Leverage and liquidation

Leverage multiplies the position, not your money

With 5x leverage, $100 of margin controls a $500 position. A 2% move in the coin is a 10% move on your $100. Gains and losses scale the same way; leverage does not change the odds, only the size of the swings.

Each market has a maximum (40x on BTC, 25x on ETH, lower on small coins). The order box lets you pick from 1x up to that cap with a slider; 2x to 5x is where most careful traders stay.

Liquidation is the exchange closing a losing trade

Every position needs a minimum amount of margin behind it, called maintenance margin: on Hyperliquid it is half of the margin required at the coin's maximum leverage (for a 40x coin, 1.25% of the position). When the loss eats your margin down to that line, Hyperliquid closes the position and the margin is gone.

The liquidation price is where that happens. Roughly, a long at 10x on a 40x coin is liquidated about 8.9% below entry; at 5x, about 19% below. The order box shows an estimate before you place the trade, and every open position lists it.

Cross versus isolated margin

Cross margin (the default) backs every position with your whole account. One losing trade can eat the margin of the others, but a winning one also props them up, and liquidation happens later because more money stands behind the trade.

Isolated margin sets aside a fixed amount for one position. If it is liquidated you lose only that amount. The margin mode can be changed only while you have no position in that coin.

How copies use leverage

A copy uses the trader's leverage up to the cap you set when you start it, and the safety stop watches the whole account value, so a copy never relies on liquidation to stop losing. Still, leverage above 5x with a thin safety stop can be closed quickly in a fast market.