Futures & Derivatives

Mark price explained

Mark price

Quick definition: The mark price is the price an exchange uses to calculate unrealized PnL and trigger liquidations. It is derived from prices across multiple exchanges to prevent manipulation.

The last traded price can be pushed around sharply for a few seconds. If exchanges used it for liquidations, users could easily be "swept" unfairly.

That's why exchanges use the mark price, usually based on an index price (an average across several spot exchanges) plus a fair basis.

When setting a stop loss, you can choose to trigger it on the mark price to avoid being caught by abnormal wicks.

💡 Example

The BTCUSDT price on one exchange spikes down to 78,000 for 1 second and bounces back, but the mark price only drops to 79,600: a position with a liquidation price of 79,000 stays safe.

📊 View futures prices by coin →

Related terms

Liquidation priceThe liquidation price is the price at which the exchange automatically closes your leveraged position.…Perpetual contract (Perpetual)A perpetual contract is a type of futures contract with no expiry date, so you can hold the position as long a…Funding rateFunding rate is a periodic fee that Longs and Shorts pay each other on perpetual contracts, keeping the contra…Stop lossA stop loss is an order that automatically closes your position when the price moves against you to a level yo…

← View all 35 crypto terms

Educational content for reference only, not financial advice. Leveraged trading carries the risk of losing your entire capital.