CashboardGlossary · Perps
What is the mark price?
Mark price is the reference price a derivatives venue uses to value open positions and trigger liquidations, instead of the last traded price.
How does the mark price work?
The last trade on one order book can jump on a single large market order or a thin moment in the book. If venues liquidated on that number, a two-second wick could wipe out traders while the wider market never moved. Mark price is there to stop that.
Each venue defines mark its own way. Most blend an external index, built from several spot exchanges or an oracle, with something from their own book, such as the mid price or a smoothed premium. The result follows the market closely and ignores short spikes on one venue. Unrealized PnL and margin requirements are calculated from it.
Imagine a thin perp market printing a trade at $92 while the index and mark sit near $100. A long with a liquidation price of $95 survives, because liquidation is checked against mark, not against the $92 print. The wick shows on the chart. It never touches the margin balance.
Also called: fair price.
Where does the mark price show up in Cashboard?
Perps positions shows the entry and mark price of each open position on a watched Hyperliquid address, plus the distance from mark to the liquidation price in percent. Paper trading marks its simulated stock and perp positions to live prices too, so a paper PnL moves the way a real one would, just without fees or funding.
Frequently asked questions
Why is mark price different from the last traded price?
The last price is one trade on one order book. On most venues, mark price blends an index built from other markets with the venue's own book, so a single large order barely moves it. Liquidations and unrealized PnL are calculated from mark.
Related terms
Last reviewed . Market data in Cashboard comes from the providers named on each widget and may be delayed. Nothing here is financial advice.