Leverage: the truth in numbers

Leverage lets you control a bigger position than your money: with 10×, $100 controls $1,000. A 5 % move becomes a 50 % gain — or a 50 % loss.

If the loss eats your margin, the exchange liquidates you: it closes the position and keeps the money. At 10×, a 10 % move against you is enough; at 50×, a 2 % wiggle is.

It isn't the coin that kills, it's the leverage chosen. The rule of thumb: start at 2–3× at most, always with a stop-loss, and only with money you've already practised with here.