Kyan Features: Portfolio Margin

Kyan takes decentralized options trading to the next level with a full service portfolio margin system.

Unlike other platforms that offer limited portfolio margin with clunky execution, restrictive 2- to 3-leg combo trades, and poor user experience, Kyan delivers a fully integrated solution with CEX-like performance. Traders can build strategies with up to 6 legs, enjoy seamless execution with a single approval, and benefit from real-time margin calculations.

Kyan’s portfolio margin isn’t just capital-efficient. It’s designed for speed, flexibility, and the kind of smooth user experience advanced traders expect. Here's how it works and why it stands out.

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What Is Portfolio Margin?

Portfolio margin is a dynamic system used to compute the margin requirements for eligible positions by taking into account the entire portfolio instead of calculating the risk for each trade separately. This approach offers more capital efficiency, flexibility, leverage, and more.

Traditional isolated margin systems require full collateral for each position, regardless of whether those positions reduce risk when viewed together. This often leads to capital inefficiency, especially when using multi-leg strategies like spreads, straddles, or condors.

Kyan’s portfolio margin system changes that by evaluating the total risk of a trader’s portfolio. Instead of siloing each trade, it considers how positions interact and offset one another. For example, a call spread has limited risk by design, and the margin requirement reflects that. The result is significantly lower collateral requirements and more efficient capital usage.

More on how isolated margin and portfolio margin work in crypto options trading in this article.

Understanding IMr and MMr

Kyan’s risk engine calculates the portfolio’s risk based on two key metrics: the Initial Margin ratio (IMr) and the Maintenance Margin ratio (MMr). These ratios help traders understand how much risk their portfolio can handle and how close they are to liquidation.

• IMr measures how much more directional risk the account can take. When it reaches 100%, the account cannot take on additional directional exposure, but traders can still open trades that reduce risk. For example, they might add a leg to complete a spread or close out part of a position.

• MMr indicates how close the account is to liquidation. If MMr exceeds 100%, the account is liquidated to protect the system and maintain solvency. Trading is no longer possible but the user can still make a deposit to decrease risk.

These metrics offer real-time feedback, giving users the insight they need to manage risk proactively while making the most of their capital.

Kyan’s Account System

Kyan’s sub-account and margin account system is designed to give traders maximum flexibility and control over their capital and strategies, without hidden limitations. When a user connects their self-custodial wallet (EOA) to Kyan, a sub-account is automatically created. These sub-accounts function like independent wallets within the Kyan platform, all governed by the same EOA but completely separate in terms of margin requirements and risk exposure.

Each sub-account contains its own set of margin accounts (portfolios) for different assets. This structure ensures that risk is fully isolated at both the sub-account and asset level. Traders can create as many sub-accounts as needed to segment strategies, manage positions independently, or isolate directional bets. Losses or liquidations in one sub-account will never impact the margin or collateral in another, enabling cleaner strategy execution and more efficient risk management. This compartmentalized design is especially valuable for active and professional traders running multiple strategies at the same time.

To learn more about sub-accounts and margin accounts, check out this article.

Combo Trades on Kyan

Kyan’s combo builder works hand in hand with portfolio margin, allowing users to create and execute multi-leg strategies with a single approval. The platform automatically handles margin calculations, leg execution, and capital allocation behind the scenes. Traders get real-time PnL updates, a clear view of their margin usage, and full control over their strategies, all from an intuitive interface.

What makes combo trades on Kyan unique is the customizability. While other exchanges typically only offer simple spreads, our system allows traders to create and execute up to 6 legs at a time, with a single approval, making it a game-changer for trading multi-leg strategies. It’s up to the user how they want to enter and exit: at once, or leg by leg.

Kyan enables hedging with perpetual futures for all orderbook combo strategies, allowing traders to reduce the overall risk of their portfolio. All it takes is a click of a button and the system automatically adds a perp with the opposite directional risk.

Read this article to learn more about multi-leg strategies on Kyan.

Why It Matters for Traders

Kyan’s portfolio margin system is a major step forward for crypto options. By reducing margin requirements without compromising risk controls, it helps traders deploy capital more efficiently, take on more strategic positions, and hedge with greater precision. When paired with perps for delta-neutral setups or used in combo strategies, the benefits multiply.

Check out this article to find out more about the benefits of portfolio margin in options trading.

What Does Kyan Mean for Crypto Options?

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​Kyan will be a significant upgrade for anyone trading decentralized derivatives.

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