What Is 10x Leverage?
10x leverage means your position is worth ten times the margin you put up: $100 controls $1,000. Profit and loss are counted on the full $1,000, so a 1% price move changes your margin by 10%. A move of about 9.5% against a long, once maintenance margin is counted, liquidates it.
Last updated · Figures computed from the formulas on the methodology page · Educational, not advice
What does 10x leverage mean?
Leverage is the ratio between the size of your position and the margin that backs it. At 10x the ratio is 10 to 1, so you only post one tenth of the position value. The rest is exposure, not cash: you do not own more coins, you are simply affected by price moves on a bigger amount.
The same ratio works in the other direction for a short. At 10x you profit when the price falls and lose when it rises, again by ten times the percentage move relative to your margin.
How does 10x leverage work?
- You post margin. Say $100 in an isolated position.
- The venue opens a position ten times larger. That is $1,000 of notional. At a BTC price of 82,000 (an example, not a quote) it is about 0.0122 BTC.
- Every price move is applied to $1,000. Up 1% is +$10, down 1% is −$10. Against your $100 margin that is ±10%.
- Losses eat the margin. The venue closes the position, which is liquidation, before the margin is gone completely, so it keeps a small maintenance buffer. On a generic exchange model a long opened at 82,000 liquidates near 74,210, about 9.5% below entry.
- You pay costs on the bigger number. Fees are charged on the $1,000 notional. At an example 0.05% per side that is $0.50 to open and $0.50 to close, or 1% of your $100 margin in a round trip. Perpetual swaps also charge or pay funding on notional while you hold.
How much is $100 with 10x leverage?
$100 at 10x controls a $1,000 position. A +5% move makes $50 (a 50% return on margin), a −5% move loses $50, and a drop of about 9.5% liquidates a long. Fees and funding come on top. The P&L table below shows the same $100 from 2x to 50x.
2x to 50x: position size and distance to liquidation
| Leverage | Position from $100 margin | Position from $1,000 margin | Margin for a $1,000 position | Price move to liquidation (long) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2x | $200 | $2,000 | $500.00 | 49.5% |
| 3x | $300 | $3,000 | $333.33 | 32.8% |
| 5x | $500 | $5,000 | $200.00 | 19.5% |
| 10x | $1,000 | $10,000 | $100.00 | 9.5% |
| 20x | $2,000 | $20,000 | $50.00 | 4.5% |
| 50x | $5,000 | $50,000 | $20.00 | 1.5% |
Assumptions: margin × leverage = position size; liquidation distance = 1 ÷ L − MMR with MMR = min(0.5%, 0.5 ÷ L). Venues with tiered maintenance margin differ, and the same percentage applies to a short in the other direction. Full formulas and data dates: methodology.
Profit and loss on $100 of margin
These are long positions on a $100 margin. Read a column as one price move and see how leverage scales the result. A short makes the same dollars with the signs of the price move reversed.
| Leverage | −10% move | −5% move | −1% move | +1% move | +5% move | +10% move |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2x | −$20.00 | −$10.00 | −$2.00 | +$2.00 | +$10.00 | +$20.00 |
| 3x | −$30.00 | −$15.00 | −$3.00 | +$3.00 | +$15.00 | +$30.00 |
| 5x | −$50.00 | −$25.00 | −$5.00 | +$5.00 | +$25.00 | +$50.00 |
| 10x | Liquidated −$100.00 | −$50.00 | −$10.00 | +$10.00 | +$50.00 | +$100.00 |
| 20x | Liquidated −$100.00 | Liquidated −$100.00 | −$20.00 | +$20.00 | +$100.00 | +$200.00 |
| 50x | Liquidated −$100.00 | Liquidated −$100.00 | −$50.00 | +$50.00 | +$250.00 | +$500.00 |
Assumptions: P&L = margin × leverage × price move. A cell reads "Liquidated" when the adverse move is at least the generic liquidation distance for that leverage, and the loss is capped at the $100 margin. Real fills, fees, funding and slippage change the numbers. Full formulas and data dates: methodology.
5x vs 10x leverage
Doubling leverage doubles both the profit and the loss for a given price move, and roughly halves the room before liquidation: about 19.5% at 5x against 9.5% at 10x. Because a 5x position needs twice the margin for the same size, the real choice is between a bigger position on the same cash and the same position on more cash.
| Per $100 margin | 5x | 10x |
|---|---|---|
| Position from $100 margin | $500 | $1,000 |
| Gain on a +5% move | +$25.00 | +$50.00 |
| Loss on a −5% move | −$25.00 | −$50.00 |
| Price move to liquidation | 19.5% | 9.5% |
| Long liquidation price (entry 82,000) | 66,010 | 74,210 |
Assumptions: generic isolated model, fees and funding ignored, entry is an example and not a live quote. Full formulas and data dates: methodology.
A useful way to compare them: ask how far the price can move against you before you are out. At 5x an ordinary 5% pullback costs 25% of margin. At 10x the same pullback costs 50%, and a second one can end the trade.
What is 20x leverage?
20x is the same idea with a thinner cushion. $100 of margin controls $2,000, each 1% move is ±$20, and a generic long is liquidated after an adverse move of about 4.5%. On a venue that closes positions once 85% of margin is lost, such as the rule modelled for LeverUp, the figure is near 4.25%. That is within the daily range of many crypto assets, which is why stops and position size matter more than the leverage setting.
At 50x the distance to liquidation is only about 1.5%, so spreads, fees and a single wick can decide the outcome.
What leverage does not change
- The risk you choose to take. Position size and stop distance set your loss in dollars. Leverage only sets how much margin that position ties up.
- The price direction. A correct view is worth more with leverage; a wrong one costs more, and costs it faster.
- Funding and fees. They scale with notional, not with your margin.
To pick a size from the loss you can accept, use the position size calculator. To test your own entry, margin and leverage, open the crypto leverage calculator or the liquidation price calculator. If you also hold other funds in the account, cross versus isolated margin decides how much of them backs the trade.
Leverage above 50x
This page stops at everyday leverage up to 50x. Positions at 100x and above leave a cushion of around one percent or less, work differently in practice and are covered separately in What is 1000x leverage? on 1000xleverage.com.
FAQ
What does 10x leverage mean?
Your position is ten times your margin. With $100 of margin you hold a $1,000 position, so a 1% price move is a $10 gain or loss, which is 10% of your margin.
How much is $100 with 10x leverage?
$100 at 10x controls a $1,000 position. A long is liquidated after an adverse move of about 9.5% on the generic model; fees and funding are extra.
Is 10x leverage a lot?
It is moderate by crypto standards and aggressive compared with spot. A 10% adverse move wipes out the margin, and ordinary daily swings in volatile assets can reach several percent, so a stop and a sensible position size still matter.
Is 5x or 10x leverage better?
Neither is better in itself. 5x gives about twice the room before liquidation for the same position size but needs twice the margin. 10x frees cash and doubles the sensitivity to price moves.
What is 20x leverage?
20x controls twenty times your margin: $100 becomes $2,000. Each 1% move is ±$20 and a generic long is liquidated after about 4.5%.
Can you lose more than your margin with 10x leverage?
On isolated margin you normally lose at most the margin assigned to the position, though a fast gap can leave a shortfall on some venues. On cross margin your whole account balance backs the position, so the loss can be larger.