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Top 3 Profit Calculators for Margin Trading

Deniz Tutku
ILLUMINATION
Published in
6 min readSep 18, 2023

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In recent years, margin trading has become increasingly popular among crypto traders. Almost every exchange, whether it’s WhiteBIT, Binance, or Bitfinex, offers margin trading functionality to meet the growing demand. Additionally, there is a plethora of tools available to facilitate trading for users.

One such valuable tool is the margin trading calculator, which allows traders to calculate the funds required in their account to open and maintain a trading position with leverage. We will explore the best margin trading calculators that can help you forecast potential profits.

What is Margin Trading?

Margin trading is a financial instrument that enables trading assets in the market using borrowed funds and allows traders to profit not only from price increases but also from price declines.

In this industry, the traded instruments are primarily digital assets like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and others. An investor pledges their own funds as collateral (margin), which guarantees the fulfillment of debt obligations according to established rules. There is a fee to be paid for the use of borrowed funds, which provides the opportunity to leverage those funds for various trading strategies and gain greater profits from transactions.

Margin trading can be compared to spot trading because traders take possession of actual assets and trade them.

How Does Margin Trading Work?

For example, let’s say you have your own funds of 1000 USDT. A 5x leverage means you can increase the available trading capital by 5 times your own capital, which is 5000 USDT (1000 USDT * 5 = 5000 USDT).

So, the total amount for trading that you can access with 5x leverage is 5000 USDT (~ 5 BTC) = (1000 USDT (your own funds) * 5 = 5000 USDT, of which 1000 USDT is your own, and 4000 USDT is borrowed).

Let’s assume that the price of BTC has increased by 10%. In this case, 1 BTC would be worth 1100 USDT. You have 5 BTC in your example. If you decide to sell the entire position at this price, you will receive 500 USDT (5000 USDT + 10% = 5500 USDT, of which 1000 USDT is your own, 4000 USDT is returned to the exchange, and 500 USDT, approximately 0.454 BTC, is profit). So, your total balance would be 1000 USDT + 500 USDT (profit) = 1500 USDT.

In another scenario, if the price of BTC decreases by 5%, 1 BTC would now be worth 950 USDT, and the total value of all 5 BTC would be 4750 USDT (950 USDT * 5 BTC = 4750 USDT).

If you decide to sell the entire position at this price, you would incur a loss of 250 USDT (5000 USDT — 5% = 4750 USDT, of which 750 USDT is your own, 4000 USDT is borrowed, resulting in a loss of 250 USDT).

Traders in this field use margin trading to potentially boost their trading profits. If a margin trade goes in the right direction and is closed at a profit, the trading profit is multiplied by the trader’s chosen leverage (minus margin borrowing fees and any other trading fees).

What are “Long” and “Short” Positions?

A key aspect of margin trading is that traders can profit from both price increases and price declines, thanks to the existence of long and short positions.

  • Long positions offer the opportunity to profit from an asset’s price increase. Opening a long position is one of the most common trading strategies. A trader expects the asset’s price to rise, and they aim to profit by selling the instrument at a higher price.
  • Short positions allow the user to borrow an asset and sell it in the open market at the current price. Afterward, they wait for the price to drop, buy back the borrowed amount at a lower price, and repay the loan with interest. The profit consists of the difference between the selling and buying prices, which the user keeps. Alternatively, if the asset’s price increases, the investor incurs a loss.

However, there are several risks associated with margin trading that can arise for those interested in using this tool.

  1. Risks of Margin Trading: Traders are attracted to margin trading because of the potential for increased profit. If the value of your investments sharply increases, margin traders can achieve substantial gains. Naturally, due to frequent aggressive bullish trends in the digital asset market, traders are often interested in cryptocurrency margin trading.
  2. Leverage Risk: This is the primary risk associated with margin trading. The higher your leverage ratio, the greater the potential for losses.
  3. Volatility Risk: This risk stems from the nature of the instrument used for trading. Cryptocurrency risk levels are much higher than those typically observed in traditional assets, stocks, and commodities.
  4. Liquidity Risk: Assets with high liquidity pose less risk in margin trading because traders can quickly buy or sell assets depending on the situation. This is achieved through lower spreads or discounts. However, digital assets often have low liquidity compared to other assets.
  5. Digital System Risks: Internet connection instability, errors or failures in trading platform operating systems, and other computer-related issues also pose risks in cryptocurrency margin trading.

Top Bitcoin Margin Trading Calculators

After thorough research, I have compiled a list of the three best margin trading calculators for your use. To rank these calculators, we considered criteria such as ease of use, popularity (measured by the number of backlinks), and the variety of supported digital currencies and tokens.

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Start to use Coinexx, CryptoGT or CryptoAltum

Personal experience

For beginners as well as advanced users, I recommend using margin trading platforms that have a simpler interface than, for example, Binance. In my experience, the exchange WhiteBIT has proven to be a good choice. Indeed, charts and leverage ratios exceeding 20x can intimidate even the most seasoned traders. Moreover, WhiteBIT offers several advantages that can enhance your trading experience.

Advantages of Margin Trading on WhiteBIT:

1.Flexible leverage ranging from 1x to 20x.

2.WhiteBIT provides low commissions, not exceeding 0.1%. Additionally, WBT token holders can further reduce these fees.

3.Users are allowed to use other assets as collateral on the “Margin” balance. This enables a wide range of assets to secure all positions, but it’s essential to consider the margin weight.

4.The fee for using borrowed funds is only charged if the order is at least partially executed, helping to reduce unnecessary expenses.

5.Unlike spot trading, when opening a leveraged position, there is an option to create an OCO (One Cancels the Other) order.

Crypto Traders Share Margin Trading Success on Twitter

There are also many traders who, by their own example, demonstrate that cryptocurrency margin trading is not something to be feared. Here are a few traders who engage in margin trading and share their results on Twitter:

Also, you can be interesting:

“5 Tips From a Female Trader on Margin Trading

Conclusion

In recent years, margin trading has gained significant popularity in the world of cryptocurrency trading. Margin trading calculators have proven to be invaluable, allowing traders to calculate the necessary funds for opening and maintaining leveraged positions and forecast potential profits.

To aid traders in their margin trading endeavors, I have advices the top three margin trading calculators available: Coinexx, CryptoGT and CryptoAltum.

In conclusion, margin trading offers traders the potential for increased profits, but it also comes with inherent risks, including those associated with leverage, volatility, liquidity, and technical issues. As the crypto trading landscape continues to evolve, traders should carefully consider these factors and use margin trading calculators as valuable tools to inform their trading decisions and manage risk effectively.

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