Margin trading enables traders to potentially boost their trading profits by borrowing funds to increase the size of their trades. In this guide, we will introduce you to the best crypto margin trading exchanges that you can use to trade bitcoin and altcoins using leverage. 

BBOD

Blockchain Board of Derivatives (BBOD) is one of the most sophisticated crypto margin trading platforms in the world. It provides crypto traders with the opportunity to trade perpetual contracts on several digital currencies and tokens on a professional platform. 

BBOD offers up to 50x leverage and allows the buying and selling of 16 cryptoassets, including bitcoin, ether, binance coin, monero, among others. BBOD supports the stablecoin TrueUSD (TUSD) and BBOD (BBOD) as deposit currencies. 

Additionally, the margin trading platform does not require users to undergo a KYC process because it is non-custodial and, thus, does not hold user funds. Each BBOD user has a personal smart contract wallet on the Ethereum Blockchain, which means the platform does not store your private keys, thus eliminating the risk of cyber theft. BBOD trading platform is currently in private Beta, which gives you a chance to test the product.

• Launch year: 2019
• Leverage: Up to 50x
• Supported assets: BTC, ETH, XRP, EOS, NEO, BNB, LTC, XLM, ADA, IOTA, XMR, NEM, ICON, DGB, DCR, ELA

Binance

Binance has built an excellent reputation among traders, making it one of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchanges. In 2019, it added a feature for crypto margin trading that allows traders to borrow funds and trade more than 15 digital currency pairs. 

The amount of funds in your Margin Wallet determines the funds you can borrow. Your crypto balance is your collateral. The exchange provides a fixed rate of 3:1 (3x) on your balance. That means if you have one BTC, you can borrow two more for trading or betting on the market. Binance does not have fixed fees. You can find daily interest rates here. 

To start using the Binance margin trading platform, you need to complete a KYC onboarding process and enable 2FA.

• Launch year: 2017
• Leverage: Up to 3x
• Supported assets: BTC, ETH, XRP, BNB, TRX, LINK, EOS, ADA, ONT, USDC, ETC, LTC, BCH, XLM, XMR, NEO

BitMEX

BitMEX is a cryptocurrency exchange for margin trading that has established itself as one of the largest liquidity pools for BTC/USD. 

The trading platform offers bitcoin (BTC) perpetual contracts that have no expiry with up to 100x leverage, and Ethereum contracts with up to 50x leverage. Cryptocurrencies that can be traded with leverage of up to 20x include BCH, ADA, XRP, and EOS. It also provides up to 33.3x leverage for LTC. 

To start trading on BitMEX, you only need to register with your email address. It is available to use globally except in the United States. Traders receive a rebate of up to 0.05% for providing liquidity (price makers) for contracts and futures, while price takers pay between 0.025-0.075%, depending on the asset.

• Launch year: 2014
• Leverage: Up to 100x
• Supported assets: BTC, ETH, BCH, ADA, XRP, TRON, EOS, LTC

Deribit

Deribit is a crypto futures and options exchange. The platform provides up to 100x leverage for perpetual contracts. Bitcoin and ether are the two supported assets for all derivatives contracts. 

To get started on Deribit, you only need to sign up with an email address and deposit bitcoin. Currently, only BTC deposits are accepted. Aside from its margin trading feature, Deribit stands out as one of the leading bitcoin options trading platforms available today. 

Traders that provide liquidity can get up to 0.025% as a rebate, depending on the derivates traded, while price takers are charged up to 0.075% in fees.

• Launch year: 2016
• Leverage: Up to 100x
• Supported assets: BTC, ETH

Huobi Pro

Huobi Pro is a prominent international cryptocurrency trading exchange, with over five million users globally. The platform provides digital asset trading and storage services to its customers. 

Huobi’s crypto margin trading platform offers leverage of up to 5x for 20+ cryptoassets. You can get up to 5x leverage when trading leading assets, such as BTC, EOS, and ETH. Smaller cryptoassets, such as BSV and ETC come with up to 2x leverage.

To begin to trade on Huobi, you first need to complete a KYC process. The onboarding process could take up to a day before you can access the platform. Huobi charges up to 0.2% as price taker fees for ordinary users, but the highest charge for professionals (more than 1000 trades in BTC in the last 30 days) is 0.085%.

• Launch Year: 2013
• Leverage: Up to 5x
• Supported assets: BTC, ETH, TRX, ADA, XRP, LTC, BCH, EOS, ETC, ZEC, ZIL, QTUM, NEO, ONT, OMG, ATOM, BTM, BTT, DTA, BSV, ELA, ELF, HB10, IOST, RUFF, HC

Kraken

Kraken is one of the first exchanges to offer leveraged bitcoin margin trading. The company has expanded globally since its launch in 2014. 

Its advanced margin trading engine allows you to amplify your potential gains and execute complex trading strategies. Kraken provides leverage of up to 5x for eight cryptocurrencies. Traders can leverage with crypto-fiat pairs too.

Kraken takes up to 0.02% in fees when you open a position and up to 0.02% (per 4 hours) in rollover fees to keep it open. To start trading on the platform, users have to verify their identity by completing a KYC process.

• Launch Year: 2011
• Leverage: Up to 5x
• Supported assets: BTC, ETH, USDT, XMR, ETC, REP, XRP, BCH

Poloniex

Poloniex is another highly reputable crypto margin trading exchange. This US-based cryptoasset exchange is known for offering regular trading accounts for everyone and margin trading for experienced traders. However, margin trade is available for only non-US users.

Users can borrow funds from another customer, and interest is paid based on the amount loaned. The customer lending specifies the interest rate on the loan offer. You are matched with lenders based on the maximum loan rate specified. Fees for margin trading range between 0% and 0.25% depending on the position either as a price maker or taker. Fees decline as you trade higher volumes.

To sign up and start trading on Poloniex, you have to verify your identity. Completing the KYC process usually takes a few hours.

• Launch year: 2014
• Leverage: 2.5x
• Supported assets: ATOM, BCH, BSV, BTC, BTS, CLAM, DASH, DOGE, EOS, ETC, ETH, FCT, LTC, MAID, STR, USDC, USDT, XMR, XRP

If you want to trade bitcoin and altcoins on the go, check out our guide to the best cryptocurrency trading apps.