Mark Price
Also known as: fair price, index-based price, mark, liquidation reference price
What is it?
The mark price is the reference price an exchange uses to value your open position and decide whether it should be liquidated, and it is deliberately not the last traded price on that venue. It is built from an index of spot prices across several major exchanges, usually with a basis adjustment so it reflects fair value for the contract rather than raw spot. The reason for the extra machinery is manipulation. If liquidations were triggered by the last trade on a single venue, a large trader could push that one order book down for a few seconds, trigger a wave of liquidations, and buy the forced selling cheaply.
If liquidation used the last traded price
Your 10x long is liquidated at $58,000.
- One venue wicks to $57,800 for two seconds
- That single order book is all the engine looks at
- Your position is force-closed on a print no other exchange saw
- A trader with size can push one thin book on purpose to trigger it
Result: liquidated by noise.
Liquidation uses the mark price
Your 10x long is liquidated at $58,000.
- The same venue wicks to $57,800 for two seconds
- The mark price is an index across several exchanges
- That index barely moves - it holds near $59,900
- Faking it would mean moving every venue at once
Result: the position survives.
Anchoring to a multi-exchange index makes that attack far more expensive, because the price would have to be moved everywhere at once. The practical consequence is that two different prices are on your screen and they mean different things. Your unrealised profit and loss and your liquidation trigger are calculated on the mark price; your fills happen at the last traded price. A sharp local wick on one venue can print well through your liquidation level without touching you, because the index barely moved - and equally, your position can be liquidated at a mark price you never saw trade.
Read your liquidation distance against the mark, never against the last print. Your capital is at risk. See /risk-warning.
Why it matters: Your liquidation is triggered by the mark price, not the last trade, so a local wick through your stop level may not touch you - and a calm-looking chart still can.
It decides the exact point at which a leveraged position is force-closed, so misreading it means misjudging every liquidation distance you calculate.
Real-world example
A thin venue wicks BTC from $60,000 to $57,800 for two seconds while the multi-exchange index holds near $59,900, so positions with a $58,000 liquidation level survive untouched.
How SignalBots handles it
SignalBots crypto signals quote entries, stops and targets against the broad market price rather than one venue's last print, so the levels stay meaningful wherever you execute them. See /risk-warning.
Pro tip
Set your own stop against the mark price your venue displays, not the last-trade chart, or you will place it inside noise the liquidation engine ignores.
Common pitfalls
Calculating liquidation distance from the last traded price, which makes the buffer look larger or smaller than the engine will actually apply.
Frequently asked questions
Why is the mark price different from the last traded price?
Because it is drawn from an index of several exchanges rather than one order book. That makes it much harder to move artificially, which is the point - it is what your liquidation is measured against.
Which price is my profit and loss based on?
Unrealised profit and loss on an open position is marked against the mark price. What you actually realise on closing is set by the fill you get at the last traded price, so the two can differ slightly at the moment you exit.
Can I be liquidated at a price I never saw trade?
Yes. If the index moves to your liquidation level, the engine acts even if that exact price never printed on your venue's chart. This is the most common source of surprise liquidations.
Does the mark price protect me from stop hunts?
It removes the cheapest version of the attack, because moving one venue's book no longer triggers liquidations elsewhere. It does not protect you from a genuine market-wide move, and your capital is at risk. See /risk-warning.
Do all exchanges calculate mark price the same way?
No. The set of index exchanges, the weighting and the basis adjustment differ by venue, so liquidation levels for an identical position vary slightly between them. Check the specification of the venue you actually trade on.
Trading involves substantial risk of loss. Historical and backtested results do not guarantee future performance. Read the full risk warning.
