Compared to other types of investment, futures trading carries a higher level of risk. This is because prices can move rapidly in a direction unfavorable to your position. Your losses may exceedCompared to other types of investment, futures trading carries a higher level of risk. This is because prices can move rapidly in a direction unfavorable to your position. Your losses may exceed

Learn/Trading Guide/Futures/Futures Trading Risks

Futures Trading Risks

Aug 28, 2025MEXC

#Basic #Futures #Beginners

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Compared to other types of investment, futures trading carries a higher level of risk. This is because prices can move rapidly in a direction unfavorable to your position. Your losses may exceed expectations, and you may be required to add additional margin to maintain your position. Therefore, MEXC strongly recommends that you fully understand and assess the associated risks before engaging in futures trading.

1. What Is Futures Trading?

Futures trading is a type of derivatives trading that allows users to profit from price movements without owning the underlying cryptocurrency. In simple terms, it enables users to go long (buy) or short (sell) based on their market predictions.

Unlike traditional spot trading, futures trading supports leverage, allowing users to control a larger position with a smaller amount of capital, potentially amplifying profits, but also increasing risk. Most common are perpetual futures, which have no expiration date and allow users to hold positions flexibly over time. Thanks to its flexibility and capital efficiency, futures trading has become a key tool for many cryptocurrency investors.

Learn more: Must-Read! What Is Futures Trading? Find Out in 3 Minutes

However, consistently making profits in the futures market requires a deep understanding of the associated risks. Due to the use of leverage and the high volatility of the crypto market, gains and losses can both be magnified. A single misjudgment or poor risk management may lead to significant losses, even liquidation, in a short period of time. Only by fully understanding the risks can users develop sound strategies and protect their capital.

2. How to Understand Leverage in Futures Trading

By using leverage appropriately, investors can significantly improve capital efficiency and unlock greater potential returns. However, along with these potential gains comes increased risk. Therefore, it is essential for MEXC users to have a clear understanding of how leverage works in futures trading.

When trading perpetual futures, MEXC users must set a leverage multiplier based on their individual trading preferences. MEXC's USDT-Margined Perpetual Futures support adjustable leverage ranging from 1x to 500x (currently, only the BTCUSDT and ETHUSDT trading pairs support up to 500x leverage).

For example, if you plan to open a BTCUSDT position worth 100,000 USDT, on MEXC you can choose a leverage level such as 10x, 50x, 100x, or even up to 500x. The leverage you select directly affects the initial margin required. The lower the leverage, the higher the amount of initial margin needed. The higher the leverage, the lower the initial margin required.

Comparison of Initial Margin Requirements for the Same Position Under Different Leverage Levels
Leverage	10x	50x	100x	200x	500x
Initial Margin	10,000 USDT	2,000 USDT	1,000 USDT	500 USDT	200 USDT

3. What's the Difference Between Notional Leverage and Effective Leverage?

In margin trading, the concepts of notional leverage and effective leverage are often confused by beginners. It’s important to understand the difference to better manage risk and set appropriate leverage levels.

Suppose a user named Alice has 10,000 USDT in her Futures account on MEXC. When using cross margin mode, she chooses to allocate 1,000 USDT as margin and selects 10x leverage. Ignoring trading fees and slippage, what is the actual leverage of this position once the order is fully filled? At this point, leverage can be described from two perspectives: the notional leverage refers to the 10x setting chosen by Alice before the trade. However, to calculate the effective leverage, one must consider the total assets in Alice's cross margin account. The result is: 1,000 USDT x 10x / 10,000 USDT = 1x.

In another scenario, when Alice uses isolated margin mode and does not enable the auto-margin addition feature, the selected leverage multiplier is also the actual effective leverage being applied.

4. How Do Sudden Price Swings Impact Your Position?

Due to its relatively short history, the cryptocurrency derivatives market differs from traditional financial markets in several ways, particularly in trading rules. For instance, unlike U.S. stock markets, crypto futures trading does not include circuit breakers or price fluctuation limits. At the same time, most cryptocurrencies have relatively small circulating market capitalizations, which makes them more susceptible to sharp price movements within short timeframes.

When the price of a crypto asset experiences significant volatility over a short period, it can have a major impact on futures positions, especially for traders using high leverage. From a purely mathematical standpoint, consider an investor named Alice who is using 10x effective leverage in a futures position. If the price of the asset moves 10% in the opposite direction, the position will be fully liquidated. The liquidation threshold can be better understood through the following table:

Price Movement Thresholds That Trigger Liquidation at Different Leverage Levels (Mathematical Analysis)
Leverage	10x	50x	100x	200x	500x
Price Movement to Trigger Liquidation	10%	2%	1%	0.5%	0.2%

The examples provided in the table above are reference thresholds based purely on mathematical calculations. However, in actual trading, the conditions that lead to liquidation are often more complex. Factors such as the calculation of the maintenance margin rate and the potential cascade effect triggered by large-scale liquidations can significantly influence the outcome.

5. What is Laddered Liquidation and Liquidation? How Do They Affect Futures Trading?

5.1 What Is Laddered Liquidation?

Laddered liquidation is a step-based liquidation mechanism used in futures trading. It is designed to gradually reduce a trader's position when account margin becomes insufficient or when market prices experience significant fluctuations. The goal is to lower risk and prevent a full position from being liquidated all at once. This mechanism is commonly adopted in platforms that support high leverage and is considered an improvement over traditional one-time forced liquidation systems. It helps protect trader funds and minimizes the broader impact of market volatility.

If a position is already at the lowest tier of risk limits, it proceeds directly to the next step. If the position falls under a higher risk tier (greater than Tier 1), a tier-reduction process is triggered. In this case, a portion of the position at the current risk tier will be taken over by the liquidation engine at the liquidation threshold to reduce the risk level. The system will then recalculate the margin rate based on the new, lower risk tier. If the conditions for liquidation are still met, the tier-reduction process will continue until the position reaches the lowest tier.

5.2 Liquidation

Liquidation in futures trading refers to a scenario where, due to significant market volatility, the margin in a trader's account becomes insufficient to maintain the position, resulting in the position being automatically closed by the system. If the position is already at the lowest risk tier but the margin rate is still greater than or equal to 100%, the remaining position will be taken over by the liquidation engine at the liquidation threshold.

6. Risk Limits in Futures Trading

In highly volatile trading environments, traders who use high leverage on large positions may face significant liquidation risks. If the insurance fund is depleted, the Auto-Deleveraging (ADL) system could be triggered, potentially exposing other traders to additional risks.

To mitigate this, MEXC applies a risk limit mechanism to all trading accounts. The system uses a tiered margin model for risk control: the larger the position quantity, the lower the maximum leverage allowed. Traders can manually adjust leverage, but the initial margin requirement is determined by the selected leverage.

For detailed rules, please refer to MEXC's official documentation on Futures Trading Risk Limits.

6.1 Position Limits, Maximum Leverage, and Initial Margin Rate

Before opening a position, you need to set your leverage. If not adjusted manually, MEXC defaults to 20x leverage, which can be changed at your discretion. The leverage you select determines your maximum position quantity: the higher the leverage, the smaller the maximum position quantity you can open. When you switch leverage settings, the platform will display a prompt showing your updated position limit.

6.2 Maintenance Margin Rate

The maintenance margin directly impacts your liquidation price. MEXC strongly recommends that you close positions before your margin balance falls to the maintenance margin level, in order to avoid liquidation.

Note that during periods of abnormal price volatility or extreme market conditions, the system may take additional measures to maintain market stability. These may include, but are not limited to: adjusting the maximum leverage allowed for certain Futures; modifying position limits across different tiers; or changing maintenance margin rates for different tiers.

7. How to Reduce Futures Trading Risk

Effectively reducing risk in futures trading relies on the following key practices:

Use leverage reasonably with caution
Set stop-loss and take-profit orders
Manage position quantity and adhere strictly to your trading plan
Avoid emotional decision-making

For more detailed strategies, refer to: MEXC Futures Guide | Leverage Trading Strategies & Risk Management

8. Conclusion

Perpetual futures are a neutral financial instrument. When used appropriately and with proper risk management, they can help investors earn reasonable returns and serve as an effective tool for participating in the cryptocurrency market.

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