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    Borrowing, Interest and Repayment (Unified Trading Account)
    bybit2025-10-22 07:08:56
    On the AppOn the Website

    The Unified Trading Account (UTA) allows users to borrow and repay assets under specific conditions. This article explains how borrowing is triggered, how interest is calculated, and how repayment works — helping you manage your account effectively and avoid unexpected liquidations.

     

     

     

     

    Borrowing 

    Bybit offers two borrowing methods under the UTA: Manual Borrow and Auto Borrow.

    You can choose the method based on your trading needs.

     

    Regardless of whether the borrowed amount comes from Manual Borrow or Auto Borrow, the formula for calculating the borrowed amount in the UTA is as follows.

    • Cross Margin

    Borrowed Amount = ABS[Min(0, Equity − Initial Margin for Buy Options − Positive Options Value − Asset Frozen)]

     

    • Portfolio Margin

    Borrowed Amount = ABS[Min(0, Equity − Asset Frozen)]

     

    Where,

    Equity = Asset Wallet Balance + Perpetual and Expiry UPL + Options Value

     

    The borrowed amount calculated using the formula above includes both Spot and Derivatives liabilities in the UTA.

     

    • Spot liabilities = Borrowed amount from Spot Margin Trading or Manual Borrow, along with any interest accrued.

    • Derivatives liabilities = Borrowed amount from Derivatives trading, including unrealized and realized P&L from positions, trading and funding fees, interest from Derivatives borrowing, a decrease in the value of Options positions, and Options premiums.

     

    It's important to distinguish between these two liabilities, as this affects how the borrowed amount is repaid. More details can be found in the Repayment section.

     

     

    Manual Borrow

    You can manually borrow assets from the Spot Margin Trading page or the UTA Assets page. Once borrowed, the asset amount is added to your wallet balance and reflected as a liability.

     

    Manually borrowed assets can be used for trading under the UTA, including both Spot and Derivatives trading. If you prefer precise control over the borrowed size and timing, Manual Borrow is recommended.

     

     

    Auto Borrow 

    Auto Borrow is automatically triggered by the system when your available wallet balance is insufficient to cover a transaction. This feature offers a streamlined experience, allowing you to borrow only when needed. It will be triggered in the following scenarios:

     

    Scenario

    Example

    Insufficient wallet balance to cover a transaction

    Trader A has no USDC in their UTA but opens a USDC Perpetual position using BTC as collateral. Upon execution, a 1.5 USDC trading fee is incurred. The system automatically borrows 1.5 USDC.

    Unrealized losses from Perpetual or Expiry contracts

    Trader B opens a USDC Perpetual position with a wallet balance of 50 USDC and $100 in BTC. The position incurs an unrealized loss of 100 USDC, resulting in -50 USDC equity. The system automatically borrows 50 USDC (excluding fees), which continues to adjust based on unrealized P&L.

    Placed Buy Options limit order without settlement currency

    Trader C places a 1,000 USDC Buy Options order while holding only BTC. The system automatically borrows 1,000 USDC for the Options premium. Once the order is filled, the order amount will be deducted from the wallet balance. If canceled, the borrowed amount will be reversed.

    Decrease in the value of Options positions

    A decrease in the Options value may trigger borrowing. 

     

    Options Value = Mark Price × Quantity

    Spot Margin Trading enabled

    Trader D buys BTC/USDC worth 300 USDC with a wallet balance of only 100 USDC. The system automatically borrows 200 USDC (excluding other factors).

     

     

     

    Borrowing Limit

    All users are subject to an individual borrowing limit, regardless of the borrowing method or whether the liability arises from Spot or Derivatives. It is determined by the lowest value among the following three factors:

    • The borrowing limit based on your account tier

    • The position tier limit for the specific crypto

    • The remaining liquidity in the lending pool

     

    The borrowing limit is shared across your Main Account and Subaccounts and may vary by coin and account tier (VIP level). For more details, visit the Margin Data page.

     

    For example, if the maximum borrowing limit for USDC is 2,500,000, the combined borrowed amount across the Main Account and two Subaccounts (A & B) must not exceed this limit. Exceeding it may trigger auto-repayment.

     

     

     

     

     

    Interest

    Interest begins to accrue as long as there is an outstanding borrowed amount. Once borrowing occurs, interest is calculated hourly. The system automatically calculates and charges interest five minutes after each hour (e.g., 8:05AM UTC, 9:05AM UTC, and so on), based on the current interest rate and borrowed amount at that time.

     

    For borrowings arising from unrealized losses in Perpetual and Expiry trading, interest may be exempt if the unrealized loss falls within the interest-free range. All other types of borrowing are subject to interest accrual.

     

     

     

     

     

    Interest Accrual Scenarios

    Understanding the borrowing scenarios can help you identify which borrowings are subject to interest accrual and which are interest-free. 

     

    Scenario

    Explanation

    Insufficient wallet balance to cover a transaction

    Transactions that reduce wallet balance — such as trading fees, funding fees or realized losses from closed positions — are realized expenses. The borrowed amount in these cases is subject to interest accrual. 

    Unrealized losses from Perpetual or Expiry contracts

    Unrealized losses that fall within the interest-free range are exempt from interest. Once unrealized losses exceed the interest-free range, or when the losses are realized, the full borrowed amount becomes subject to interest accrual.

    Placed Buy Options limit order without settlement currency

    Any borrowed amount used to pay the Options premium is subject to interest.

    Decrease in the value of Options positions

    A decrease in Options value is not eligible for interest exemption, and interest will accrue accordingly.

    Spot Margin Trading enabled

    In Spot Margin Trading, actual Spot assets are borrowed to place orders. Regardless of whether the order is filled, any borrowed amount is subject to interest.

     

     

     

    Interest Calculation 

    Formula:

    Hourly Interest Charge = Borrowed Amount × Hourly Interest Rate

     

    The interest rate for UTA is not fixed and may change in real time. You can check the hourly borrow rate here.

     

     

    Example

    If the borrowed amount is 10,000 USDC and the annual interest rate is 5%:

    Hourly Interest = 10,000 × 5% ÷ 365 ÷ 24 = 0.05707763 USDC

     

     

     

    Maximum Interest-Free Range

    Only borrowings that arise from unrealized losses in Perpetual and Expiry trading may qualify for interest exemption, provided the unrealized loss amount remains within the maximum interest-free range. Once the unrealized loss amount exceeds this range, interest will be charged on the entire borrowed amount.

     

    The UTA offers an interest-free borrowing limit, which varies by VIP tier.

     

    VIP Tier

    USDT Max. Interest-Free Range

    USDC Max. Interest-Free Range

    Non-VIP

    30,000

    15,000

    VIP 1-3

    50,000

    25,000

    VIP 4-5, Supreme VIP, Pro 1-6 

    70,000

    35,000

     

    Notes: 

    — The maximum interest-free range is calculated per account, which means each Main Account or Subaccount has its own separate quota.

    — Parameters may be adjusted based on market conditions. Bybit will notify users in advance if changes occur.

     

     

    Example

    Trader A has an unrealized loss of 20,000 USDC. Their wallet balance includes 10,000 USDC and 0.2 BTC valued at $20,000, resulting in a borrowed amount of 10,000 USDC.

     

    If Trader A's interest-free range for USDC is 15,000 USDC, the unrealized loss exceeds the range, and the entire borrowed amount of 10,000 USDC will accrue interest.

     

     

     

     

     

    Penalty Interest

    Penalty interest will be charged when your borrowed amount exceeds 100% of your maximum borrowing limit.

     

    Formula

    Hourly Penalty Interest = Borrowed Amount × Hourly Interest Rate × (Utilization Ratio)3

     

    Example

    If the borrowed amount is 3,000,000 USDC and the maximum borrowing limit is 2,500,000 USDC with an hourly interest rate of 0.0001%, the penalty interest is calculated as follows: 

     

    Utilization Ratio = 3,000,000 ÷ 2,500,000 = 120%

    Hourly Penalty Interest = 3,000,000 × 0.0001% × (1.2)3 = 5.184 USDC

     

     

     

     

     

    Repayment

    Manual Repayment

    You can manually repay your borrowings on UTA using the methods below:

     

    1. Using the Repay button: Click the Repay button on the UTA Assets page to manually repay your Spot and Derivatives liabilities. If your repayment involves converting margin assets into the borrowed currency, a 0.1% handling fee will apply based on the total repayment amount.

      Please note that manual repayment will be temporarily unavailable from the 4th minute to the 5th minute and 30 seconds of each hour (e.g., 8:04 to 8:05:30, 9:04 to 9:05:30, and so on) while the system processes interest calculations. For more details, please check here

     

    1. Deposits or transfers: Deposit or transfer assets in the borrowed currency to the UTA. The borrowed amount will be deducted from your wallet balance immediately. This method only applies to borrowed amounts arising from Derivatives liabilities.

     

    1. Selling assets: Sell margin assets via Spot Trading into the borrowed currency. However, if your Initial Margin Ratio (IMR) reaches 100%, you won't be able to place orders to buy assets with a lower collateral value ratio using assets with a higher one. You can check the collateral value ratio here. This method only applies to borrowed amounts arising from Derivatives liabilities. 

     

     

     

    Auto-Repayment

    When auto-repayment is triggered, the system will convert other positive margin assets into the borrowed currency based on the index price to repay the loan. 

     

    Auto-Repayment Scenarios

    Auto-repayment will be triggered in the following scenarios:

     

    1. Maintenance Margin Rate (MMR) reaches or exceeds 100%

    • The system will partially repay the liabilities until the MMR returns to the 85%‒90% range.

    • If partial repayment fails to bring the MMR within this range, a full repayment will be executed. 

    • A 2% handling fee will apply on top of the repayment amount.

    • Within 15 minutes of a margin asset being delisted, if the user's MMR reaches or exceeds 100%, the delisted margin asset will be included in the auto-repayment process.

    • Within 15 minutes of a margin asset being delisted, if the user's MMR reaches or exceeds 160%, the delisted margin asset will be prioritized for conversion into higher collateral value assets before the Options position is taken over.

     

    2. Exceeding Maximum Borrowing Limit

    • When the maximum borrowing limit is reached, the auto-repayment process will be triggered until the borrowed amount is reduced to 90% of the maximum borrowing limit.

    • A 1% handling fee will apply on top of the repayment amount.

    • Among all accounts with borrowings, the system will prioritize repayment in descending order, starting from accounts with the highest borrowed amount to those with the lowest.

     

     

    Notes: 

    Bybit supports a delayed auto-repayment mechanism, which only applies when auto-repayment is triggered by exceeding the maximum borrowing limit.

    — When your borrowing limit reaches 100%, the system will send an email notification as a reminder.

    — If your borrowed amount falls below 100%, your account will return to a safe level.

    — If your borrowed amount stays at or above 100% for 24 consecutive hours or reaches 200% (whichever comes first), the system will trigger auto-repayment.

    — This mechanism does not apply when the MMR (Maintenance Margin Ratio) reaches or exceeds 100%.

     

     

     

    Auto-Repayment Process

    The auto-repayment proceeds as follows:

     

    Step 1: The system will cancel active orders from Spot/Spot Margin Trading (e.g., limit orders or TP/SL orders) and Buy Options that occupy borrowed assets to free up frozen balances.

     

    Step 2: Assets with positive equity and without any borrowed amount under the UTA will be automatically converted into the assets in liability for repayment, without canceling the active Spot/Spot Margin or Buy Options order. Assets will be sold according to the liquidity sequence stated here.

     

    Step 3: The system will cancel active Spot/Spot Margin and Buy Options orders to free up frozen balances of other coins following the liquidity sequence, which will then be automatically exchanged into the assets in liability for repayment.

     

     

    Notes: 

    — The auto-repayment process will proceed through Step 1 to 3 until the borrowed amount is reduced to 90% of the maximum borrowing limit, or until the MMR returns to the 85%–90% range.
    — If a trader has borrowings in multiple coins, the system will prioritize repayment of non-stablecoins first according to the liquidity sequence, followed by stablecoins.

    — If the MMR remains above 100% after the auto-repayment process, liquidation of the Derivatives position will take place. For more details, please refer to Trading Rules: Liquidation Process (Unified Trading Account).

     

     

     

     

     

    View Borrowing, Interest and Repayment History

    Borrow History

    On the app, go to Assets → Unified Trading Account, then tap the History icon Borrows to view your borrow history.

     

     

    Under Borrow History, you can view borrowing details for each coin, including the total borrowed amount, hourly interest rate, maximum borrowing amount, utilization ratio and interest-free borrowed amount.

    • Maximum Borrowing Amount: The maximum borrowing limit for each coin. This limit is shared across your Main Account and Subaccounts.

    • Utilization Ratio: The ratio showing how much of your total borrowing limit (across all accounts) has been used.

    • Borrowed Amount (Interest-Free): The portion of the borrowed amount arising from unrealized losses that is exempt from interest charges.

     

     

     

    Interest Record and Repayment History

    On the app, go to Assets → Unified Trading AccountTransaction Log and filter the respective transaction types.

     

     

    For more details on how to view your repayment history, refer to this article.

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