Size & practice · Liquidation
Crypto leverage risk: how one trade erases a month.
Leverage puts the liquidation line closer than it feels. At 10×, a move of less than 10% against you can wipe out the margin on an isolated position.
- 01Notice
- 02Check
- 03Test
- 04Size & practice
- 05Review
- Foundations
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- Nothing to steal
Crypto leverage risk is rarely about one bad idea; it is about one oversized position. Leverage is easy to pick and hard to feel, and the liquidation price usually sits closer than traders expect. SuperQuant lets you see the damage on real history, with a free liquidation calculator and the Leverage Lab, before any money is involved.
What it looks like
Most liquidations are a sizing mistake made before the trade.
- Leverage gets picked by feel, not from where the stop is.
- The liquidation price ends up closer than the stop you meant to use.
- Fees and funding quietly eat the position while you wait.
Before fees and funding · exact figures depend on the venue's maintenance tiers
Why it happens
Why the liquidation line surprises people
- CloserThe line moves inEvery step up in leverage moves the liquidation price closer to your entry.
- SizeRisk is size, not leverageFor the same position, the dollar P&L doesn't change with leverage; the margin and liquidation distance do.
- DragHolding costs moneyFees hit entry and exit, and funding is paid or received while the position is open.
In depth
How leverage moves the liquidation price
With isolated margin, your margin is the position size divided by leverage. You are liquidated when losses eat that margin down to the maintenance requirement. At 2× that takes a move of nearly 50%; at 10× a little under 10%; at 20× around 4 to 5%. Fees and funding move the line a little closer still.
Exact figures depend on the venue's maintenance margin tiers, which rise with position size. That is why a large position at the same leverage can sit closer to liquidation than a small one.
In depth
Size from the stop, not from leverage
Disciplined sizing starts with how much of the account you are willing to lose if you are wrong, for example 1%, and where the idea is invalidated. Position size is that risk divided by the stop distance. Leverage only decides how much margin the position ties up.
If the liquidation price would come before your stop, the position is too big or the leverage too high. SuperQuant's free calculators show both numbers side by side, and the Leverage Lab replays the same trade from 1× to 20× on real history.
Worked example
Worked example: one $1,340 position at four leverage levels
Isolated margin, before fees and funding, with a small maintenance margin assumed.
| Position | $1,340 SOL long, stop 3.7% below entry |
|---|---|
| At 2× | Margin ≈ $670 · liquidation ≈ 49% away |
| At 5× | Margin ≈ $268 · liquidation ≈ 19% away |
| At 10× | Margin ≈ $134 · liquidation ≈ 9% away |
| At 20× | Margin ≈ $67 · liquidation ≈ 4% away, close to the stop |
| Loss if the stop is hit | ≈ $50 at every leverage |
Leverage changed the margin and the liquidation distance, not the dollar risk at the stop.
Before and after
What changes with SuperQuant
| Without SuperQuant | With SuperQuant |
|---|---|
| Leverage picked by feel | Size worked out from your stop and risk per trade |
| Liquidation closer than your stop | Liquidation distance shown before you trade |
| Learn by losing | Rehearse 1× to 20× on real history in the Leverage Lab |
| Limits in your head | A written risk policy for exposure and drawdown |
The SuperQuant solution
Sizing and practice tools that show the damage first.
See what leverage really does on real history, rehearse the trade with paper money, and write limits you promise to keep.
/paper · daily recapClosed net = gross + funding − fees, plus open mark-to-market, so you can see exactly what costs did to a trade.Step by step
How it works
- Start from the stopDecide where you're wrong; the position-size calculator turns that into a size.
- See the liquidation lineThe liquidation buffer calculator shows the distance at your leverage.
- Rehearse itRun the Leverage Lab or a paper trade on real history.
- Set your limitsA risk policy caps exposure and drawdown before emotions do.
- Account
- $5,000
- Risk per trade
- 1% = $50
- Entry → stop
- 112.40 → 108.20 (−3.7%)
- Position size
- ≈ $1,340 notional
- At 5×
- Margin ≈ $268 · liquidation ≈ 19% away
- StopHit first at −3.7%
- LiquidationFar beyond the stop
No hype
What these tools do, and what they won't
It does
- Run the calculators in your browser, with no sign-in
- Use real price history in the Leverage Lab
- Keep every trade simulated
It won't
- Know your venue's exact margin tiers unless you enter them
- Place or manage real orders
- Make leverage safe
SuperQuant is research and education software. It never places trades and is not financial advice. Trading perpetual futures carries a high risk of loss.
FAQ
Questions people ask
How close is liquidation at 10×?
On an isolated position, a move of a little under 10% against you wipes the margin, before fees and funding. The exact figure depends on the venue's maintenance margin tiers, which you can enter in the liquidation buffer calculator.
Does higher leverage mean more risk?
For the same position size, your dollar profit or loss is the same at any leverage. Leverage changes how much margin is tied up and how close liquidation sits. Risk comes from size and stop distance.
Are the calculators free?
Yes. /tools runs in your browser with no account, and /markets shows live funding, open interest and liquidation-buffer estimates for 24 perps.
How do I calculate my crypto liquidation price?
For an isolated long, roughly entry × (1 − 1/leverage + maintenance margin rate); for a short, entry × (1 + 1/leverage − maintenance margin rate). Fees, funding and tiered margin change the exact figure, so use the free liquidation calculator with your venue's tiers.
Learn
Further reading
Free, source-cited guides from the SuperQuant Learn library.
Know the odds before you take the trade.
Size it before you send it.
The calculators are free with no account. The Leverage Lab and paper trading are one sign-up away.