The short answer
Leverage on perpetuals is set per market, not per account: from 2x to 25x depending on the market, with 10x on BTC, ETH and SOL. You choose your own leverage anywhere up to that cap, and it does not change with your account size.
Margin is simply position value divided by leverage. And on a UZO account, your drawdown floor will stop you long before margin runs out.
The leverage caps
Market | Maximum leverage |
Crypto: BTC, ETH, SOL | 10x |
All other crypto | 2x |
Shares and ETFs | 4x |
Indices (SP500, XYZ100) | 10x |
Commodities: BRENTOIL, CL, GOLD, SILVER | 8x |
Commodities: COPPER | 5x |
Forex (EUR, JPY) | 25x |
Coming from 1:100 on a Markets account, these will look low, and that is deliberate. Perpetual leverage follows the risk of each market: the deepest, most liquid markets get the most headroom, and the more volatile ones get less. Every market's cap is also listed in The perpetuals market list and shown in the terminal before you trade.
Margin is position value divided by leverage
A $20,000 BTC position at 10x locks $2,000 of margin. At 5x the same position locks $4,000.
Lower leverage commits more of your equity, but it puts any liquidation level much further away. That trade is usually worth taking.
Cross and isolated margin
Cross margin means your positions share your account equity as collateral. A winning position supports a losing one, and every position affects every other.
Isolated margin walls off a single position: only the margin set aside for it supports it, and the rest of your account is not drawn in.
Whichever you use, the UZO drawdown limits are measured on your whole account's equity.
What actually ends an account
On a public exchange, what ends a position is liquidation: margin runs out and the exchange closes you. On a UZO account you will almost always reach a UZO limit long before that:
Daily drawdown. The most your equity may fall within one 00:00 UTC day. A hard breach.
Maximum drawdown. Your overall floor, trailing or static depending on the account. A hard breach.
Single-trade loss. A cap on what any one trade may lose. A hard breach.
The Best Day Rule. Never ends an account. It only decides whether a reward request can go ahead now.
Each account's percentages are in Perpetuals accounts: the complete rules. Because those limits sit well inside the point at which margin would run out, your drawdown floor is your real risk limit, not your liquidation level. Size every position against the distance between your equity and that floor.
Two things worth repeating
Maximum leverage is a ceiling, not a target. Most experienced perpetuals traders run well below it and manage risk through position size.
Your drawdown floor will stop you before liquidation does. Trade against the floor.
Where to go next
Read Perpetuals accounts: the complete rules for your account's limits, and Markets that never close: trading perpetuals 24/7 for why an always-open market changes how you size overnight risk.
Need help?
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