Leverage and margin in crypto futures, explained simply
How leverage multiplies both gains and losses, what margin is, and what liquidation means.
Leverage
Leverage lets you control a position larger than the money you put up. With 5x leverage, a 1% price move changes the value of the position by 5%. Measured against the money you put up as margin, that is a 5% gain or loss.
It works in both directions. A 20% move against a 5x position can wipe out all of its margin.
Margin and liquidation
Margin is the money held back to keep a position open. If losses eat into it far enough, the exchange closes the position by force. That is liquidation, and it usually costs you the whole margin of that position.
With cross margin, all your account balance backs your positions, so one bad trade can use up money meant for others. With isolated margin, each position risks only its own margin.
Why we show percentages of the account
We publish gains and losses as a percentage of the account, not of one position, because that is the number that decides whether an account survives. Our position sizes and limits are our own, and we do not recommend that anyone copy them. This is a record of our own account, not advice. Leveraged trading can lose more than you expect, quickly. Read the risk notice.