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Crypto Leverage Calculator: Margin, Position Size and Liquidation Move

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Leverage is position size ÷ margin, so any two of margin, position and leverage give the third. $1,000 at 25x is a $25,000 position: a 4% move would take the whole margin, and on Hyperliquid BTC the venue liquidates you after −2.78%, because it keeps a 1.25% maintenance margin. Below, see the largest position your margin can open on Hyperliquid, Lighter, Aster and edgeX (their real tier tables), and the liquidation move at every leverage up to each venue’s cap.

By · Published · margin and leverage rules checked against the Hyperliquid, Lighter, Aster and edgeX docs and APIs on October 1, 2026 · How we verify

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Account (optional): effective leverage

Result

Position size (notional)

$25,000

$1,000 × 25x = $25,000 · about 0.3046 BTC at $82,073

Price move to liquidation (long, isolated)

−2.78%

A −4% move would take 100% of the margin; liquidation comes first because the venue keeps a maintenance margin of 1.25% of the position ($313).

Max leverage at this size (Hyperliquid BTC)

40x

Your 25x is within the limit. Tier 1 of 2: positions up to $150M.

Effective account leverage

25x

Open positions $25,000 ÷ account equity $1,000. A cross account holding only BTC on Hyperliquid is liquidated at about 80x effective leverage; here that is a −2.78% move.

$1,000 at 25x is a $25,000 position; on Hyperliquid BTC a −2.78% move liquidates it (−4% would wipe the margin).

Open this position with the leverage you chose

Hyperliquid sets leverage per market (BTC up to 40x) and shows the margin and liquidation price before you confirm. Code HOLYGRAIL takes 4% off your trading fees on your first $25M of volume; it can only be added before an account passes $10,000 of volume, so join through the link first.

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Same margin on each venue

VenueMax leverageMax positionLiquidation at maxLiquidation at yours
Hyperliquid (selected)40x up to $150M$40,000 at 40x−1.27%−2.78%
Lighter50x$50,000 at 50x−0.81%−2.83%
Aster200x up to $400$150,000 at 150x−0.34%−3.69%
edgeX100x up to $1M$100,000 at 100x−0.5%−3.52%

Max position: the largest position your margin opens under each venue’s tiers (the leverage allowed falls as the position grows); liquidation moves for that position and for your own leverage, isolated margin at the BTC reference price (Hyperliquid mark, October 20, 2026 03:53 UTC). Fees and funding are not included.

What each leverage does to your margin

LeveragePositionMargin gone atLiquidation
1x$1,000−100%None
2x$2,000−50%−49.37%
3x$3,000−33.33%−32.49%
5x$5,000−20%−18.99%
10x$10,000−10%−8.86%
20x$20,000−5%−3.8%
25x (yours)$25,000−4%−2.78%
40x$40,000−2.5%−1.27%

Isolated margin of $1,000 on Hyperliquid BTC, opened at the reference price. Rows end at the venue’s top leverage (40x); “not allowed” means the tier for that position size caps leverage lower. Fees and funding are not included.

1. How the leverage calculator works

Leverage is the ratio between the size of a position and the money backing it. On a perpetual futures exchange the position is measured as its notional (coins × mark price, in dollars) and the money as margin. Hyperliquid’s docs define the margin needed to open a position as position size × mark price ÷ leverage; Aster’s use (position size × mark price) ÷ leverage, and Lighter charges position size × mark price × the market's initial margin fraction (1 ÷ leverage). All three are the same equation, so choose which number you want and enter the other two:

Position size (notional) = margin × leverage
Leverage = position size ÷ margin
Margin required (initial margin) = position size ÷ leverage
Move that wipes the margin = 1 ÷ leverage
Liquidation move (long) = (1 ÷ leverage − maintenance rate) ÷ (1 − maintenance rate)
Effective leverage = all open positions ÷ account equity

position size
coins × price, in dollars (the notional the venue’s tiers use)
margin
the collateral posted for the position (isolated) or the account value backing it (cross)
maintenance rate
the share of the position the venue keeps as a buffer (Hyperliquid: half the initial margin at max leverage, 1.25% on BTC)
short
liquidation move = (1 ÷ leverage − maintenance rate) ÷ (1 + maintenance rate), upward

The calculator then checks the leverage against the venue’s limit for that position size (Hyperliquid, Aster and edgeX lower the maximum as the notional grows; Lighter has one limit per market), finds the largest position your margin can open on each venue, and computes the liquidation move with the venue’s maintenance margin using the same liquidation code as our liquidation price calculator, so both tools agree for the same position.

Related:Crypto Risk Management for Perp Traders: Rules & Checklist

2. Worked examples

$1,000 at 25x (the default)

Margin $1,000 × 25 = $25,000 of BTC. A −4% move would take the margin to zero, but Hyperliquid liquidates a 25x BTC long after −2.78%: the $313 maintenance margin (1.25% of the position) has to stay in the account. The same margin and leverage liquidate at −2.83% on Lighter, −3.69% on Aster and −3.52% on edgeX, whose maintenance rates at this size are lower or higher.

100 USDT at 5x

100 × 5 = 500 USDT of position. A −20% move wipes the margin; Hyperliquid liquidates the isolated long at −18.99%.

Leverage from position and margin

You want $30,000 of BTC and have $2,000 to post: $30,000 ÷ $2,000 = 15x, liquidation −5.49% away on Hyperliquid. Venues set leverage in whole numbers (Hyperliquid: leverage is any whole number from 1x to the asset's maximum, checked only when the position is opened); when the ratio is fractional, round it and the margin you post decides the real figure.

Margin for a position

A $50,000 position at 10x needs $5,000 of initial margin. If you post more (isolated) or hold more in a cross account, liquidation moves farther away; the leverage setting only fixes the minimum.

A 10x ETH short

$1,000 at 10x short ETH on Hyperliquid is $10,000 of position; liquidation comes after a +7.84% rise (maintenance 2% on ETH, whose cap is 25x). For a short the formula divides by 1 + the maintenance rate, so the move is slightly smaller than for a long.

3. Max position by venue: why leverage falls with size

Leverage limits depend on the market and, on three of the four venues, on the size of the position, never on your account balance. With $1,000 of margin the default table shows the effect:

  • Hyperliquid BTC: 40x up to $150M of notional, then 20x (the docs’ margin tiers, read from the live API at build time). Your $1,000 opens at most $40,000.
  • Lighter BTC: one tier at 50x (initial margin fraction 2%), so $1,000 opens $50,000.
  • Aster BTC (Pro): 200x only while the position is under $400, then 150x up to $300k. A 200x headline therefore means a position under $400; $1,000 actually opens $150,000 at 150x. (Aster’s separate 1001x mode has its own rules: see our Aster 1001x leverage guide.)
  • edgeX BTC: 100x up to $1M, 75x up to $3M, then lower across 8 risk tiers; $1,000 opens $100,000.

The full per-market leverage tables, including how many markets each DEX lists at each maximum, are in our DEX max leverage and tiers comparison.

4. Why liquidation comes before a 100% loss

At leverage L, a move of 1 ÷ L against you equals your whole margin: 4% at 25x, 1% at 100x. Venues do not wait for that. They liquidate when the margin left falls to the maintenance margin, the buffer that pays for closing the position in the market. On Hyperliquid it is 50% of the initial margin at the asset’s max leverage (1.25% on BTC); on Aster it is set by the size of the position, not by the leverage you select. The higher the leverage, the bigger the share of your margin that buffer eats: at 100x on edgeX BTC a 1% move wipes the margin but liquidation comes at −0.5%. Hyperliquid’s docs add that leverage is checked only when a position is opened; after that, the trader is responsible for monitoring leverage to avoid liquidation. In practice, every loss shrinks the margin left while the position stays the same size, so the real ratio climbs as the price moves against you; that is why the table shows the move, not just the ratio.

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5. Effective leverage and cross margin

The leverage you set decides how much margin a trade locks. Your real exposure is effective leverage: all open positions ÷ account equity. The default $25,000 trade in a $5,000 account is 5x effective; add $75,000 of other positions and it is 20x. Hyperliquid liquidates a cross account when the account value (with unrealized PnL) falls below the maintenance margin rate times the total open notional, so an account holding only BTC goes at about 80x effective leverage (1 ÷ 1.25%). In that $5,000 account the $25,000 long survives a −18.99% move; with the extra positions in the same direction, only −3.8%. In cross mode, the liquidation price is independent of the leverage setting (it depends on the account value). Open the “Account” section of the calculator to enter your own equity and positions.

6. Venue rules the calculator applies

VenueMax leverage (BTC · ETH · SOL · HYPE)BTC maintenance, first tierHow BTC leverage falls with size
HyperliquidBTC 40x · ETH 25x · SOL 20x · HYPE 10x1.25%2 tiers: 40x up to $150M, 20x above
LighterBTC 50x · ETH 50x · SOL 25x · HYPE 20x1.2%One tier at any size
AsterBTC 200x · ETH 200x · SOL 100x · HYPE 300x0.25%9 tiers: 200x up to $400, 150x up to $300k …
edgeXBTC 100x · ETH 100x · SOL 75x · HYPE 30x0.5%8 tiers: 100x up to $1M, 75x up to $3M …

From our facts registry, each record re-read from the venue’s docs or public API (dates under Sources); Hyperliquid tiers come from the live margin tables at build time. Lighter: max leverage = 1 ÷ the minimum initial margin fraction, maintenance = 60% of it. Aster: Pro-mode brackets with their maintenance amounts (SOL and HYPE every bracket; BTC and ETH up to $480M and $12M, far beyond any retail size). edgeX: every risk tier, one maintenance rate per tier. Liquidation is checked on the mark price (edgeX: the oracle price).

7. Limitations

  • An estimate, not financial advice. Trading fees, funding and slippage are not included; they reduce the margin left and move liquidation closer.
  • Liquidation moves assume a fresh isolated position at the reference price; the effective-leverage move assumes all positions are in the selected market and side.
  • Tier tables change; we re-verify them and Hyperliquid’s are read from its API at every build. Check the venue’s order ticket before trading.
  • Other venues and markets have their own limits; use the liquidation price calculator with a custom maintenance rate for them.

Sources (official pages behind every rate and rule, with the date we last checked them)

FAQ

How do you calculate leverage in crypto?

Leverage = position size ÷ margin. A $30,000 BTC position backed by $2,000 of margin is 15x. Turned around, position size = margin × leverage (5x leverage on $1,000 is $5,000) and margin = position size ÷ leverage. Hyperliquid’s docs put it as initial margin = position size × mark price ÷ leverage, and Aster uses the same formula. On a perp DEX you pick the leverage and the venue locks that initial margin; the position is measured in dollars at the mark price.

What is 20x leverage on $100?

A $2,000 position: $100 × 20. A 5% move against you would take the whole $100, and the venue liquidates a little earlier because it keeps a maintenance margin: on Hyperliquid BTC an isolated 20x long is liquidated after a −3.8% move. Every venue in the calculator allows 20x on BTC at that size.

How risky is 100x leverage?

Very: the position is 100 times your margin, so a 1% move takes all of it, and liquidation comes before that. On edgeX BTC (100x up to $1M) a 100x long is liquidated after only −0.5%, because the 0.5% maintenance margin comes out of that 1%. Hyperliquid caps BTC at 40x and Lighter at 50x, which leave more room.

Which crypto exchange gives 200x leverage?

Of the perp DEXs in this calculator, Aster’s Pro order book lists 200x on BTC and ETH, but only for positions under $400; from there it is 150x up to $300k, so $1,000 at 200x (a $200,000 position) cannot be opened. HYPE goes to 300x under $1,000. Aster’s separate 1001x mode goes up to 1,001x on BTC, with its own liquidation rules (explained in our Aster 1001x guide). edgeX tops out at 100x on BTC, Lighter at 50x and Hyperliquid at 40x.

How much leverage should I use in crypto?

There is no single right number, but the liquidation move tells you what a leverage means. On Hyperliquid BTC an isolated long is liquidated after −32.49% at 3x, −18.99% at 5x, −8.86% at 10x, −2.78% at 25x. A common approach is to pick the stop loss first and make sure liquidation sits well beyond it; our position size calculator does exactly that. Fees and funding move liquidation a little closer. This is an estimate, not financial advice.

How much margin is required for a futures position?

Position size ÷ leverage. A $50,000 position at 10x needs $5,000 of initial margin. The leverage must not exceed the venue’s limit for that size: Hyperliquid BTC allows up to 40x up to $150M of notional, Aster’s BTC brackets allow 200x only under $400, and edgeX BTC drops to 75x above $1M.

Pick the leverage, then the venue

Hyperliquid with HOLYGRAIL (4% off fees on your first $25M) · Lighter (718610TD) up to 50x on BTC · Aster (DTLpLc) · edgeX (HOLYGRAIL).

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Lighter · Aster · edgeX

Disclosure: HOLYGRAIL (Hyperliquid, edgeX), 718610TD (Lighter) and DTLpLc (Aster) are our referral codes; we earn a share of referred accounts’ fees at no extra cost to you. Margin and leverage rules were read from official sources on the dates listed above and change; the calculator is an estimate, not financial advice.