> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.everstrike.xyz/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Risk Limits: Leverage Caps for Large Isolated Positions

> Risk Limits increase minimum margin as your isolated position grows, capping leverage on large positions and reducing the risk of cascading liquidations.

Risk Limits apply only to **Isolated Margin** positions. As your USD position size increases, Risk Limits add to the minimum initial margin requirement, which reduces the maximum leverage available for that position. This mechanism protects the broader market by making it less likely that a single large forced close triggers a chain of subsequent liquidations.

## Why Risk Limits Exist

Large leveraged positions carry outsized liquidation risk. When a big position is forcibly closed, the resulting sell pressure can move prices enough to push other leveraged positions below their maintenance margins — setting off a cascade. Risk Limits slow this dynamic by requiring large isolated positions to carry more margin relative to their notional size, reducing the probability that they need to be closed at all.

## Initial Risk Limit

The Initial Risk Limit for futures and options is currently `0.0001%` of USD position size.

Everstrike adds this amount on top of the contract's base minimum initial margin:

```text theme={null}
Minimum Initial Margin = Base Minimum Initial Margin + (Risk Limit × Position Size)
```

As your position size grows, the required margin grows with it, and the maximum achievable leverage decreases accordingly.

## Example

For an isolated perpetual futures position of `100,000 USD`, where the base minimum initial margin is `1.00%`:

```text theme={null}
Minimum Initial Margin = 1.00% + (0.0001% × 100,000) = 1.00% + 10.00% = 11%
```

The maximum leverage for this position is therefore:

```text theme={null}
Maximum Leverage = 1 ÷ 11% ≈ 9×
```

A smaller position with the same base margin — say `10,000 USD` — would have a minimum initial margin of only `2%`, supporting up to `50×` leverage. Large isolated positions therefore support less leverage than smaller ones.

<Note>
  Cross Margin does not use Risk Limits. Risk Limits apply exclusively to Isolated Margin positions. For Cross Margin margin requirements, see [Margin Requirements](/trading/margin-requirements).
</Note>