Updated 2026-07-25
Isolated margin assigns a fixed amount of collateral to a single position. If the trade goes wrong, that margin is the maximum loss, and the liquidation price is fixed by the margin you posted. Cross margin backs the position with your whole available balance, so liquidation sits further away, but a losing position can draw down the entire account and drag other positions with it.
Neither is safer in the abstract; they move risk to different places. Isolated caps the damage per trade and makes the liquidation level predictable, which suits defined-risk setups and higher leverage. Cross reduces the chance of a nuisance liquidation on a wick and lets hedged positions offset each other, at the cost of coupling all your risk together. What matters most is knowing which mode a position is in before sizing it, because the same trade has a different liquidation price under each.