Portfolio Margin

Portfolio Margin is an advanced margin mode that enables cross-asset collateral and offset-based margin reductions for institutional traders. It is currently in pre-alpha status.

Overview

Traditional cross margin uses a single collateral asset (USDC) to back all positions. Portfolio Margin extends this by allowing multiple assets to serve as collateral, with margin offsets for correlated positions.

Eligible Collateral Assets

Additional collateral assets will be added as the feature matures beyond pre-alpha.

How It Works

Cross-Asset Collateral

When Portfolio Margin is enabled, the account’s total equity is calculated across all eligible assets:

total_equity = usdc_balance
             + btc_holdings * btc_mark_price * btc_haircut
             + hype_holdings * hype_mark_price * hype_haircut
             + sum(unrealized_pnl for all positions)

Haircuts (collateral discounts) are applied to non-stablecoin assets to account for price volatility. The exact haircut percentages are calibrated based on asset volatility and liquidity.

Margin Offsets

Correlated positions receive margin credits. For example:

• A long BTC-USD position and a short ETH-USD position partially offset each other because BTC and ETH are historically correlated
• The net margin requirement is lower than the sum of individual requirements
• Offset percentages are determined by a correlation matrix updated periodically

Risk Calculation

Portfolio Margin uses a scenario-based risk model:

1. The system evaluates the portfolio under multiple price shock scenarios (e.g., BTC +10%, ETH -5%)
2. The worst-case loss across all scenarios determines the margin requirement
3. This approach naturally captures diversification benefits

Lending Integration

Portfolio Margin integrates with GX Exchange’s native lending protocol:

• Idle collateral in Portfolio Margin accounts can be automatically supplied to the lending pool
• Supplied assets continue to count toward margin (at a reduced haircut)
• Interest earned from lending accrues automatically
• Borrowing against portfolio collateral is supported for capital-efficient hedging

Action Limits

Portfolio Margin accounts are subject to the same 50,000 actions per UTC day limit as Unified Account mode. This prevents excessive state growth while providing ample capacity for institutional trading workflows.

Eligibility

Portfolio Margin is available to all accounts with no minimum balance or volume requirement. However, given its pre-alpha status:

• Users must explicitly opt in by switching to Portfolio Margin mode
• The feature set may change as it progresses toward general availability
• Users should monitor announcements for updates to eligible assets and haircut parameters

Comparison with Cross Margin