Someone just asked me about the margin mode, so I’ll explain what full margin means and how it differs from isolated margin.

Full margin is basically a shared margin pool for all the assets in your account’s contracts. Simply put, all the funds in your account can serve as risk buffers, and multiple positions can share this margin pool. What’s the benefit of this? It allows your opening margin to be allocated flexibly, and with proper stop-loss and take-profit settings, it’s very unlikely to get liquidated.

In contrast, isolated margin means you allocate a specific margin to each individual position. Under this mode, if the margin for a position drops below the maintenance margin, that position will be liquidated immediately. The risk is high—just a small mistake can lead to liquidation unless you add margin in time.

Let’s clarify with an example. When Ethereum is around 3000, using 100x leverage in full margin mode, a 30-point price movement can wipe out your initial margin. But in isolated margin mode, it might only take a 15-point move to trigger liquidation. See? Isolated margin offers higher potential gains, but the risk also multiplies.

Regarding how to allocate funds, here’s my advice. For ultra-short-term trading, allocate about 10% of your total account funds to open positions. With 100x leverage, Ethereum needs a 300-point move to be liquidated, which is relatively safe. Remember to set stop-loss and take-profit, and monitor in real-time.

For medium- to long-term holdings, allocating 3% to 6% of your funds is enough. The stop-loss and take-profit ranges can be wider for medium- and long-term positions, but shorter-term trades should be more cautious.

Another interesting comparison is high leverage with low margin versus low leverage with high margin. Suppose you have 10,000 USDT—using 1,000 USDT with 100x leverage to open a position, versus 4,000 USDT with 25x leverage. The profit and loss volatility are actually the same. But what’s the difference? With the first approach, you still have 9,000 USDT in flexible funds to add positions, adjust, or hedge risks. The second approach only leaves 6,000 USDT. See? The liquidity of your account directly impacts your operational space.

So, choosing the mode depends on your trading cycle and risk tolerance. Full margin is more suitable for experienced traders, while isolated margin requires more cautious operation.