# What it costs to get out of a leveraged position

Updated: 24 September 2026 | Venue documents read 18 September 2026 | Book readings over 122 polls between 21 September 2026 and 22 September 2026 | The Margin Brief desk

A perpetual position is opened on collateral and closed against whatever depth is resting at that moment. This brief reads eight order-book venues as exposure rather than as products.

## What a position ties up, and what removes it

The less margin a position needs, the smaller the move that wipes it out. On EVEDEX, 200x on BTC holds to $50,000 of notional, so a 0.50% move consumes the margin; Aster's order book matches 200x only to 400 USDT. At 50x on Lighter, Extended, Paradex and dYdX the threshold is 2%, at Hyperliquid's 40x it is 2.5%.

| Venue | Move that consumes the margin | Documented BTC cap | The notional it holds to |
|---|---|---|---|
| EVEDEX | 0.50% | 200x | $50,000 of exposure at the cap, $200,000 one rung down |
| Aster | 0.50% | 200x | 400 USDT of exposure at the cap, $800,000 one rung down |
| edgeX | 1.00% | 100x | $1 million of exposure at the cap, $3 million one rung down |
| ApeX Omni | 1.00% | 100x | one per cent posted to $100,000 of exposure |
| Extended | 2.00% | 50x | $4 million of exposure at the cap, $8 million one rung down |
| Lighter | 2.00% | 50x | two per cent posted, no exposure band published |
| Paradex | 2.00% | 50x | two per cent posted, capped at 300 BTC |
| dYdX | 2.00% | 50x | two per cent posted, no exposure band published |
| Hyperliquid | 2.50% | 40x | $150 million of exposure, halved above it |
| Aevo | 5.00% | 20x | five per cent posted, capped at $10 million |

Caps, and the notional each holds to, are read from each venue's own margin schedule or risk tiers on
18 September 2026. A cap almost never applies to the whole position: most of these venues step the
multiple down as the notional grows, and the last column says where each stops. The move column is arithmetic on the published cap rather than a venue figure, and a venue closes a position earlier, at its maintenance level, with funding and fees charged on top.

## Scope of this brief

This publication covers one instrument. A perpetual future has no settlement date, it is carried on
posted collateral, and the venue closes it when that collateral no longer covers the move against it.
The leverage ladder, the fee schedule and the market count all describe the position while it is open.
What decides the outcome is the exit, and the exit is priced by whatever book is resting at that moment.

So the weighting is deliberately lopsided. Depth within 10 basis points of the mid carries 30 of the 100
points and is the one criterion measured rather than read off a document; where the collateral sits
carries 22, because posted margin is money handed over before anything goes wrong. The formula was fixed
on 22 September 2026 and does not change from page to page: a page condition decides which venues appear,
never how they are weighted. Nothing here is advice, and nothing on this site is cover, protection or a
guarantee against a loss. Placement is paid for; the order of every table is not.

16 venues are held on file and 8 of them carry a score; the rest are listed with their published facts and left unrated.

- **Venues scored:** 8 — order-book venues read on 18 September 2026; two more are on file unscored, and pool-priced venues are listed without a total
- **Deepest book measured:** $29.3 million — median resting depth within 10 basis points of the mid on the BTC perpetual, edgeX
- **Thinnest book measured:** $55.00 — the same reading on Paradex, where a $100,000 market order moved the price 162.91 bps
- **Round trip on $100,000:** $0.00 to $160.00 — both sides at the entry-tier taker rate, from the cheapest venue here to the dearest
- **Open interest on file:** $12.1 billion — the 8 scored venues added together, each venue's own figure as published by CoinMarketCap, 22 September 2026

## Cost of a round trip, on $100,000 of exposure

Entry-tier published rates, read on 18 September 2026, applied to an opening and a closing trade. Bars are scaled to the dearest round trip here; the figure on the right is the taker cost. Cashback, rebates and volume tiers are ignored.

| Venue | Both sides at the maker rate | Both sides at the taker rate |
|---|---|---|
| Lighter | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Paradex | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Extended | $0.00 | $50.00 |
| Aster | $0.00 | $80.00 |
| EVEDEX | $30.00 | $90.00 |
| Hyperliquid | $30.00 | $90.00 |
| edgeX | $80.00 | $90.00 |
| ApeX Omni | $40.00 | $100.00 |
| dYdX | $20.00 | $100.00 |
| Aevo | $100.00 | $160.00 |

## Weighting

Exit liquidity 30 · Collateral and settlement 22 · Cost per round trip 20 · Loss record and audits 14 · Contracts and asset classes 9 · Getting a position on 5. One formula for every table on this site, fixed on 22 September 2026 before any venue was scored: https://insurancerefocused.com/how-we-rate

## Standing of every venue this issue scores

Six criteria, weighted 30 · 22 · 20 · 14 · 9 · 5 and fixed on 22 September 2026. Scores run from 0 to
15, and the criterion column shows the raw points behind each total, each out of ten.

| # | Venue | Score of 15 | Points by criterion, each of ten | Documented cap on BTC | Median depth behind the exit | $1 million moves the price | Model |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lighter | 12.5 | liquidity 6.5 · custody 10.0 · cost 10.0 · security 7.0 · coverage 9.2 · access 8.0 | 50x | $16.9 million | 1.48 bps | Hybrid, ZK-proven |
| 2 | edgeX | 11.5 | liquidity 6.9 · custody 10.0 · cost 6.5 · security 7.0 · coverage 8.0 · access 8.0 | 100x | $29.3 million | 0.22 bps | Hybrid |
| 3 | Extended | 11.5 | liquidity 5.8 · custody 7.0 · cost 8.5 · security 10.0 · coverage 9.6 · access 8.0 | 50x | $7.8 million | 0.70 bps | Hybrid |
| 4 | Aster | 11.3 | liquidity 6.3 · custody 7.0 · cost 7.0 · security 10.0 · coverage 10.0 · access 8.0 | 200x | $14.8 million | 1.11 bps | Own layer 1, operator-run |
| 5 | Hyperliquid | 10.2 | liquidity 5.7 · custody 7.0 · cost 6.5 · security 7.0 · coverage 9.6 · access 8.0 | 40x | $7.4 million | 0.72 bps | On-chain order book |
| 6 | EVEDEX | 9.7 | liquidity 6.5 · custody 5.0 · cost 6.5 · security 7.0 · coverage 7.8 · access 8.0 | 200x | $18.4 million | 2.75 bps | Hybrid |
| 7 | Paradex | 9.0 | liquidity 0.0 · custody 7.0 · cost 10.0 · security 10.0 · coverage 7.0 · access 8.0 | 50x | $55.00 | not filled | Hybrid, Starknet appchain |
| 8 | Aevo | 7.7 | liquidity 4.3 · custody 7.0 · cost 3.0 · security 4.0 · coverage 8.5 · access 8.0 | 20x | $1.4 million | 7.63 bps | Hybrid |

The documented cap is the venue's own, read on 18 September 2026; the depth behind the exit and the price a million-dollar order moves are our readings of its public book.

## What can be held there, and when

| Venue | Asset classes | Perpetual markets | Trading hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lighter | crypto, stocks, FX, commodities, indices, pre-IPO, bonds | 214 | not stated in the documentation we read |
| edgeX | crypto, stocks, commodities, FX | 172 | not stated in the documentation we read |
| Extended | crypto, stocks, FX, commodities, indices, pre-IPO | 325 | not stated in the documentation we read |
| Aster | crypto, stocks, FX, commodities, indices, pre-IPO | 578 | not stated in the documentation we read |
| Hyperliquid | crypto, stocks, FX, commodities, indices | 324 | not stated in the documentation we read |
| EVEDEX | crypto, commodities, FX, stocks, indices, pre-IPO | 52 | All markets 24/7, shares and commodities included |
| Paradex | crypto, stocks, commodities, indices | 63 | not stated in the documentation we read |
| Aevo | crypto, stocks, commodities, FX, pre-IPO | 102 | not stated in the documentation we read |

Asset classes and market counts as each venue's documentation and interface reported them on 18 September 2026. A share or a currency is settled as a perpetual contract on that price, and holding one gives no claim on the underlying asset.

## What is asked for before a position can be opened

| Venue | What opens an account | Papers asked for |
|---|---|---|
| Lighter | Wallet signature | None in the documentation we read |
| edgeX | Wallet or MPC login | None in the user terms we read |
| Extended | Wallet signature, EVM or Starknet | Terms reserve the right to deny access after a KYT risk assessment |
| Aster | Wallet signature or email | Terms allow limited identity verification procedures |
| Hyperliquid | Wallet signature or email code | None in the onboarding documentation |
| EVEDEX | Wallet signature | None to trade; on-chain AML screening on deposits |
| Paradex | Wallet signature; account derived from the address | None in the account documentation |
| Aevo | Wallet connect | Terms: transactions only through your own wallet service |

Read read in each venue's terms and help centre on 18 September 2026. Restrictions change without notice.

## Why the exit carries more weight than the fee

The two readings sit at opposite ends of the same measurement. Across the polls of
21 September 2026 and 22 September 2026 the edgeX BTC
book held a median $29.3 million within 10 basis points of the mid, and a market order of
$100,000 moved the price 0.02 bps. The Paradex book held a median
$55.00, and the same order moved it 162.91 bps. Paradex charges
nothing to retail orders from its own interface; edgeX charges 0.040% maker / 0.045% taker. A trader choosing
on the fee schedule alone would have paid nothing to enter and more than a percent to leave.

A fee is known and the same size on the way in and on the way out. Slippage on the exit is not known,
it is largest exactly when the position is being closed against the trader, and at ten times leverage
it is charged against a tenth as much collateral.

## What the collateral criterion is actually asking

Three questions, all answerable from documents. How often does the venue write trades or positions to
a chain, so that a record exists outside its own database. Is there a documented way to withdraw that
does not need the operator. Were the contracts holding deposits audited by somebody else.

The answers separate this group more sharply than the fees do. Lighter documents a priority exit queue
on Ethereum and a mode that lets users withdraw if the sequencer stops answering, and edgeX documents
a withdrawal that bypasses the operator. Hyperliquid, Extended, Paradex and Aevo record every trade on
a chain but document no such exit. On EVEDEX the matching sits
off-chain and Arbitrum receives position data once enough of it has changed, which is a record in
batches rather than trade by trade, and no operator-free withdrawal is documented there either. None of this predicts
conduct; it is a list of what exists in writing.

## The rest of this brief

**Rankings**

- [Venues by the audit record](https://insurancerefocused.com/best-crypto-derivatives-exchange) — ordered by reports on file, a published bounty and 24 months of loss history
- [Platforms by documented cap](https://insurancerefocused.com/best-margin-trading-platform-crypto) — ordered by the BTC cap and the notional it still holds to
- [Venues by cost per round trip](https://insurancerefocused.com/best-crypto-margin-trading-exchange) — ordered by an opening and a closing trade, taker rate
- [Venues by measured depth](https://insurancerefocused.com/top-crypto-derivatives-exchanges) — ordered by the dollars resting within 10 basis points
- [Thirteen venues, scored and unscored](https://insurancerefocused.com/crypto-derivatives-exchange-list) — seven with a book this desk polled, six listed without a total

**Comparisons**

- [Venues compared side by side](https://insurancerefocused.com/crypto-derivatives-exchanges-compared) — the six criteria column by column, in the standing order the totals give
- [Alternatives to Aevo](https://insurancerefocused.com/aevo-alternatives) — where to go when rate and depth both point elsewhere
- [EVEDEX and Extended](https://insurancerefocused.com/evedex-vs-extended) — two ladders that cross, and the margin each asks at four sizes
- [edgeX and Extended](https://insurancerefocused.com/edgex-vs-extended) — the deepest book measured against the widest market list

**Method and reference**

- [What cross margin means for a position](https://insurancerefocused.com/what-is-cross-margin) — one balance behind every position, and what that costs
- [How we rate](https://insurancerefocused.com/how-we-rate) — the six criteria, their weights and their inputs
- [About this brief](https://insurancerefocused.com/about) — who writes here, and what this address was before

Every contract named here is a leveraged perpetual future; the margin behind a position is the whole of what it can lose. Placement on this site is paid for, the order of every table comes from the published formula, and nothing here is advice or cover against a loss.

The Margin Brief desk, 24 September 2026. Corrections: editorial@insurancerefocused.com.

Placement in this file is paid for; the order of every table follows the published formula and nothing else.