How to adjust leverage on an open position in Bybit?

Understanding Leverage Adjustment on Bybit

Bybit is one of the leading cryptocurrency derivatives exchanges, offering traders the ability to adjust leverage even after opening a position. This functionality allows users to manage risk dynamically based on market conditions and personal strategy. Unlike some platforms that lock in leverage at entry, Bybit provides flexibility for both isolated and cross margin modes.

1. Navigate to the open positions tab within the Bybit trading interface.

2. Locate the specific contract you wish to modify.
3. Click on the current leverage value displayed next to the position.
4. A pop-up slider or input field will appear, allowing you to set a new leverage level.
5. Confirm the adjustment, and the system will instantly recalculate your margin requirements and liquidation price accordingly.

Impact of Changing Leverage on Risk Parameters

Adjusting leverage directly influences several critical aspects of an open position. Increasing leverage reduces the amount of collateral required per contract, amplifying potential gains but also increasing exposure to liquidation. Conversely, lowering leverage increases the safety buffer by requiring more margin relative to position size.

1. Raising leverage decreases the distance to liquidation, making the position more vulnerable to adverse price moves.

2. Reducing leverage raises the threshold for liquidation, effectively tightening risk exposure.
3. The maintenance margin remains proportional to position size, but its percentage of account equity shifts with leverage changes.
4. Unrealized profit and loss values are recalculated immediately following any leverage modification due to updated mark price relationships.
5. Position margin allocation updates in real time, affecting available balance for other trades under the same margin mode.

Margin Mode Considerations When Adjusting Leverage

The behavior of leverage adjustments differs slightly depending on whether isolated or cross margin is used. In isolated margin mode, each position has a dedicated margin pool, so changing leverage only affects that specific trade. Cross margin mode pulls from the overall account equity, meaning leverage changes can influence how much of the total balance is committed to a given position.

1. Isolated margin allows precise control—leverage changes do not impact other open positions.

2. Cross margin adjustments may free up or consume additional equity from the shared pool.
3. Users must monitor their total used margin ratio when operating in cross mode after modifying leverage.
4. Liquidation logic in cross mode considers aggregate account health, not just individual position metrics.
5. Switching between margin modes while holding positions requires closing or adjusting leverage beforehand in certain cases.

Frequently Asked Questions

A: No. Each contract type on Bybit has a predefined leverage cap (e.g., 100x for BTCUSD). You cannot exceed this limit regardless of account tier or equity size.

Q: Does changing leverage affect my entry price or realized P&L?A: Entry price remains unchanged after leverage adjustment. Realized P&L is unaffected because it is calculated based on executed trades and funding payments, not leverage settings.

Q: Will my position be forcibly closed if I lower leverage significantly?A: Lowering leverage does not trigger forced closure. However, if the new margin requirement exceeds available funds in isolated mode, the system will prompt you to add margin before confirming the change.

Q: Is there a fee associated with modifying leverage on an open position?A: Bybit does not charge fees for adjusting leverage. It is a free feature designed to enhance user control over risk management parameters.