Transfers, borrowing and repaying
What each figure in the transfer and borrow/repay windows means, why a transferable amount can be 0, why some routes accept only certain coins, and how manual borrowing and repaying work.
Transfers
A transfer moves assets between accounts and wallets in your own name: between the wallets of one account, between a main account and its sub-accounts, and between a Gate account and Gate CrossEx. Trade doesn’t handle deposits or withdrawals and doesn’t need an API key’s withdrawal permission.
Choose Transfer in the account area of the Trade page, or in an account’s details on the Accounts page. When you open it from the end of a coin’s row, that coin is selected first.
Figures in the transfer window
| Figure | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Transferable | What you can move out of this wallet right now |
| Held | How much of this coin the wallet holds |
| Available after transfer | The available amount on both sides after the transfer, worked out from the quantity you enter |
Every coin with a holding above 0 is listed, and its transferable amount can be 0:
An amount held as position margin can be moved out after you reduce or close the position.
An amount frozen by open orders can be moved out after the orders are cancelled or it is released.
The window says which case applies under the quantity.
Routes that accept only some coins
When an exchange allows only certain coins on a route, the window lists only those coins and says which coins the route takes or excludes. For example, the Gate CrossEx shared margin accepts USDT only. See Connect Gate CrossEx.
Fees and minimum amounts
Where the exchange gives a minimum amount and an estimated fee for a route, the window shows them under the quantity for reference. What arrives is what the exchange actually credits.
Before moving funds out
If the account has combos, moving funds out of the wallet that holds margin reduces the margin available to them, and the window says so. A transfer doesn’t change combo positions.
Transfer result
After you submit, the result appears in the window. While the exchange is still processing, it shows Being processed by the exchange; this will update here once settled.
If the API key lacks a permission the transfer needs, the window names it and links to the exchange to turn it on. For the permissions each exchange needs for transfers, see that exchange’s connection guide.
Borrowing and repaying
Manual borrowing and repaying work per account and per coin: the exchange keeps one liability per account and coin, and what combos borrowed is included. Combos keep borrowing as before: the exchange borrows only the shortfall when a position opens and repays with the closing order. Manual borrowing and repaying don’t go through combos.
Where to start
These entry points open the same window with a different account and coin filled in:
Borrow and Repay on each margin leg in a combo’s borrow panel
Borrow / Repay in the account area of the Trade page, and the end of each coin’s row in its Assets tab
Borrow / Repay in an account’s details, and the end of its asset rows
The end of each row on the Assets page
The buttons appear only when the exchange offers manual borrowing and repaying. Repay appears only when the coin has a liability.
Figures in the borrow and repay window
| Figure | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Account liabilities | The account’s total liability in this coin: borrowed plus unpaid interest |
| Account holdings | How much of this coin the account holds |
| Of which held by combos | How much of it combos on this account bought and hold. Shown only when you repay |
| Max borrowable | The borrowing limit the exchange gives right now |
| Repayable | The smaller of the liability and the holding |
Max in the quantity field fills in the max borrowable when you borrow and the repayable amount when you repay.
Repaying with the coin itself
A repayment uses only the coin you owe, with no conversion: a BTC liability is repaid with the account’s BTC, and USDT isn’t swapped for it. If the account doesn’t hold enough of the coin, buy or transfer it in first, then repay.
Repaying uses up the account’s holding of that coin. If part of it is held by a combo, the exchange will report insufficient balance when that combo sells later. Of which held by combos shows how much that is.
Borrow and repay result
After you submit, the window shows the exchange’s answer right away: the amount borrowed or repaid, or the exchange’s own message if it refuses. If the exchange doesn’t answer, go by the liability on the Assets page. Borrowing and repaying aren’t retried automatically and don’t appear in the activity record.
Accounts without manual borrowing
OKX multi-currency margin and Bitget unified account: the exchange borrows automatically, and buying the coin back offsets the liability automatically.
Gate CrossEx: cross margin borrows per position. The liability sits on the leveraged position and is repaid as you reduce or close it.
Kraken spot margin: borrows when an order is placed and repays in full when the position is closed to zero.