Key facts
- Treat margin as the amount you accept losing in full.
- Positions cannot be topped up; plan size and leverage before you open.
- Liquidation forfeits the whole margin, even just past the trigger.
- Profits may be paid with a delay if the payout queue is active.
1. Size by what you can lose
Liquidation takes the entire margin, so the margin is your real stake. A common rule is to risk no more than 1–2% of your trading balance per position. With a $500 balance that is $5–10 of margin, which is enough for a $500–$10,000 position at 100x–1000x.
2. Know your liquidation distance before you click
The terminal shows the estimated liquidation price for every order. Compare it with how much the market normally moves in the time you expect to hold. Use the calculator to try different leverage levels.
| Leverage | $10 margin buys | Move that liquidates | BTC at $80,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10x | $100 | ≈ 9.96% | ≈ $7,965 |
| 50x | $500 | ≈ 1.95% | ≈ $1,562 |
| 100x | $1,000 | ≈ 0.95% | ≈ $762 |
| 500x | $5,000 | ≈ 0.15% | ≈ $122 |
| 1000x | $10,000 | ≈ 0.052% | ≈ $42 |
Long positions, using the current liquidation buffer of about 0.048%. Shorts are almost identical in the other direction. Note that $10 at 10x or 50x is below the $500 minimum position size, so in practice you would use more margin at low leverage.
3. Lower leverage is the only stop-loss you get
Papertrade positions cannot be modified: you cannot add margin to push back liquidation, and there are no stop orders. Your choice of leverage at open is the only thing that decides how much room the trade has. When in doubt, use less.
4. Split instead of stacking
Several small positions opened at different prices behave better than one large one. Each is isolated, so one liquidation does not touch the others, and you can close them one at a time to take profit in stages.
5. Stay out around big news
Inflation reports, central-bank decisions, ETF headlines and exchange incidents can move BTC and ETH several tenths of a percent in seconds. At 500x–1000x that is an instant liquidation.
6. Take profits deliberately
A 0.1% move is +100% on margin at 1000x, and it can reverse just as fast. Decide your exit before you enter. Remember that winning closes on very small moves keep a smaller share of the raw gain, and that if the payout queue is active, some profit may be paid later.
7. Be careful on weekends and quiet hours
During weekends and other quiet hours the protocol uses a slightly stricter payout curve on small winning moves. Thin markets can also make the mid price jumpier.
8. Set a daily loss limit
Decide in advance how many liquidations you will accept in a day, and stop when you hit it. Withdraw profits regularly so they are not exposed to the next trade.
9. Protect your trading browser
The session key in your browser can trade on your account. Do not trade on shared devices, keep your browser and wallet extensions up to date, and revoke the key if you think the device is compromised.
If you are trading to win back losses, stop. Leverage magnifies emotional decisions as much as price moves. Only trade money you can afford to lose.
Try it with a small size first
Connect a wallet, deposit at least 10 USDC and start with low leverage.