FAQ — Spot Margin Trading

What is Margin Trading?

Margin Trading on Bybit is a product based on Spot trading. It allows you to use the assets in your Unified Trading Account as collateral to borrow additional funds from Bybit, enabling you to buy or sell Spot assets in amounts greater than your wallet balance. While Margin Trading can amplify your potential returns with less capital, it also carries higher risks. You will be exposed to liquidation risk and must maintain a certain amount of collateral in your accounts. For more details, please refer to How to Long and Short With Spot Margin Trading.

Where can I access Spot Margin Trading?

To access Spot Margin Trading on both Web and the App, simply go to the Spot trading page and switch on the Margin toggle. Once enabled, you'll be able to adjust your desired leverage in the available column. For more details, please refer to How to Get Started With Spot Margin Trading on Bybit.

Which margin mode supports Margin Trading?

Margin Trading is available in Cross Margin and Portfolio Margin modes. It is not supported in Isolated Margin mode. 

Which coins can be used as collateral and borrowable assets for Margin Trading?

You can refer to the Margin Data page for the supported collateral and borrowable assets.

Why does my available borrowing amount show as zero even after enabling Margin Trading?

This may be due to one or more of the following reasons:

• You've reached your individual borrowing limit.

• There isn't enough liquidity in the lending pool.

• The base or quote token of the trading pair hasn't been enabled as a collateral asset. For example, to trade BTC/USDC in Margin Trading, you need to enable both BTC and USDC as collateral assets from the Unified Trading Account asset page. If you wish to borrow more, you can enable more collateral assets. For more details, please refer to How to View and Customize the Collateral Assets.

How can I borrow funds in Margin Trading?

Spot Margin Trading supports both Manual Borrow and Auto Borrow. 

• Auto Borrow is triggered automatically when you place an order with a quantity or value greater than your available wallet balance. The amount to be borrowed will be displayed in the order window.

• Manual Borrow allows you to borrow funds manually in advance by clicking the Borrow button.

For more details on the differences between Auto and Manual Borrow, please refer to How to Borrow Funds on Spot Margin Trading.

 

 

 

What are the differences between Manual Borrow and Auto Borrow in Spot Margin Trading?

 

Can I choose to enable only Manual Borrow or Auto Borrow?

No. Currently, both are supported simultaneously in the Unified Trading Account. 

 

 

 

What happens if I make a Manual Borrow while having Derivatives liabilities?

When you manually borrow an asset, the borrowed amount is first used to offset any Derivatives liabilities (such as unrealized P&L or trading fees from Futures trading).

As a result, instead of increasing your wallet balance, the borrowed asset is applied toward repaying those liabilities. In effect, the Derivatives liabilities are converted into Spot liabilities.

 

Example: If you had -120 USDT in Derivatives liabilities and you manually borrowed 150 USDT, 120 USDT would be used to repay the liabilities. Your wallet would then show +30 USDT, and the 150 USDT would become Spot liabilities.

 

 

 

What are the differences between Spot liabilities and Derivatives liabilities?

Spot liabilities: These are borrowings from Spot Margin Trading. They can only be repaid through manual repayment, unless auto-repayment is triggered (for example, when the Maintenance Margin Rate reaches 100% or when the maximum borrow limit is reached).

 

Derivatives liabilities: These are borrowings from Futures and Options trading, which may include unrealized P&L, realized P&L, trading fees, interest and Options premiums. Derivatives liabilities can be repaid through:

• Manual repayment

• Transferring positive funds into your Unified Trading Account

• Converting or buying the borrowed coin within the UTA

 

For more information, refer to Borrowing, Interest and Repayment (Unified Trading Account).

 

 

 

Will an unfilled limit order incur borrowings?

Yes. In Spot trading, transactions involve the actual exchange of assets. When you place a limit order, the system will immediately reserve the required funds or assets — even if the order is still pending execution. If your available wallet balance is insufficient, the system will borrow the shortfall. This means borrowings (and interest) may occur before the order is filled.

 

 

 

Will the borrowings be returned automatically if I cancel my unfilled limit order?

Yes. When you cancel an unfilled limit order, the borrowed amount will be returned immediately. However, any interest accrued while the funds were borrowed will still be charged.

 

 

 

What is the maximum leverage available in Spot Margin Trading?

Spot Margin Trading supports up to 10x leverage. Please note that the limit may vary by asset, and some assets allow less than 10x.

 

 

 

Is leverage set by the trading pair or by the asset?

Leverage is set at the asset level, not the trading pair. For example, if you set leverage for USDC, it will apply whenever you borrow USDC (e.g., to buy BTC in BTC/USDC). Likewise, if you set leverage for BTC, it will apply when borrowing BTC to sell.

 

 

 

How is the Available Balance for Margin Trading calculated?

The Available Balance (AB) for Margin Trading refers to the amount you can use to place new Margin Trading orders. This includes your available wallet balance plus the maximum amount you can borrow.

 

The system calculates the AB based on your Initial Margin Rate (IMR) limit, which depends on your selected leverage. The formula is:

 

(Selected Leverage − 1) ÷ Selected Leverage

 

For example, if you select 10x leverage, the IMR limit would be (10 − 1) ÷ 10 = 90%.

The system then works backward from this IMR limit to determine how much of your wallet balance and borrowing capacity remains available for new orders.

What is the max buying/selling amount in Spot Margin Trading?

The max buying or selling amount is the maximum amount of assets you can buy or sell based on your Available Balance after factoring in the amount that you can borrow. 

What are the maximum borrowing limits?

Your individual borrowing limit is determined by the lowest value among the following three factors:

• The borrowing limit of your account tier

• The position tier limit for the specific crypto

• The remaining liquidity in the lending pool

For more details, please refer to the Margin Data page.

What happens if I exceed my borrowing limit?

If your borrowing amount exceeds 100% of the maximum borrowing limit, penalty interest will apply:

 

Penalty Interest = Borrowing Amount × Hourly Interest Rate × (Utilization Ratio)3

 

• The system will send you an email reminder.

• Your account will return to a safe level once your borrowing amount falls below 100% of the limit. 

• If your borrowing amount stays at or above 100% for 24 consecutive hours or reaches 200% at any time, automatic repayment will be triggered. 

 

Auto-repayment will continue until the borrowing amount is reduced to 90% of the maximum limit. A 1% repayment handling fee will apply to the amount repaid automatically.

What is the interest rate for the borrowed funds?

The interest rate is updated hourly and may vary based on the VIP level. You can check your hourly interest rate for each coin here. 

 

Hourly Interest Charge = Borrowing Amount × Hourly Interest Rate

How often is interest incurred?

Interest is accrued hourly. The system automatically calculates and charges interest 5 minutes after each hour (e.g., 8:05AM UTC, 9:05AM UTC). The charge is based on the interest rate and the outstanding borrowing amount at that time. Please note that any borrowing duration of less than one hour is still counted as one full hour.

How do I make a repayment?

Borrowings in Spot Margin Trading (i.e., Spot liabilities) can only be repaid manually. To do so, go to the Borrowings tab or your Unified Trading Account asset page and complete your repayment. For more details, please refer to How to Make Manual Repayment in Your Unified Trading Account.

  

How are the Initial Margin and Maintenance Margin required for Spot Margin Trading calculated?

In Spot Margin Trading, both Initial Margin (IM) and Maintenance Margin (MM) are required for the borrowed amount. These margins contribute to your Unified Trading Account's Initial Margin Rate (IMR) and Maintenance Margin Rate (MMR).

• IM (for borrowed assets) = Borrow Size × IM Rate for Borrowed Asset

  • IMR for borrowed assets = 1 ÷ Selected Leverage

• MM (for borrowed assets) = Borrow Size × MM Rate for Borrowed Asset

  • MMR for borrowed assets depends on position tiers. Higher tiers require a higher MMR.

To learn more about position tiers, please check here.

Is there liquidation risk in Spot Margin Trading?

Yes, liquidation will be triggered when the Maintenance Margin Rate (MMR) of your Unified Trading Account reaches 100%. At that point, auto-repayment will be executed to settle all borrowings.

What happens if the MMR reaches 100% and liquidation is triggered?

For a detailed explanation of the liquidation process in the Unified Trading Account, please refer to Trading Rules: Liquidation Process (Unified Trading Account).

How is the Maintenance Margin Rate calculated?

• Cross Margin: Total Maintenance Margin ÷ (Margin Balance − Haircut Loss + Order Loss)

• Portfolio Margin: Total Maintenance Margin ÷ (Equity − Haircut Loss + Order Loss)

For more details, please refer to Key Terms and Formulas in Unified Trading Account.

What is haircut loss?

Haircut loss refers to the reduction in an asset's value when it is used as collateral. If the collateral value ratio is set below 100% (e.g., 25%), only that portion of the asset's market value (25% in this case) will count toward your collateral. The difference between the asset's full market value and its collateral value is considered the haircut loss.

Where can I check the average buy and sell prices for my Spot trading orders? 

When trading on Spot, you can display the average price of your buy and sell orders directly on the trading chart. To enable this, click Display and tick the average price option you'd like to see. You can also select the period over which the average is calculated. Please note that the calculation is based on trades from the current day up to the last day of the selected period.

 

On the website

 

On the app

 

Where can I view my borrow and interest history?

You can check your Borrow History from the Unified Trading Account asset page.

 

 

Where can I view my repayment history?

You can check your repayment details from your Unified Trading Account transaction log.