Health factor & liquidation
The health factor (HF) compares what your collateral allows you to borrow with what you have borrowed. Above 1 you are safe from liquidation; below 1 anyone on Lista’s liquidator list can repay part of your debt and take collateral at a discount.
The formulas#
HF = collateral value × LLTV / debt
LTV = debt / collateral value
share of limit = LTV / LLTV = 1 / HF
liquidation price = collateral price / HF
price drop to liq. = (HF − 1) / HF
Collateral is valued with the market’s oracle price in the loan token. Debt includes interest accrued so far, so HF slowly falls over time even if prices don’t move.
Worked example#
Example · 0.5 BTCB collateral, 12,500 USDT borrowed, LLTV 80%
- Collateral value
- 0.5 × $60,000 = $30,000
- Health factor
- 30,000 × 0.80 / 12,500 = 1.92
- LTV
- 12,500 / 30,000 = 41.7% (52.1% of the 80% limit)
- Liquidation price
- $60,000 / 1.92 = $31,250
- BTCB can fall
- 47.9% before liquidation
Share of borrow limit usedHF 1.92 · 52.1%
You
0%HF 2.0HF 1.5HF 1.0 · liquidation
Healthy · HF ≥ 2Moderate · HF 1.5–2At risk · HF < 1.5
The colours in the app#
| Health factor | Label | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| ≥ 2.0 | Healthy | Comfortable buffer. |
| 1.5 – 2.0 | Moderate | Watch prices; consider adding collateral. |
| 1.0 – 1.5 | At risk | Add collateral or repay now. |
| below 1.0 | Critical | Liquidatable. |
The panel shows your current and projected HF for the amount you are entering, and warns when a borrow or withdrawal would leave it below 1.10.
Liquidation#
- A position becomes liquidatable when HF is strictly below 1 (debt above collateral × LLTV).
- Only whitelisted liquidators can act. They repay some of your debt and receive collateral worth more than they repaid.
- On fixed-term markets the broker’s accrued interest counts as debt too.
Liquidation incentive (Moolah)
incentive = min(1.15, 1 / (1 − 0.3 × (1 − LLTV)))
Example · Liquidation at LLTV 80%
- Incentive
- 1 / (1 − 0.3 × 0.2) = 1.0638
- Liquidator repays
- 1,000 USDT of your debt
- Collateral they receive
- ≈ $1,063.80 of BTCB
- Your cost
- ≈ 6.4% of the repaid amount
Two price sources appear in the app: HF uses the market oracle, while the Dashboard’s USD liquidation price uses a market price feed. Near the line, trust the health factor.