Kraken Futures Risk

Funding Rate Monitoring

Check historical funding rates:

kraken futures historical-funding-rates PF_XBTUSD -o json 2>/dev/null

Funding rates are periodic payments between longs and shorts. Positive rates mean longs pay shorts; negative rates mean shorts pay longs. High sustained rates increase carry cost for directional positions.

Use funding rates to:

• Estimate holding cost for a position over time.
• Identify crowded trades (extreme funding rates).
• Time entries when funding flips direction.

Account and Margin Health

Check account balances and margin:

kraken futures accounts -o json 2>/dev/null

Key fields: availableFunds, initialMargin, maintenanceMargin, unrealizedFunding, pnl.

Margin ratio = maintenanceMargin / equity. When this approaches 1.0, liquidation risk is high.

Position Monitoring

View all open positions:

kraken futures positions -o json 2>/dev/null

Stream position updates in real time:

kraken futures ws open-positions -o json 2>/dev/null

Monitor P&L and size continuously. Set agent-side thresholds for:

• Maximum unrealized loss per position
• Maximum total portfolio loss
• Maximum position size

PnL Preferences

Check P&L calculation method:

kraken futures pnl-preferences -o json 2>/dev/null

Set preference for a specific symbol:

kraken futures set-pnl-preference PF_XBTUSD FIFO -o json 2>/dev/null

Unwind Queue

Check if any positions are in the unwind queue (approaching liquidation):

kraken futures unwind-queue -o json 2>/dev/null

If positions appear here, the agent should alert immediately and consider reducing exposure.

Pre-Trade Risk Check

Before placing a futures order, always:

1. Check available margin:

   kraken futures accounts -o json 2>/dev/null
   

2. Check current positions:

   kraken futures positions -o json 2>/dev/null
   

3. Check current leverage:

   kraken futures leverage --symbol PF_XBTUSD -o json 2>/dev/null
   

4. Estimate position margin requirement based on order size and leverage.
5. Confirm available funds exceed the required margin with a safety buffer.

Emergency Procedures

Close all positions:

kraken futures cancel-all -o json 2>/dev/null
# Then close each position with a reduce-only market order
kraken futures order sell PF_XBTUSD <POSITION_SIZE> --reduce-only -o json 2>/dev/null

Dead man's switch:

kraken futures cancel-after 300 -o json 2>/dev/null

Hard Rules

• Never increase leverage without explicit human approval.
• Monitor margin ratio continuously during live sessions.
• Alert when margin ratio exceeds 0.7 (conservative threshold).
• Alert when unrealized loss exceeds a pre-defined stop-loss level.
• Check funding rates before opening new positions to understand carry cost.
• Use --reduce-only when closing positions to prevent accidental reversals.