Pick the leverage, not the position
The usual mistake is to decide on a position size first — "I want a $10k position" — and then crank leverage as high as it takes to afford it on the margin you have. That's backwards. Leverage is just position size ÷ margin, and every extra turn of it drags your liquidation price closer to entry. This tool shows you the number you're actually signing up for, then the table shows the alternative: keep the same position but add margin and drop the leverage, and watch the liquidation price retreat to safety.
The figure that matters isn't the leverage itself — it's the distance to liquidation. At 10x a roughly 9–10% adverse move wipes you; at 25x it's 3–4%; at 50x under 2%. If that distance is tighter than the coin's normal daily candle, the position is fragile no matter how confident you are. Cross-check the exact level with the liquidation calculator, and let the safe leverage calculator work the other direction — the most leverage that keeps a move you expect survivable.
How to use it
1. Pick long or short.
2. Enter the margin you're willing to risk and the position size (notional) you want.
3. Add the entry price and your tier's maintenance-margin rate (often 0.4–1%).
4. Read the required leverage, then use the table to see how adding margin tames it.
Common mistakes
Chasing a round-number position. "$10k position" isn't a plan; the survivable distance to liquidation is. Ignoring maintenance margin. Your real liquidation is a touch closer than 1/leverage because the exchange keeps a maintenance buffer. Maxing leverage to fit the budget. If you can only afford the position at 50x, the honest answer is the position is too big — size down. Forgetting fees and funding. Those eat margin too and nudge liquidation closer over time.
FAQ
What if the required leverage is above my exchange's max? Then the position is simply too large for that margin — add collateral or shrink the target until the leverage is allowed.
Why is the liquidation distance not exactly 1/leverage? Because the exchange liquidates a little before your margin hits zero, at the maintenance-margin level. Higher maintenance rates pull liquidation slightly closer.
Is lower leverage always safer for the same position? Yes — same position, more margin, same notional risk to the trade, but a liquidation price much further from entry, so noise is far less likely to close you out.