Skip to main content
OCX enforces margin server-side. Every order passes a margin check before it is accepted, and accounts are monitored continuously. This page explains the mechanics conceptually — model parameters are internal and may change, but the behavior you need to trade safely is described here.

​
Portfolio margin

OCX margins your options and futures together. Rather than charging each position in isolation, it revalues the whole portfolio across a set of price and volatility scenarios (a SPAN-style scan, with options repriced by Black-76) and charges the worst case. Offsetting positions — for example a future that hedges an option’s delta — lower the requirement.

Order check

An order is accepted only if your account can carry the resulting portfolio. Otherwise it is rejected with INSUFFICIENT_MARGIN.

Ongoing check

Your requirement is compared against your net liquidation value throughout the day and at a daily overnight cutoff.
During the trading session, the requirement can be sized on an intraday stress scenario for that session rather than the full overnight scan. At the daily cutoff, your account must meet the overnight requirement. For options, an opening order is also refused (EXIT_COST_EXCEEDS_EQUITY) if closing the new position straight away at current book prices would take your account to the liquidation line.
The order preview (/fut/orders/preview, /options/orders/preview) is the reliable way to see the margin an order needs and whether it will be approved before you send it.

​
Net liquidation value

Risk decisions use your net liquidation value (NLV): your cash plus what your positions are worth at current executable OCX order-book prices — options at their market value, futures at their profit or loss. NLV is what your account would hold if everything were closed now.

​
When positions are reduced or liquidated

1

Reduce (trim)

If your margin requirement exceeds your NLV (plus any cash you have borrowed on OCX’s funding books) during the day, or your account does not meet the overnight requirement at the cutoff, the exchange reduces positions until it does.
2

Liquidate

If your NLV falls to the liquidation floor, the exchange closes your positions at executable book prices. Futures that hedge option positions are closed after the options they hedge.
Reduction and liquidation are automatic and are not guaranteed to happen at any particular price. Manage your own headroom: watch NLV and margin in GET /portfolio/balances, use reduceOnly orders to de-risk, and keep a buffer rather than trading at the edge.
You can track your risk in real time:
Futures position records include markPrice, unrealizedPnl, effectiveLeverage, and an indicative liquidationPrice.

​
The insurance fund

When a liquidation cannot fully cover an account’s losses, the shortfall (bad debt) is absorbed by the exchange’s insurance fund. Auto-deleveraging (ADL) of opposing positions is the last resort if the fund is insufficient. A share of trading fees is paid into the fund. The insurance-fund balance is public:

​
Practical guidance

  • Preview every order to see margin required and approval status before sending.
  • Keep headroom between your NLV and your requirement, especially ahead of the overnight cutoff.
  • Use reduceOnly for exit orders.
  • Wire cancel-all into your kill path so you can pull resting orders instantly on a feed loss or risk breach.