Leverage & Margin

Last updated: Jun 16, 2026

Leverage lets you control how much margin you put up for a given position size.

• Position size (notional) is what drives your profit and loss in USDT.
• Leverage mainly changes how much margin is required, which changes your ROI and liquidation risk.
• In multicollateral accounts, non-USDT collateral contributes margin after valuation and haircuts.

Cross-margin

All positions in a subaccount share a single collateral pool. This is cross-margin.

A profitable position can offset the margin requirements of a losing one, and your full subaccount value backs all open positions simultaneously.

Collateral is isolated by subaccount. Assets in one subaccount do not support positions in another.

Quick definitions

• Notional (position value) = position size x entry price
• Initial margin (margin used) = notional / leverage
• Unrealized PnL (uPnL) depends on price movement and position size, not on leverage
• Total Equity = token quantity x index price
• Collateral Value = haircut-adjusted value that counts toward margin
• Adjusted Account Value (AAV) = account value after collateral haircuts and PnL effects

Adjusted Account Value and haircuts

Your margin is based on Adjusted Account Value (AAV), not raw token balances.

USDT

USDT counts at full face value. It is also the settlement asset for trading fees, funding, and realized PnL.

Non-USDT collateral

Non-USDT collateral is valued using:

1. Index price - live market price for the asset.
2. Haircut - a risk discount applied to the asset's USD value.

The Collateral Value shown in the balances table is the haircut-adjusted amount that counts toward margin. Hover the value in the app to see the breakdown: asset value, haircut rate, and final collateral value.

Total Equity vs Collateral Value

Total Equity is the raw USD value of an asset: quantity x index price.

Collateral Value is the amount that actually counts toward margin after the haircut is applied. Only Collateral Value affects trading limits, withdrawal availability, debt limits, and liquidation risk.

Tiered haircuts

Haircuts can depend on the USD value of each asset in your account. Synthetix uses tiered rates, but current per-account deposit limits mean most users sit in the first tier. Check Collateral Value in your balances table for your actual margin contribution.

When collateral prices move

Non-USDT collateral is marked to index price. If WETH falls, your Collateral Value and Adjusted Account Value drop even if your position PnL is unchanged. That reduces Available Margin, can raise LTV, and increases liquidation or auto-exchange risk.

Example: You hold 5 WETH at 3,000 USDT with a 10% haircut. Collateral Value is about 13,500 USDT. If WETH drops 20% to 2,400 USDT, Collateral Value falls to about 10,800 USDT. That is a 2,700 USDT margin reduction with no trade activity.

Margin ratios

The system uses two core margin thresholds:

At 50x leverage, IMR is 2% and MMR is 1%.

How leverage affects uPnL

Leverage does not change uPnL for the same position size and the same price move.

• If you buy 1 BTC and price goes up by 100 USDT, your uPnL is +100 USDT whether you used 2x or 20x.
• The difference is how much margin you used to hold that position.

How leverage affects ROI

ROI is uPnL measured relative to the margin you used.

• ROI = uPnL / initial margin

Higher leverage uses less margin, so the same uPnL becomes a larger ROI. Lower leverage uses more margin, so the same uPnL becomes a smaller ROI.

Examples

These examples ignore fees and funding to keep the math simple.

Example 1 - Same uPnL, different ROI (long)

You open a long worth 3,000 USDT notional.

• 10x leverage
  • Initial margin = 3,000 / 10 = 300 USDT
• 5x leverage
  • Initial margin = 3,000 / 5 = 600 USDT

If price moves in your favor and uPnL is +30 USDT:

• ROI at 10x = 30 / 300 = 10%
• ROI at 5x = 30 / 600 = 5%

Same uPnL, different ROI because the margin used is different.

Example 2 - Losses work the same way

Same position: 3,000 USDT notional.

If uPnL becomes -30 USDT:

• ROI at 10x = -30 / 300 = -10%
• ROI at 5x = -30 / 600 = -5%

Example 3 - Short position behaves the same

You open a short worth 2,000 USDT notional.

• 20x leverage
  • Initial margin = 2,000 / 20 = 100 USDT

If price drops and uPnL is +20 USDT:

• ROI = 20 / 100 = 20%

If price rises and uPnL is -20 USDT:

• ROI = -20 / 100 = -20%

Worked margin example

You deposit 2,000 USDT and open a BTC long:

The important distinction is that the tier minimum sets the lowest margin the system allows, while your selected leverage determines how much of your collateral you actually commit. In this example, the tier would allow a lower minimum, but choosing 10x means you commit 1,000 USDT of margin to hold the position.

Account health

Your account health is driven by Adjusted Account Value, unrealized PnL, and total maintenance margin required.

health = adjusted_account_value / total_maintenance_margin_required

• Health above 100% means you have buffer above maintenance requirements.
• Health near maintenance means liquidation risk is increasing.
• Health at maintenance means the account can become eligible for liquidation.

Balances table reference

Watch these values in your balances table to understand account health:

Adjusting leverage

You can set leverage per market from the order entry panel. Decreasing leverage moves your liquidation price further away. Increasing leverage moves it closer.

See also

• Multicollateral Margin - USDT debt, Swap, and auto-exchange.
• Depositing Collateral - supported collateral and account caps.
• P&L Calculations
• Liquidations
• Markets