Why was I liquidated before my liquidation price
The chart never touched your level. The position closed anyway. There is a specific reason, and it is not a glitch.
Why was my position liquidated before price reached my liquidation level?
Almost always because the exchange liquidates on the mark price, not the last traded price your chart displays. The mark price is an index built from several venues, designed to prevent a single exchange wick from triggering liquidations. It moves independently of the candle you are watching and can cross your level while the chart does not. Two other causes: funding payments have been quietly eroding your margin, moving the liquidation price closer without you noticing, and maintenance margin requirements rise as position size grows.
Mark price against last price: the usual answer
Your chart plots the last traded price on that exchange. Your liquidation is calculated on the mark price, which is an index combining spot prices from several major venues.
Exchanges use the mark price deliberately. If liquidations ran on the last traded price, a single large order in a thin order book could wick the price down, liquidate thousands of positions, and reverse — with the liquidations funding the whole move. The mark price makes that attack expensive.
The side effect is what you experienced. The mark price is a different number from the one on your screen, and during volatility the gap widens. It can cross your liquidation level while the candle on your chart stops short.
Every major exchange shows the mark price somewhere in the position details. It is worth knowing where, because it is the only number that matters for survival.
Funding has been moving your liquidation price
This one surprises people who have held a position for several days.
Funding is charged every eight hours — three times a day. When you are on the crowded side, you pay. That payment comes out of your margin, and margin is what determines your liquidation price. Less margin means the liquidation price moves closer to the current price.
At 0.05% per period on a position held a week, that is around 1% of the position size gone. On 10x leverage, 1% of the position is 10% of your margin, which moves the liquidation level materially closer than where it started.
You were not liquidated at the level you calculated on entry. You were liquidated at the level it had drifted to. Our True cost of leverage panel prices this before you open a position — funding across your intended holding period, both fee sides, and the liquidation distance together. The full explanation is in our guide to funding rates.
Maintenance margin is not a fixed percentage
The third cause, and the least documented.
Maintenance margin is the minimum equity you must hold to keep a position open. Most traders assume it is a constant. It is not — exchanges use tiered systems where the requirement rises as position size grows.
A small position might need 0.5% maintenance margin. A large one on the same pair might need 2% or more. If you added to a winning position, you may have crossed into a higher tier and moved your liquidation price closer without any price movement at all.
The tier tables are published, though rarely read. If you size up meaningfully, it is worth checking which tier you have entered before assuming your liquidation price is where it was.
The part nobody mentions: the liquidation itself has a cost
When liquidation happens, you do not simply lose your margin. Most exchanges charge a liquidation fee on top, commonly between 0.5% and 2% of the position.
There is also the insurance fund. If your position is closed at a worse price than your bankruptcy price, the difference is absorbed by the exchange's insurance fund — and in extreme conditions where that fund is exhausted, some exchanges claw back profits from winning traders on the other side.
This is why being liquidated is worse than being stopped out at the same price. A stop is an order you control, executed at a price you chose. A liquidation is a forced market order plus a penalty, executed at whatever the book offers.
Our guide on liquidation price against stop loss covers why a stop placed well before the liquidation level is almost always the better instrument.
How to stop this happening again
Set a stop well before liquidation. If liquidation is 9% away at 10x, a stop at 4% means you exit on your own terms at a price you chose, with no liquidation fee. The position ends either way; only the price and the penalty differ.
Watch the mark price, not the chart. Set any alert against the mark price if your exchange allows it.
Account for funding on multi-day holds. Recalculate your liquidation level daily, or simply reduce leverage so the drift does not matter.
Run the numbers before entering. Our Survival odds panel shows what fraction of accounts survive a hundred trades at your position size and win rate. Most people discover that their sizing destroys a genuinely positive edge, and the panel says so directly.
Understand what leverage actually buys. It does not make a good trade better. It shortens how long you can be wrong, which our guide on leverage explains in full.
Common questions
What is the difference between mark price and last price?
Last price is the most recent trade on that exchange. Mark price is an index built from several venues, used for liquidations so that a single exchange wick cannot trigger a cascade. Your chart shows the first; your liquidation runs on the second.
Can an exchange liquidate me unfairly?
Liquidation on the mark price rather than the last price feels unfair but is the protective design. Genuine unfair liquidation is rare on major venues and would show up across many accounts at once, not just yours.
Does funding change my liquidation price?
Yes. Funding payments come out of your margin, and less margin moves the liquidation price closer. On a multi-day leveraged position this drift is significant and is the reason many liquidations happen at a level the trader did not expect.
What is maintenance margin?
The minimum equity required to keep a position open. It is tiered rather than fixed — larger positions require a higher percentage, so adding to a position can move your liquidation price closer without any price movement.
Is there a fee for being liquidated?
Yes, typically 0.5% to 2% of the position on top of losing your margin. This is why exiting at your own stop is materially better than being liquidated at the same price.
How far from liquidation should my stop be?
Far enough that ordinary volatility does not reach it, and well before the liquidation level so you exit on your own terms. At 10x, with liquidation around 9% away, a stop at 3 to 4% is a common approach.