To trade altcoins with leverage you need to know which exchange to choose and what to look for. Leverage trading can be very profitable and a lot of fun.
But before you start trading you need to know which exchanges are the best.
In this article I’ve reviewd the 3 best exchanges to trade altcoins with leverage.
Check the table below if you want to compare the exchanges, or read the full review below.
If you want to know how to trade altcoins with leverage I’ve made a simple guide later in this article.
I cover the basics:
- What is leverage trading?
- How do you trade altcoins with leverage?
- Altcoin leverage trading tips
Where can I trade Crypto with leverage?
You can trade cryptocurrency with margin on the exchanges listed below.
All of them have been tested and my personal favorite is Binance. This is only because they offer more coins and that way I have more options to trade.
However, ByBit and Bitmex offers excellent ways to use margin for cryptocurrencies as well.
Make sure you read throuh the entire review before you pick exchange.
Also, remember to use a stop loss when you trade with margin because the cryptocurrency market can move pretty fast.
A stop loss is the best way to protect your downside while using margin for crypto.
Best Altcoins Exchanges with Leverage Compared
Does Coinbase offer leverage?
Yes, Coinbase offers 3x margin on cryptocurrencies.
This might not be the highest level of margin available in the cryptocurrency community, but it’s for good reasons.
Coinbase understands that margin is a very useful but also risky tool.
You stand to make small fortunes when you nail the right trade but when you are wrong, you can get hurt badly.
The main reason Coinbase doesn’t offer higher levels of margin is because they want to protect their customers.
You need to understand that when you trade with margin, your stop loss levels are tightened.
3x leverges gives you a 33% liquidation level.
This means that if you buy crypto with 3x margin you will only be able to withstand a market move of 33% against you until you get liquidated and your position is closed out.
If you were to trade with more margins up to 10x your liquidation level would be around 3% only.
Best overall Binance
Leverage on Binance
Maximum leverage:
- 125x
When trading altcoins with leverage on Binance you can adjust your leverage as you like it.
This is a very good feature from Binance because it lets you be flexible.
Sometimes it might not be the best idea to blast on with maximum leverage due to risk factors.
Maybe the volatility in your altcoin is a little too high or you haven’t spotted the right setup.
In this case you can lower your altcoin leverage until the right setup comes by.
To trade altcoins with leverage on Binance you first have to open a margin wallet and a futures wallet.
This is very straight forward.
Simply click the wallet button in the top right corner to activate both wallets.
When these wallets have been opened you unlock the leverage trading on Binance.
Now when you go to the spot marked and choose your trading interface it will look like this.
Here you have the choise to trade altcoins with leverage using your margin wallet or your futures wallet.
As you can see, the futures wallet has a lot more leverage.
To change your altcoin trading leverage is very easy in Binance.
All you have to to is to navigate to the leverage button in the top left corner and adjust to your preferred level.
Binance have made it super easy for their altcoin traders to change leverage on the go.
When you click this button you will get a new window in the middle of your screen.
Simply drag the dot to your preferred leverage and click confirm.
Altcoins on Binance
The number of altcoins traded on Binance is:
- 184
This paper was released on the 31st of December 2019.
I’m sure Binance has plans to increase the amount of altcoins traded with leverage during 2021.
This is one reason why I highly recommend trading altcoins with leverage on Binance.
You will never run out of altcoins to trade.
If you miss one opportunity somewhere, you can be sure there is something happening elsewhere and all you have to do is change altcoin.
Deposit methods on Binance
Currenctly accepted deposit methods on Binance:
- Credit Card
- Cryptocurrency
To buy altcoins with a credit card makes things very easy on Binance and you don’t have to waste any time.
Just deposit and start trading your favorite altcoin.
If you prefer you can have you own altcoins transferred to your wallet on Binance.
This is how it looks to buy altcoins with your credit card.
In this example I chose Ripple or XRP as it’s called on many exchanges.
All you have to do is to click the drop down menu and choose altcoin.
Then click buy.
Trading interface on Binance
One of the really good benefits of trading altcoins with leverage on Binance is their trading interfaces.
Most altcoin exchanges doesn’t have as developed trading infrastructure as they do.
First you have the Simple trading interface.
This is a basic but very handy trading interface.
In the middle to the left you have your alternatives for changing the leverage while trading your altcoins.
In the upper right corner you can choose between altcoin markets, and in the middle to the right you can see all the last orders coming in from the order book.
Definitely a good interface for beginner to intermidiate level altcoin traders.
You have your regular limit and market orders aswell and it’s very easy to navigate around the platform.
Next up is the advanced trading interface.
This trading interface is more suited for more advanced altcoin day traders or swing traders.
Up top to the left you have more indicators to choose from and you can also draw on the chart.
This is a very good tool when you want to create trendlines or check different levels on your altcoins.
As usual in your order selection to the right you have the options to change leverage while trading your altcoins.
Over all I’m very happy with the trading interfaces on Binance.
It’s well suited for all altcoin traders, both beginners and andvanced.
To trade altcoins with leverage requires a good trading platform and Binance definitely passes this test.
Fees on Binance
Fees on Binance are very competitive.
The basic fee for trading altcoins is 0.10% for market takers.
Market takers are traders who take from the order book.
If you use the market order when you are trading, you are a market taker, because you are taking someones order from the order book.
Easy.
This fee is for any altcoin trader with VIP 0 level and gets reduced the higher your VIP level is.
To increase your VIP level you need to increase your monthly trading amount.
Depending on your trading size you can analyze this every month to see your VIP level.
Something unique for Binance is that you can trade with their native cryptocurrency to lower your trading fees.
Their altcoin is called Binance Coin or BNB for short.
When you are trading on the BNB market, your trading fees are reduced by 25%.
This is a huge advantage when you trade altcoins with leverage.
Having a low trading fee is saving a lot of capital on your trades.
Especially for large altcoin traders.
Binance rating
I really enjoy trading altcoins with leverage on Binance.
Their selection of altcoins is huge and you can almost always find something to trade.
Having different trading interfaces is very good.
On Binance almost every altcoin trader will find what they are looking for.
My rating for Binance is definitely 5/5 stars and I have nothing to complain about.
If you would like like to trade altcoins with leverage on Binance, click here to visit the exchange.
For day trading Bitmex
Leverage on Bitmex
The maximum leverage on Bitmex is:
- 100x
The maximum leverage for trading altcoin is 50x and is one of the highest out of all the altcoin exchanges today.
Not many exchanges lets you trade altcoins with leverage up to this level and that’s why I like Bitmex.
I don’t always use all of the leverage, but when I see the right setup I never hesitate.
Another reason why it’s good to have more leverage to choose from is becuase it lets you put up less margin on the trade.
This basically means you don’t have to transfer all your funds to trade altcoins with higher volumes.
To change leverage on Bitmex you simple drag the dot on the leverage bar and choose your preferred leverage.
Very easy and flexible. You can change this in an instant if you want to trade more volume or if you want to lower your risk.
It also has a ROE meter above the leverage level where you can see your estimated return on equity.
This is calculated with the altcoin leverage included. It will calculate the % with your leverage and show you massive numbers when you hit a good trade.
You don’t have to activate any wallet or do anything special before starting to trade altcoins with leverage on Bitmex.
It’s very fast and smooth and that’s something I really like.
Altcoins on Bitmex
Numer of altcoins with leverage traded on Bitmex:
- 7
Bitmex might not strike you with all altcoin trading pairs but they do offer some of the highest levels of leverage when trading altcoins.
If your favorite altcoin is on this list Bitmex is definitely for you.
- Cardano
- Bitcoin Cash
- EOS
- Ethereum
- Litecoin
- Tron
- Ripple
Deposit methods on Bitmex
Deposit methods on Bitmex:
- Bitcoin
On Bitmex you can trade altcoin with leverage but you can’t deposit with a credit card.
You need to transfer the amount of Bitcoin you would like to trade with.
Though, this is very easy and I never had any problem with this.
Simply click your Account button in the top left side of the screen.
The next step is to click deposit.
Copy your Bitmex address or scan the QR-bar.
Very straight forward and nothing can go wrong.
Trading interface on Bitmex
The trading interface on Bitmex has everything you need.
You have most of the orders you need, order book with order flow, last traded orders and of course open orders.
The chart has all of the possible indicators and full functionality when it comes to drawing aswell.
The altcoin trading interface might look a little scary in the beginning but trust me, you will learn this in less than a day.
In the top left corner you have your order selection.
Choose between limit order, market orders or stop orders.
When you get comfortable using these orders you will be able to use very creative orders to improve your altcoin trading.
To trade altcoins with leverage it’s very important to see your open positions.
This is possible aswell, look to the bottom right corner and you will find your open positions.
On top of the page you will find your indicators and this chart has everything you need.
You have two more options for charting when trading altcoins with leverage on Bitmex.
There is an option to use Sierra Chart or NinjaTrader if you are familiar with these charts.
Sierra Chart is for both charting and trading.
NinjaTrader is only for charting.
Here is a screenshot of the Sierra Chart.
It’s a little different from the standard trading chart but it comes with different features of course.
If you are intrested to try this chart, head over to your Account page and follow the instructions how to download.
NinjaTrader looks like this.
There is also an installtion guide for this package if you would like to try it.
I’m happy with the standard trading interface and I always prefer that one when trading altcoins with leverage on Bitmex.
Fees on Bitmex
Altcoin trading fees are very competitive on Bitmex.
Standard trading fee for trading altcoins with leverage is:
- 0.25%
Here is a table of the fees.
If you are only going to trade altcoins with leverage on Bitmex you should focus on the taker fee.
The trading fee for the future contract is 0.25%.
This is very low trading fees and that’s another reason to trade altcoins with leverage on Bitmex.
Bitmex rating
I would definitely recommend trading on Bitmex.
It’s very easy to use and the trading interface will give you everything you need.
If you are going trade the major altcoins you will be very happy to enjoy high levels of leverage on bitmex.
If you would like to trade altcoins with leverage on Bitmex, click here to visit the exchange.
For advanced traders Bybit
Leverage on ByBit
Maximum leverage:
- 100x
Your maximum altcoin leverage is 50x.
To trade altcoins with leverage on Bybit, simply click the Trade button in the top left corner and choose “Inverse Perpetual”.
This will take you to their trading interface.
On the right side of your trading interface you will find your order selection.
Here you will also find the leverage bar.
It looks like this.
To change your leverage just pull the dot on the leverage bar and choose your preferred leverage.
I like how easy Bybit has made it to change the leverage.
Nothing can go wrong here and everything is very straight forward.
Altcoins on Bybit
The number of altcoins available for leverage trading on Bybit is 3.
- Ethereum
- Ripple
- EOS
This is far from the biggest altcoin list out there but I’m sure Bybit has plans to expand this list in the future.
On the positive side, if you are trading these altcoins and are looking for leverage, you’ve come to the right place.
It’s not commong to offer 50x leverage on the major altcoins.
Deposit methods on Bybit
Current deposit methods on Bybit is:
- Cryptocurrency
You are not able to deposit with a credit card on Bybit but they have made it very easy to deposit with crypto currency.
Just head over to your Account section in the top right corner and click “My assets”.
This take you to the deposit section and it looks like this.
To make a deposit, click the “Deposit” button.
Then copy the address in the pop up window or scan the QR-code.
It’s very easy to transfer cryptocurrency to Bybit and I don’t have any problems with this.
After depositing you are minutes away from trading altcoins with leverage.
Trading interface on Bybit
I think the trading interface on Bybit looks very nice and you will find everything you need to trade altcoins with leverage.
In the upper left corner you will find all the indicators and different time frames.
And yes, the list of indicators is long and you will not miss anything here.
In the top right corner is your order selection and leverage control.
This interface has all the standard orders like market order and limit orders.
There is also another order type called cinditional you can play around with if you want to create more creative orders.
I’m very happy with the trading interface on Bybit and I’m sure you will find everything you need to trade altcoin with leverage.
Fees on Bybit
Trading fees on Bybit are extremely good.
The basic taker fee for altcoin traders 0.075%
This is one of the lowest altcoin trading fees I’ve ever seen.
A huge plus for this altcoin exchange.
This is something I’m definitely looking for when I want to trade altcoins with leverage.
Bybit rating
Bybit is a very good altcoin exchange when it comes to trading with leverage.
They might not have all the altcoins on the list yet but they make up for that with extremely low trading fees and a very competitive trading interface.
I would definitely recommend Bybit and I will keep trading here and wai for more altcoins to be added.
If you would like to trade altcoins with leverage on Bybit, click here to visit the exchange.
What is leverage trading?
Leverage trading in general is very simple and it’s no different in crypto.
All you need to know is when you trade with leverage you are able to take on bigger positions.
We are going to make an example to explain this easier.
Let’s say that you have 1000$.
If you trade your 1000$ with 10x leverage, you will be able to trade the market with a 10,000$ position.
1000 x 10 = 10,000
Very straight forward, but how does this work?
Where does the money extra money come from?
Your trading exchange has backup liquidity providers that have one job only, and that is to give you extra trading capital.
When you trade altcoins with leverage, it works the same way.
Your altcoin exchange has a deal with a liquidity provider that is backing them up with extra cash.
When you trade leverage you are trading your own money and the altcoin exchange’s money aswell.
Don’t worry, they will not be mad if you lose their money, because you can’t.
You will only be able to lose your own money and that’s it.
Think about one thing though.
You initial 1000$ will act as risk for your 10,000$ position.
Why trading altcoins with leverage is so risky is because your own can easily get wiped out from big market moves, so you have to be careful.
This is also why leverage trading is called margin trading.
Margin is your own money you put up as risk.
If you lose your margin you lose your money and the position is closed.
It’s called that your position gets liquidated.
How do you trade altcoins with leverage?
You trade altcoins with leverage just the same way you would trade any other asset class.
First you need to find a good altcoin exchange that will provide you with leverage.
Don’t worry, I just reviewed the 3 best altcoin exchanges I know so you can pick one of them.
When you come to the trading platform you will see that leverage trading in altcoins is not that different from normal trading.
The difference is that you can take larger positions, and this might take some getting used to.
But when you are used to a larger positions there is no limit to how much money you can make.
Be careful though, trading altcoins with leverage is more risky than normal trading.
Don’t get confused by the terminology of leverage trading.
Think of it the same way you are when you are trading your normal account, but a little more powerful.
Altcoin leverage trading tips
You now know the basics of leverage trading and you should not worry too much about the technical aspect.
Most traders get confused over leverage because they try to understand everything about it.
That’s not my intention with this article.
I want you to think of these 1000$ we had in the example in the beginning again.
Let’s say you want to trade all of your 1000$ but you don’t want to put all of it in the market.
Good news!
When you trade altcoins with leverage you don’t always need to use all of your capital.
If you want to trade the altcoin market with 1000$ but you don’t want to put up all the cash, you can do this with leverage.
We are going back to the example of 10x leverage again.
Let’s say you only want to put up 100$ in the market and keep the other 900$ resting on your account.
All you have to to is take 100$ and trade with 10x leverage.
Boom!
You are now trading with 1000$ but you only put up 100$.
Cool right.
As you see, leverage doesn’t only mean that you have to maximize your trading positions and go all out with size.
You can reduce your own risk and still trade the same size.
How this helps you as an altcoin trade is very simple.
If you trade your 100$ with 10x leverage you still have 900$ on your account to trade with.
You can now take these 900$ and split them in 9 pieces.
Did you see what we did there?
We reduced the risk to 100$ and created 9 more trading oportunities.
You are now free to put your 900$ to work in different altcoins.
You can pick 9 other altcoins and trade each one of them with 100$ of your own capital.
Trade that money with 10x leverage and have a 1000$ position in the market.
What just happened was that you took your initial 1000$ and divided them in 10.
You then took these 10 pieces of 100$ and spread them out between 10 altcoins.
Now that’s trading on another level.
You reduced your risk between 10 altcoins but you are still trading 10,000$ with leverage.
Conclusion
I’ve reviewed the 3 best altcoin exchange with leverage I know. It’s up to you to choose where you want to start trading
It all depends if you are looking for a variety of altcoins or a high level of leverage. All of this information and much more is in the review.
If you are interested in learning what leverage is before you start, make sure you read the last part of this article.
Want to learn more about Altcoins and Crypto?
It works the same way in cryptocurrency as in the traditional markets. Find a good exchange that provides you with leverage and you are good to go.
100x leverage means you are trading your capital 100 times bigger.
1000$ with 100x leverage is 100,000$.
Anton Palovaara, Trader since early 2015 and experienced Account Manager at an International CFD-broker.
Now sharing his trading insights and helping Cryptocurrency and Bitcoin traders learn more about how to approach the markets.