What is the Bybit Unified Trading Account and how does it work?

The Unified Trading Account (UTA) is an all-in-one Bybit account that supports multiple trading products. Within your UTA, collateral and risk management across positions depends upon the selected margin mode, providing flexibility to plan your trading activity. In this article, we cover UTA mechanics, core account balance measures and platform navigation.

Key Takeaways:

• Bybit’s Unified Trading Account (UTA) consolidates supported trading products into a single account, which reduces manual asset transfers between separate accounts.

• Your active margin mode and custom collateral settings control the way that assets back your trades and share risk across positions.

• Wallet Balance, Equity, Available Balance and Transferable Amount are indicators within your UTA that serve different purposes, while margin metrics depend upon the selected mode.

UTA explained: How it works and why it matters

Bybit’s UTA brings Spot trading, Spot Margin trading, Perpetuals, Futures, Inverse contracts and Options into one trading account, reducing the need to move assets between separate trading accounts. How those assets support your positions depends on your selected margin mode and collateral settings.

Your Funding Account remains separate from your UTA, and is used for fiat and crypto deposits, withdrawals, P2P trading and Earn products. You can move funds from your Funding Account to your UTA before you use them for active trading.

Under Cross Margin and Portfolio Margin modes, eligible collateral assets and unrealized derivatives profits can support positions across different products, though this flexibility comes with risk. Losses in one position or product can reduce your available collateral and affect your other collateralized assets. They can also trigger account-level liquidation. 

The platform evaluates assets you use as collateral in USD terms. It bases the valuation on index prices and collateral value ratios. The valuation in USD is notional, and is used for performance and balance tracking purposes. It does not mean, however, that the platform sells your assets or converts them into USD. 

Understanding your UTA balances

Your displayed relevant balances differ based on the specific metric used, as each key metric calculates asset valuation, profit and loss (P&L) or margin differently.

Margin Balance is used under Cross Margin and Portfolio Margin, where eligible collateral is valued in USD and adjusted by applicable collateral value ratios. Unrealized derivatives P&L, liabilities and, under Portfolio Margin, Options value can also affect the calculation.

Under Isolated Margin, margin is handled separately for each settlement asset or position instead. The Transfer window shows the actual amount you can move out of your UTA.

For detailed balance definitions, see Trading Terms and Formulas in Unified Trading Account.

Margin modes in UTA

UTA offers three margin modes: Isolated Margin, Cross Margin and Portfolio Margin. The mode you select applies globally across your entire account.

Isolated Margin isolates risk per position, so losses in one trade don’t affect the rest of your account balance. Meanwhile, Cross Margin and Portfolio Margin share your total collateral across positions. Unrealized profits can support other orders, but all of your collateral assets potentially face account-level liquidation. Portfolio Margin calculates net risk exposure across your portfolio positions to optimize margin requirements, while Cross Margin offsets profits and losses across positions. 

Switching margin modes requires you to meet specific criteria, such as having no active open orders or positions under certain configurations. Check the margin mode switching requirements before making changes. 

Navigating the UTA on the Bybit App and website

On the Bybit App

1. Open the Bybit App, tap on Assets in the bottom navigation bar and select Unified Trading to view your balances.

2. If required, tap on Transfer on this page to move funds between your Funding Account and your UTA.

3. To view or change your Margin mode, tap on Trade in the bottom navigation bar, then tap on MM in the top-right corner.

4. On the UTA Assets page, you can tap on the collateral settings icon to modify your collateral options. You can also review your borrowing and account history by tapping on the history icon (indicated) in the top-right corner of the page.

On the Bybit website

1. Log in to the Bybit website, hover over the Assets tab in the top navigation area and select Unified Trading Account to view your balances.

2. On the main UTA Assets dashboard, you can use the Transfer button to move funds between your Funding Account and UTA, view and change your active Margin mode using the margin mode selector, access your borrowing and transaction history from History Records, and modify collateral settings by clicking on the icon next to the Used As Collateral column.

Find more answers on related questions by reviewing our Unified Trading Account FAQ and collateral and borrowable assets list.

Borrowing and risks in UTA

Borrowing can happen manually or automatically in supported UTA scenarios. Auto Borrow may be triggered when your available balance is insufficient for a transaction or when certain derivatives activity creates a shortfall. You can also borrow manually through Spot Margin trading or the UTA Assets page.

Borrowing creates liabilities that may incur interest, depending on the borrowing type and applicable terms. You can repay liabilities manually using the Repay button on the UTA Assets page. Spot liabilities require manual repayment, while Derivatives liabilities can also be repaid automatically in supported cases, such as when assets are transferred into the UTA. See the borrowing and repayment guide for details.

Market price fluctuations and collateral value ratio haircuts change collateral valuation, which affects your total account margin. In Isolated Margin, liquidation is triggered at the position level when Mark Price reaches Liquidation Price. It terminates only that position. In Cross Margin and Portfolio Margin, liquidation triggers at the account level when maintenance margin rate (MMR) reaches 100%. The platform then liquidates assets to cover your total account liabilities. Liquidation scope, therefore, depends upon your margin mode.

UTA FAQ

Is Margin Balance the same as the coins I own? No. Margin Balance is the amount you can use as margin after the platform applies collateral value ratios to your wallet balance. It is not the actual USD amount in your account, and is not an equivalent of raw coin holdings.

Can I transfer unrealized profits out of my UTA? No. Unrealized profits can offset losses or support new position margin, but you cannot transfer them out until you close your positions and realize the profits.

Can I choose which assets serve as collateral? Yes, for supported assets under Cross Margin and Portfolio Margin. Some assets, including USDT, USDC and BYUSDT, automatically serve as collateral and can’t be disabled. Other assets can generally be turned on or off, subject to borrowing and account-risk restrictions.

Check the current collateral settings restrictions before making changes.

The bottom line

Bybit’s UTA provides operational efficiency by unifying Spot and Derivatives trading within one collateralized structure. Shared collateral increases capital flexibility, but requires active monitoring to manage account-level liabilities and liquidation risks. Review the UTA Assets page and consult dedicated Bybit guides before you adjust margin modes or collateral configurations. Start with our guides to using UTA for effective risk management and managing funds in your UTA.

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