> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.xblu.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Leverage and margin

> The leverage you set per asset class, the cap each instrument carries, how the required margin is computed, and what the margin level means.

## Leverage by asset class

In the settings, **Leverage by asset class** holds one leverage for each of the five classes. An
order in lots opens at the leverage set for its instrument's class, held to the instrument's own
cap. A change applies to the positions opened after it; nothing already open moves.

A new account starts at:

| Class | Leverage |
| - | - |
| Crypto | 1:10 |
| Forex | 1:500 |
| Stocks | 1:20 |
| Indices | 1:200 |
| Commodities | 1:500 |

Each class can be set to any whole number from 1 to 500. Your answers to the questions at
registration can cap it lower.

## Each instrument has its own cap

An instrument's terms set the leverage it allows, and that cap applies on top of your class
setting: a class at 1:500 opens a currency pair capped at 1:100 at 1:100. Most instruments are
capped at 1:100 today; some names carry a lower cap. The leverage dialog and the markets page show
the range of the instrument on screen.

On a market traded by amount, most crypto coins among them, the ticket's dialog sets the
leverage of each order within the instrument's range.

## The required margin

What the broker holds against a position depends on how the instrument is margined:

* **An instrument traded in lots**: the notional (lots times contract size times price) divided
  by the leverage, in the currency the instrument is quoted in. One lot of EUR/USD (100,000 EUR)
  at 1.1200 is 112,000 USD of notional; at 1:100 it holds 1,120 USD. 0.1 lot of gold (10 ounces)
  at 4,000 USD is 40,000 USD of notional; at 1:100 it holds 400 USD.
* **A market traded by amount**: the amount you enter is the margin, and the position is that
  amount times the leverage. 500 USD at 1:10 opens a 5,000 USD position.

The ticket writes the required margin before you confirm, and the free margin before and after.

## Equity, used margin, free margin, margin level

| Figure | What it is |
| - | - |
| Equity | Balance plus the unrealised result of the open positions |
| Used margin | The margin held against the open positions |
| Free margin | Equity less used margin: what is left to open with |
| Margin level | Equity over used margin, as a percentage |

On an account margined per position, the margin level is informative: each position liquidates on
its own. On an account margined as a whole, it is the figure the stop-out reads. See
[Liquidation, margin calls and stop-outs](/trading/liquidation).

## Why a higher leverage is a closer liquidation

A position margined per position is liquidated when its price loss reaches a share of its margin,
84% up to 1:25 and 70% from 1:60 (the table is on [Fees and spread](/trading/fees-and-spread)).
That share divided by the leverage is the move that closes it:

| Leverage | Move against you that liquidates |
| - | - |
| 1:2 | 42% |
| 1:10 | 8.4% |
| 1:25 | 3.4% |
| 1:50 | 1.5% |
| 1:100 | 0.7% |
| 1:200 | 0.35% |
| 1:500 | 0.14% |

A figure copied from another broker is not the same risk here: there the leverage sizes the margin
of an account whose whole equity backs each position; here, by default, each position is closed
on its own margin.


This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.