Leverage and Margin of Perpetual Futures Contracts

On LBank Futures, traders can trade with leverage between 20-125x on our crypto perpetual contracts. The maximum amount of leverage available for users depends on the notional value of their position. Generally, the larger the position, the lower the leverage allowed. Thus, initial margin deposits are calculated using the leverage selected by the trader.

Note that the trader will first select his leverage (and fulfill its initial margin requirement), and then will open his positions. If the trader makes no selection on leverage, it will be set at 20x by default. The higher the leverage, the smaller the notional size the trader will have access to. The lower the leverage, the higher the notional size the trader can open.

The system will display the maximum allowable position size at different tiers of leverage as shown below.

Maintenance margin calculations are done via a “Tax Bracket” setup. This means that the maintenance margin is always calculated the same way, regardless of what leverage the trader selects. Moving from one bracket to another will not cause the earlier bracket to change its leverage.

It is important to note that the maintenance margin required, and the resulting liquidation price is far more favorable to the trader than would be normally expected by the initial margin. In other words, in virtually all cases, the maintenance margin is less than half the initial margin, and the resulting liquidation price is much more favorable than would be the case if the maintenance margin was equal to 50% of the initial margin, as is the case in most exchanges.

It is very important to note that the maintenance margin is *always less* than 50% of the initial margin, and is thus very beneficial to the trader. Again, as noted earlier, it is highly recommended for the trader to liquidate positions before the collateral falls below the Maintenance Margin to avoid auto-liquidation.