How to Leverage Trade Cryptocurrency

Most people that use BlockFi and Celsius for loans are not interested in selling their Bitcoin because they believe its value will increase long term. These platforms offer Bitcoin and Ethereum investors the ability to unlock the value of their assets without having to sell. If you want to privatize your data and hide your IP address from hackers, using a virtual private network (VPN) is a superb choice.

Be careful when using leverage to trade crypto, as it may lead to substantial losses if the market moves against your position. In crypto trading, leverage refers to using borrowed capital to make trades. Leverage trading can amplify your buying or selling power, allowing you to trade larger amounts. So even if your initial capital is small, you can use it as collateral to make leverage trades. Bybit is a crypto derivatives-only exchange that offers some of the most innovative charting features and is a top 5 crypto derivatives exchange by volume. The platform supports trading inverse perpetual and Tether (USDT) perpetual futures contracts.

Crypto Leverage Trading in Long and Short Positions

A key aspect of cryptocurrencies is their independence from central powers, making them resistant to government intervention and control. It has a total trade volume of over 600 billion, and over 10 million people use KuCoin. Since Kraken is based in the USA, you won’t ever face legal issues like a sudden account ban. The only drawback of using Kraken is that it charges higher fees than other exchanges. For instance, if an exchange is offering a 10x margin and you have $100 in your account.

Before you can borrow funds and start trading with leverage, you need to deposit funds into your trading account. The collateral required depends on the leverage you use and the total value of the position you want to open (known as margin). While leverage trading can increase your potential profits, it is also subject to high risk — especially in the volatile crypto market.

How trading crypto with leverage works

So, be mindful of your funds and make sure you don’t end up with a negative balance. You shouldn’t get too spooked by the leverage trading risks, of course. Being rational and reasonable are the core qualities of any good trader, so you should have your plans from B to Z ready before you even open your first position. Essentially, perpetual trading with leverage could probably be considered one of the riskiest means of trading.

• Paper trading for a while will make you see how leverage works, and with that, you will be able to know what amount of leverage you are comfortable using.
• As it was said, this also applies to American citizens who live outside the USA.
• On other assets, leverage varies depending on the chosen asset and the tier of the user.
• First and the most prominent among them is undoubtedly the Kraken, which offers 5x leverage for all trading pairs.
• The exchange sets itself apart from other exchanges by offering its customers a wide range of indices and leveraged tokens, which you can trade in the futures or options market.

On the other hand, this platform has a limited offer of trading pairs. Margin trading represents the borrowing of money from brokerage companies to trade. At the very beginning, traders have to deposit money that acts as collateral for the loan and then regularly pay interest. This loan assistance increases the purchasing power of the trader. Even if you’re only just getting started with trading, you probably already know about the spot market.

Best Crypto Exchanges for Leverage Trading

The two orders are then matched, and the transaction is executed almost instantaneously. Of course, there are some more nuances to this way of trading, and you can learn all about it in our guide to spot trading. With the key aspects of what is leverage trading crypto out of the way, let’s take a look at how this strategy plays out in the context of spot and derivatives markets. Find out what is leverage trading crypto like – from how it’s used in the markets to managing the risks.

They are forbidden for US residents even if they live outside the borders of the USA. Speaking of safer trading decisions – if you’re just getting started, start slow. Sure, if you’re trading perpetuals, it could be tempting to test out the 100x leverage pair.

Trading Cryptocurrency on Margin

Nevertheless, they will instead earn a rebate for providing liquidity. ApeX Pro is a decentralized and non-custodial DEX trading exchange and app that stands out – for its competitive fee structure. With maker and taker fees of 0.02% and 0.05% respectively, it offers a cost-effective trading experience for its users.

• As you can see, perpetual contract trades are even higher-risk than margin.
• From a technical point of view, VPNs hide your IP address and your location.
• The exchange supports over 50 altcoins, and it offers an institutional-grade trading terminal.
• The exchange supports futures trading, spot trading, MOVE options, Calendar spreads, and interest rate swaps.

A 20x leverage means your broker will multiply your account deposit by 20 when trading on leverage. For example, if you deposit $500 in your wallet and open a BTC position with a 20x leverage, your $500 turns into $10,000. Apart from that, Binance has put up a Margin Insurance Fund to secure its liquidity. If you go bankrupt during leverage trading and your funds are insufficient to clear your debts, then the platform clears your debt using the insurance fund. On the other hand, high percentage losses require exponentially high percentage gains to regain your original capital.

How to pick the best crypto exchange for yourself?

On top of that, you get 24/7 customer support and enterprise-grade security. One of the main advantages of using Kraken is its powerful trading platform. Besides, Kraken has a separate terminal for futures trading that encompasses more advanced trading features. On ByBit, you will be able to open positions with a margin and then use leverage to increase the capital. Also, it comes with lots of features such as hedge mode, maintenance margin, conditional mode, etc. Plus, it offers a seamless experience to margin long or short coins like Bitcoin, Ethereum, EOS, and others up to 100x leverage.

• Crypto traders who want to give it a try in margin trading and do not have enough funds can borrow money from a broker to invest in the business of trading financial assets.
• As of August 2021, the market cap of the entire crypto space sat at more than $2 trillion.
• Trading with high leverage might require less starting capital but it increases your liquidation risk.
• Longing is basically betting on the fact that an asset is going up whereas shorting is the complete opposite, you bet that asset is going down.

Founded in 2018, Bybit quickly became one of the fastest-growing crypto trading platforms. When it comes to withdrawals, ApeX Pro offers a rapid withdrawal option for a fee of $5, ensuring quick access to funds. Alternatively, slow withdrawals using L2 technology can take up to 4 hours for processing. Furthermore, the exchange has introduced readers a commission-based referral program, enabling users to earn a 5% commission on the trading fees of their referred users. As you can see, while crypto leverage trading in the USA is not unheard of, it can be very difficult to access. So, make sure to familiarize yourself with the policies and requirements before you start.

Leverage trading can be difficult for new traders

If you want to achieve that, there are numerous online courses to learn from. Moreover, novices can start by trading on demos to learn basic skills and how to deal with emotions. Apart from derivatives trading, Phemex offers instant crypto buying, spot trading, contract trading, and crypto staking. In either case, as with all modes of trading, the final goal of leverage trading is to increase your total asset value. By employing leverage, experienced traders can gain an advantage if their positions play out the way they’d expected. So, for many, the answer to what is leverage trading in crypto is – a good strategy to increase your profits.

However, when it comes to figuring out what is leverage trading in crypto, you cannot overlook the hazards of this instrument. Whether you’re trading margin or perpetual contracts, leverage can turn into a dangerous game. It’s a different game when it comes to perpetual contracts, though. So, don’t be surprised if you come across numbers like 100x, 125x, or even 200x leverage. As you can see, perpetual contract trades are even higher-risk than margin.

How Binance Margin Works

KuCoin is one of the rare crypto exchanges that still allow U.S. traders to access its platform, but it is risky to do so. First, if the U.S. finds that you are using unlicensed exchanges, your assets could get frozen. Next, KuCoin doesn’t provide the same support to accounts without KYC in the case of fraud, theft, or hacking. The crypto leverage trading USA regulations are also known for being pretty strict. Of the very short list of platforms that offer leverage trading worldwide, the US-based list is even shorter – Kraken is the prominent name here. This is something that the platform itself might help you with, too.

When compared to conventional trading, you can make significantly bigger gains with a far smaller investment. You only pay a small fraction of the asking price for a position rather than the entire amount. On the flip side, your position would be down $2,000 if Bitcoin’s price drops by 20%. With your meager – $1,000 in collateral, a 20% drop results in the position being closed out before the 20% swing has fully occurred. In this case, you will be fully liquidated and your balance goes to zero. Click ‘Borrow/Repay’, enter the amount you wish to borrow, note the hourly interest rate, and click ‘Confirm Borrow’.

Example of Bitcoin Trading With Leverage

It offers 10x leverage on margin trading and 100x leverage on futures trading. It’s worth noting that leveraged trading is a risky strategy and should only be attempted by experienced traders who understand the risks involved. One of the biggest risks when it comes to what is leverage trading in crypto is forced liquidation.

• Some trading platforms even offer a risk-management strategy called negative balance protection.
• First, your margin requirement, or how much of your own capital you need to put down to open a position.
• U.S. residents can use some of KuCoin‘s services even though this exchange is not registered and regulated in the U.S.
• If the share price drops by 50%, it means that you have lost all the money, plus commissions and interest.
• Assuming the current BTC price is $40,000, you would have borrowed 0.25 BTC and sold it.
• Felix Kuester works as an analyst and content manager for Captainaltcoin and specializes in chart analysis and blockchain technology.

Leverage trading has many advantages over conventional trading, but there are also some disadvantages about which you should know beforehand. If you enjoy getting to grips with crypto and blockchain, check out our School of Block video. If you want to learn how to approach crypto in general, this episode of School of Block will do the job. If your leverage is 10x, then 1/10 is 10% and thus a 10% movement in the opposite direction your liquidate your position. A crypto wallet is necessary if you want to protect your crypto tokens and holdings from hackers.