Margin Call
A demand to add collateral when a leveraged position's losses approach your margin — ignore it and you're liquidated.
A margin call is the warning that a leveraged position’s losses have eroded your margin toward the maintenance minimum: add collateral or reduce the position, or the exchange will liquidate it for you. In fast crypto markets, the window between margin call and liquidation can be minutes or seconds.
The phrase “getting margin called” is trader shorthand for the moment leverage turns against you. Crypto’s 24/7 volatility makes margin calls especially unforgiving — there’s no market close to pause the bleeding, and a sharp overnight move can liquidate a position before you ever see the alert. It’s the mechanical reason over-leveraged accounts reliably get wiped out.