Glossary

Terms	Definition
Available Margin	The portion of your total equity that can be used to open new positions or cover fees and losses.
Cross Margin	A margin mode where all available funds in your account can serve as margin for a single position, helping prevent premature liquidation of individual positions.
Flash Swap	An instant asset conversion feature executed within your account, powered by the platform's internal pricing engine. It offers fast execution, no slippage, and no need for blockchain confirmations, differing from traditional AMM-driven swaps.
Funding Rate	A periodic fee paid to balance long and short positions. When the market is imbalanced, the dominant side pays the funding rate to the other to encourage market equilibrium.
Gap	Refers to a price range on a chart of an asset (such as a stock, futures contract, or cryptocurrency) where no trading occurred during a given trading session or between continuous market periods. This phenomenon typically arises when major news or events cause a sudden imbalance between supply and demand, resulting in a visible blank space on the price chart.
Haircut	A risk management discount applied to collateral values. Assets with lower liquidity or higher volatility receive higher haircuts, reducing their usable collateral value to ensure sufficient buffers during market volatility.
Impact Cost	A dynamically calculated fee reflecting the market impact of different order sizes. It adjusts based on the order's notional value and current market session (light, normal, peak), and is incorporated into quotes upfront to avoid unexpected slippage.
Initial Margin	The frozen funds required when opening a position.
Liquidations	When your margin falls below the Maintenance Margin Ratio (MMR), the system automatically closes your position to prevent further losses. Our liquidation process uses the Mark Price, not manipulable last traded prices.
Liquidity	The ease of buying or selling an asset without significantly affecting its price. MC Markets provides continuous liquidity through its dynamic liquidity model for efficient trade execution.
Margin	The funds required to open and maintain positions.
Margin Ratio	A metric measuring position health, used to determine proximity to liquidation thresholds.
Mark Price	The platform's fair value benchmark, aggregated from multiple external oracle prices and internal data. It's used for PnL calculations, liquidations, and risk controls to prevent manipulation from anomalous trades.
Mid-Price Input	A smart limit order function generated based on the market "mid-price" (the average of the best bid and ask prices). Upon clicking, the system automatically inputs the limit order price based on the real-time mid-price, which facilitates manual price adjustment while ensuring both fair pricing and execution efficiency.
MMR (Maintenance Margin Ratio)	The minimum margin ratio required to maintain a position. Falling below this ratio triggers forced liquidation to protect your account and the platform from further losses.
Nominal Value	The total value of your position in USD. For example, buying 1 BTC at $50,000 gives a nominal value of $50,000.
Oracle	External data providers supplying independent, verified spot reference prices. MC Markets uses these for calibration and risk comparisons.
PnL (Profit and Loss)	Your trading profits or losses. Unrealized PnL is the floating profit/loss on open positions; Realized PnL is the net profit/loss from closed trades.
Price Penetration	A technical analysis concept describing a price movement that breaks through a specific level, such as support, resistance, a trendline, or a moving average. Such a movement suggests that buying or selling pressure has temporarily overcome the prevailing market consensus, potentially signaling a trend reversal, continuation, or merely a false breakout that traders should watch carefully.
Proof of User Reserves	A transparency mechanism proving the platform's 1:1 backing of user funds through public reserves.
Reduce Only	A risk control feature that restricts orders to closing or reducing existing positions only, preventing accidental opening of opposing positions and safeguarding against misoperations during volatility.
Skew	A measure of imbalance between long and short positions on the platform. High skew indicates one-sided markets, influencing funding rates.
Tick	The smallest price increment for an asset. For example, BTCUSD typically ticks at $1.0, while ETHUSD at $0.1.
Total Account Value	The net value of your entire account, including all collateral values, unrealized PnL, realized PnL, and fees. It's a comprehensive indicator of account health.
Vault	A risk isolation tool within your account, allowing secure storage of assets in a non-trading zone to separate core funds from active trading balances and mitigate unnecessary risks.