The liquidation formulas
For an isolated-margin linear perpetual (USDT or USDC margined), with entry price E, leverage L and maintenance margin rate m (a fraction of notional), ignoring fees and funding:
long: liq = E × (1 − 1/L + m)
short: liq = E × (1 + 1/L − m)
The logic: the initial margin is 1/L of notional. Price may move against you by that amount, but you are closed out earlier, once what is left of margin equals the exchange's maintenance requirement, m. The adverse move you survive is therefore 1/L − m. The liquidation price calculator uses m = min(0.5%, 0.5/L): a flat 0.5% for most leverage settings that falls to half of the initial margin above 100x. At 1000x that gives m = 0.050% and a distance of 0.050%.
The margin-loss rule
Some on-chain venues skip maintenance margin and liquidate when a fixed share of your margin is lost. If that share is s, the move you survive is s/L, so long liq = E × (1 − s/L) and short liq = E × (1 + s/L). Per its docs, LeverUp uses s = 85% on most markets and 80% on its dedicated 1001x markets, which gives about 0.0799% at 1001x. Details are in the LeverUp 1001x guide.
When the formula says "liquidated immediately"
If m ≥ 1/L, the distance is zero or negative. With a flat 0.5% maintenance margin that happens above 200x, so exchanges either cap leverage or lower the maintenance rate on those tiers. Your venue's tier table, not a generic formula, decides what is possible.
Bitcoin examples
Using an example entry of $60,000 (not a live quote):
| Leverage | Long liq (generic) | Short liq (generic) | Generic distance | Long liq (loss rule) | Short liq (loss rule) | Loss rule · distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100x | $59,700.00 | $60,300.00 | 0.500% | $59,490.00 | $60,510.00 | 85% · 0.850% |
| 500x | $59,940.00 | $60,060.00 | 0.100% | $59,904.00 | $60,096.00 | 80% · 0.160% |
| 1000x | $59,970.00 | $60,030.00 | 0.050% | $59,952.00 | $60,048.00 | 80% · 0.080% |
| 1001x | $59,970.03 | $60,029.97 | 0.050% | $59,952.05 | $60,047.95 | 80% · 0.080% |
Read the 1000x row: on the generic model a long is liquidated at $59,970, a $30 drop. Going from 100x to 1000x makes the cushion ten times smaller in percentage terms, and on the generic model it falls from 0.5% to 0.05% because the maintenance margin shrinks too. Note how little separates 1000x from 1001x: margin is 0.1% versus 0.0999% of notional.
Ethereum examples
Same maths at an example entry of $3,000:
| Leverage | Long liq (generic) | Short liq (generic) | Generic distance | Long liq (loss rule) | Short liq (loss rule) | Loss rule · distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100x | $2,985.00 | $3,015.00 | 0.500% | $2,974.50 | $3,025.50 | 85% · 0.850% |
| 500x | $2,997.00 | $3,003.00 | 0.100% | $2,995.20 | $3,004.80 | 80% · 0.160% |
| 1000x | $2,998.50 | $3,001.50 | 0.050% | $2,997.60 | $3,002.40 | 80% · 0.080% |
| 1001x | $2,998.50 | $3,001.50 | 0.050% | $2,997.60 | $3,002.40 | 80% · 0.080% |
Percent distances are identical to Bitcoin because the formulas depend only on leverage; only the dollar amounts change. A 1000x ETH long at $3,000 is liquidated by a $1.50 fall on the generic model. That is a move the order book can produce in a single sweep, which is why the dollar figure looks small even though the coin is expensive.
Shorts are the mirror image
A 1000x Bitcoin short entered at $60,000 liquidates at $60,030.00 on the generic model ($30 above entry) and at about $60,048.00 under the 80% loss rule. The percentage cushion is the same as for the long, so the same tick or two of adverse movement ends the trade.
Use the liquidation price as a hard boundary
Compute liquidation before you enter and treat it as the worst case, not the plan. A protective stop must sit between entry and liquidation, with room for slippage. At 1000x there is no such room: the cushion is $30 on Bitcoin, which is smaller than the typical spread plus slippage on a market order in a fast tape. That is the practical reason high-leverage traders keep stops tighter than the liquidation distance or skip stops and rely on the margin as the maximum loss.
How a 0.1% wick liquidates you
Take the Bitcoin 1000x long entered at $60,000 with the generic liquidation at $59,970:
- Price trades down 0.1% to $59,940 for a few seconds on a liquidation cascade or a thin-book sweep.
- That is $30 below the liquidation price, so the trigger fires. The position is closed by the venue's liquidation engine, often at a worse fill than the trigger.
- Price recovers to $60,000 a moment later. A trader with a stop at $59,400 would still be in the trade; you are not. The loss is your whole margin, plus any liquidation penalty the venue charges.
Longer holding periods only make it worse. Funding accrues against margin, so the effective liquidation price creeps toward entry the longer you stay open. For the risk of sizing around this, see the high-leverage risk guide.
What the formula leaves out
- Fees. Entry and exit fees, if deducted from margin, narrow the cushion by roughly the fee rate. A 0.06% fee exceeds the 0.05% generic distance at 1000x.
- Funding. Paid out of margin; see fundingrates.app for live rates.
- Mark vs last price. Exchanges liquidate on mark or oracle price, not necessarily the price on your chart.
- Cross margin. Across a shared balance, liquidation depends on the whole account. These tables assume isolated margin.
- Liquidation penalty and slippage. Your fill can be worse than the liquidation price and some venues keep a liquidation fee.
To test your own entry, margin and leverage, open the liquidation price calculator. It handles long and short, custom maintenance margin and the LeverUp loss rule. For the multiplier basics first, see what 1000x leverage means.