at higher sizes
Bybit uses a tiered maintenance margin system. Under $500k notional on BTC, maintenance margin is 0.5%. From $500k–$1M it rises to 1%. Above $2M it reaches 2.5%. This means large positions get liquidated sooner proportionally — the liquidation price moves closer to entry as position size increases.
For retail positions under $50k notional, Bybit's maintenance margin behaves like the standard formula: liq_price_long = entry × (1 − 1/leverage + 0.005). At 10x long: entry × 0.905. At 25x long: entry × 0.965. At 50x long: entry × 0.985.
Bybit also charges a closing fee at liquidation. On Bybit V2 USDT perps this is 0.065% of notional. On a $1,000 notional position liquidated, you lose roughly $6.50 to the liquidation fee on top of the margin loss. With isolated margin this is deducted from remaining balance, not from elsewhere.
Related: BTC liquidation calculator, liquidation buffer, Bybit vs Binance fees.