How much to risk per trade is a dollar amount, not a leverage setting. If the stop hits, you lose that amount — say $100 on a $10,000 account, which is 1%. The position size is whatever quantity makes that stop equal those dollars. Leverage does not change the $100. It only changes how much margin you post to hold the same size.
The ceiling
Decide the loss first
Ask: if this idea is wrong, how much of the account may disappear? Write that number before you open the ticket. If you cannot name it, you are not sizing. You are hoping.
$100 of $10,000 — the forest sliver is 1%. If this trade is wrong, the rest of the bar stays in the account.
About 1% is a widely used ceiling because a streak of losses then hurts without ending the account. Two percent is already aggressive for a jumpy coin. Ten percent on one trade is how people go quiet for a year.
The arithmetic
The stop turns dollars into size
You also need the price where the idea is invalid — the stop. Farther stop means a smaller position for the same dollar risk. Tighter stop means a larger position. That feels backwards until you remember you are capping dollars, not maximizing coin.
Example: $10,000 account, 1% risk ($100), Bitcoin at $100,000, stop 2% away. The position is about $5,000, or 0.05 BTC at that price. If the stop hits, the loss is about $100. That is the whole trick.
| Stop distance | About this position | If stop hits |
|---|---|---|
| 1% | Larger | Still about $100 |
| 2% | $5,000 on a $10,000 account in the example above | Still about $100 |
| 4% | Smaller | Still about $100 |
Leverage
Leverage is not the risk
The leverage button changes margin, not the stop math. People raise leverage to “afford” a bigger coin stack, which quietly raises the dollars at risk. Keep the dollar cap. If the margin required is more than you want to lock, the trade is too big — shrink size. Use the leverage calculator after size exists, not before.
The fuse
Then check the fuse
On futures, also read what liquidation price is. If liquidation sits inside your stop, the exchange may close you first. Shrink size or add isolated margin until the fuse is farther than the stop you chose. The liquidation calculator is that check.
Checked August 2026
Fees and funding nibble extra dollars. The 1% cap is still the planning number. Recheck size when the account has grown or shrunk a lot — last month’s $100 is not this month’s 1% if the wallet changed.
What this is not
What this page will not do
It will not tell you that Bitcoin is going up. It will not replace a stop. It will not fight the position size calculator for the same search query. That tool owns the arithmetic. This guide owns the decision that comes before you type the numbers.