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AEVO.XYZ/PRODUCTS/UNIFIED-MARGIN
Unified margin: one collateral pool for perps and options
Launch Exchange ↗
OCT 4, 2026
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On most venues, margin lives in separate pots. A perp account here, an options account there, collateral stuck in whichever one you funded first. On Aevo, perps and options sit in one cross-margin account backed by one collateral pool, funded in USDC or USDT, with aeUSD, ETH and WBTC also accepted as collateral. That is what lets a hedge reduce your margin requirement instead of doubling it. OTC trades are the exception: they happen on mainnet, outside the regular margin system, so they are not part of the cross-margin account and do not share its collateral.
Account for perps and options
Maintenance margin on a standard Aevo perpetual
Initial margin posted by OTC market makers, locked on-chain
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What does unified margin mean?
Your collateral sits in one pool, and every position you hold draws on it. Perps and options are margined together, so free collateral can back whichever position needs it, and positions that offset each other are assessed together rather than one by one.
That works because Aevo built options and perps on a single exchange from the start. They share the same order book, margin engine and settlement layer, so a hedge can be composed and executed atomically in a single margin account.
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Separate pots against one pool
In a separate-pots model, every product has its own balance. Collateral in the perp pot can’t back an options position, and a hedge in the options pot doesn’t reduce the margin the perp pot demands. You fund both, and the idle collateral in each is stranded. Switch the view below to compare.
Isolated, cross and portfolio margin on one account
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How a hedge nets against a perp
Suppose you’re long a BTC perps position and you buy downside protection, either with PERPS+ or an option you pick yourself. Under isolated margin, you post margin for the perp and pay for the hedge on top. Under cross margin, the account looks at the combined position. The put offsets part of the perp’s downside, so the hedge reduces the margin requirement instead of doubling it.
That’s the reason simple hedging is affordable here. Under isolated margin, most hedging strategies don’t pay for themselves once you count the collateral they tie up. The options hedging page shows what a hedged long looks like at expiry.
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The margin rules by product
Unified margin is one account, not one rulebook. Each product carries its own margin parameters, and they differ a lot.
Product
Margin treatment
What to know
5% initial margin, 3% maintenance margin, 20x maximum
Liquidation fee is 1% on tier 1 perps and 3% on tier 2 perps
Options
Margined on what the position can lose
Cash-settled in USDC, so a short call needs margin, not inventory. Liquidation fee is 0.5%
OTC options
Outside the regular margin system, on mainnet
Not part of the cross-margin account. Market makers post 30% initial margin in USDC plus variation margin, locked on-chain. Liquidation fee is 0.5%
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What cross margin changes about risk
Sharing a pool is efficient, and it also means losses share a pool. A sharp move against one position draws on collateral that was also backing the others. Liquidation is assessed at the account level, so a position you weren’t watching can be the one that pushes the account towards its limit.
Isolated margin works differently. If you choose isolated margin and open an option to hedge a perps position, each position is margined on its own. A losing position can only use the collateral assigned to it, and it can’t draw on the rest of the account, including the unrealized profit on the other position. That is the difference from cross margin, where the account is assessed as a whole.
Hedges only help if they match. A BTC put protects a BTC perp. It does nothing for an altcoin perp.
Correlation spikes in a crash. Positions that looked diversified often fall together.
Free collateral is a buffer. Leaving some unallocated is the cheapest insurance in the account.
For altcoin protection that PERPS+ doesn’t cover, Aevo OTC quotes options on other assets. Those trades happen on mainnet, outside the regular margin system, so they don’t offset a perp’s margin.
WHERE TO GO NEXT
To hedge perps with options in one tap, PERPS+ attaches a floor, a ceiling or both to a BTC or ETH perp. Trading leveraged contracts with no expiry? Aevo runs a perps dex with on-chain settlement and 20x on BTC and ETH. Before sizing anything, check how liquidation works with the interactive leverage calculator. To see how a hedge can lower what a perp needs, read how cross margin perps & options work together on one account.
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Frequently asked questions
What is unified margin?
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How does cross margin make hedging cheaper?
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Are the margin rules the same for every product?
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What collateral does Aevo use?
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Can one losing position liquidate my whole account?
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Does a PERPS+ hedge sit in the same account as my perp?
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Open one account, trade everything
Perps and options share your collateral.
Launch Exchange ↗
COLLATERAL
USDC AND USDT
ACCOUNT
ONE CROSS-MARGIN ACCOUNT
PRODUCTS
PERPS AND OPTIONS
STANDARD PERP MAINTENANCE
3%
PRODUCT / MARGIN / CROSS-MARGIN
This page is for information only and isn’t financial advice. Options and perpetual futures are high-risk products and you can lose your full position.