Leverage and Margin
TRADING ON LEVERAGE
At FXCM, you’re able to trade FX, crypto CFDs and other CFDs on leverage, meaning that you can get much larger exposure to the market for a relatively smaller initial outlay. When you trade with us, your trades are executed using borrowed money. For example, 100:1 leverage allows you to trade with $10,000 in the market with only $100 of your own capital used to open the position. Remember however that higher leverage can amplify your losses.
All new accounts are defaulted up to 1000:1 leverage (or 400:1 for cryptocurrency CFDs). Accounts that are funded in excess of 10,000 CCY will be moved to a leverage of up to 400:1 for FX and CFDs while crypto is moved up to 100:1, and accounts in excess of 50,000 CCY will be moved to a leverage of up to 100:1 on FX, 200:1 on CFDs, and 50:1 on crypto. The leverage on your account will then be adjusted based on the equity in your account. FXCM reserves the final right, in its sole discretion, to change your leverage settings.
| Equity1 | Less than $10,000 | Between $10,000 and $50,000 | Greater than $50,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| FX Leverage | up to 1000:1 | up to 400:1 | up to 100:1 |
| CFD Leverage | up to 1000:1 | up to 400:1 | up to 200:1 |
| BTC/USD, BCH/USD, ETH/USD | 400:1 | 100:1 | 50:1 |
| SOL/USD | 100:1 | 100:1 | 50:1 |
| Cryptostock & CryptoMajor | 400:1 | 50:1 | 50:1 |
| All other cryptocurrency CFDs | 50:1 | 50:1 | 50:1 |
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What is Margin?
Margin can be thought of as a good faith deposit required to maintain open positions. This is not a fee or a transaction cost, it is simply a portion of your account equity set aside and allocated as a margin deposit. The amount of margin that you are required to put up for each currency pair varies by the leverage profiles listed above.
Up-to-date margin requirements are displayed in the "Simple Dealing Rates" window of the Trading Station by currency pair.
Do Margin requirements change?
Margin requirements can periodically change to account for changes in market volatility and currency exchange rates. For example, the margin requirement (MMR) for a specific currency pair is calculated as a percentage of the notional value of such pair. As the exchange rates for any specific currency pair fluctuate up or down, the margin requirement for that pair must be adjusted. As an example, if the Euro strengthens against the US dollar, more margin will be required to hold a EUR/USD position in a US dollar denominated account. FXCM does not anticipate more than one update a month, however extreme market movements or event risk may necessitate unscheduled intra-month updates.