Isolated Pools

Drift's isolated pools allow users to trade or provide liquidity with specific risks confined to a particular pool. Each isolated pool is segregated, meaning that the risks associated with one pool do not impact other pools on Drift.

What's the difference between Isolated and Cross-collateral pools?

Cross collateral (default accounts for Drift) shares a single collateral pool across multiple positions, allowing all assets in the account to back each other. This method spreads risk and increases margin efficiency but exposes the entire account to liquidation if risks are not managed. Isolated pools, however, keep collateral and risk confined to a single pool or position. Losses or liquidation in one pool do not impact the rest of the platform or the user's other positions.

Feature	Cross Collateral	Isolated Pools
Risk Sharing	Shared across all positions	Confined to a single pool
Account Health	Determined by total account collateral	Customized per pool
Liquidation Impact	All positions at risk if account health fails	Only the affected pool is liquidated
Margin Efficiency	High (collateral supports all positions)	Low (collateral is pool-specific)
Use Case	Suitable for traders/stakers managing multiple positions and want to optimise capital efficiency	Ideal for stakers/traders who are only focused on one position and containing risk to a limited set of tokens

Examples and workflows below demonstrate how the two models differ in practice.

1

Cross Collateral Pool Example

• Deposit Collateral: Deposit 1000 JLP into your account.

• Open a BTC Long Position: Use some of the JLP as collateral to open a leveraged SOL long position.

• Open a USDC Borrow Position: Simultaneously borrow USDC using the same JLP collateral.

• Risk Management:

  • Both positions rely on the same JLP collateral.

  • If JLP's value drops significantly, both the SOL and USDC positions may face liquidation.

2

Isolated Pool Example

• Choose an Isolated Pool: Select a JLP/USDC pool.

• Deposit Collateral: Deposit 1000 JLP into the pool.

• Open a Leveraged Position: Borrow USDC and swap into JLP. Borrow more USDC based on the new deposit of JLP and swap into JLP, creating a leveraged exposure to JLP. You can now earn higher yield on your initial deposit of 1000 JLP.

• Risk Management:

  • If JLP’s price drops, only this pool’s position is at risk of liquidation.

  • Other pools or positions you hold remain unaffected. At the same time, you won’t be able to use the token deposited in the isolated pool for other positions.

  • Isolated pools can potentially offer higher LTV as the risk exposure is contained.

Supported Pools

Pool	Assets
JLP Isolated Pool	JLP, USDC

How to deposit into an isolated pool

1

Find the isolated pool markets

Go to the bottom of the borrow/lend page.

2

Select Deposit into the isolated pool

3

Enter the amount and create the isolated pool account

Enter the amount, select deposit and create account.

You have now created an Isolated pool account, and can borrow and lend within the isolated pool.

Reminder: Please take note of account health and the risk of liquidation while exposed to isolated pools.