How to Open a Perpetual Position on ApeX Omni

ApeX advertises leverage up to 100x, but that ceiling isn’t available at every position size, as your trade size increases, the actual leverage you can access decreases, and both initial and maintenance margin requirements rise alongside it.

This guide is part of TradeOnDEX’s ApeX Protocol how-to series within Perpetual Futures, building on the account setup and cross-collateral deposit guides.

Disclosure: TradeOnDEX may earn a commission from links to ApeX on this page, at no extra cost to you. Full details at the end of this article.

How to open a position, step by step

1. Fund your Perp account by transferring assets from your Funding account, click Transfer, choose your token, enter the amount, and confirm.
2. Select your trading pair (BTC-USDT, ETH-USDT, and many others across ApeX’s market list).
3. Choose your order type: Market, Limit, or Conditional.
4. Set your leverage and adjust the margin slider to control your risk level.
5. Click Buy/Long to go long, or Sell/Short to go short.

Why the 100x figure isn’t a flat ceiling

The maximum advertised leverage of 100x depends on your position size, as trade size increases, allowed leverage decreases, and both initial and maintenance margin requirements rise correspondingly. This means for you, concretely: a small position might genuinely access close to the advertised maximum, while a much larger position on the same market will face a lower effective leverage ceiling and higher margin requirements, even though the same “100x” figure gets advertised regardless of size.

What margin actually is here

Opening a position requires depositing margin, which acts as your collateral, the amount required scales with your chosen leverage. As covered in the cross-collateral guide, this margin doesn’t have to be a single stablecoin; multiple supported assets can back your position directly.

The actual trading costs

Futures trading on ApeX follows a 0.02% maker fee and a 0.05% taker fee, a standard maker/taker split where providing liquidity (resting orders) costs less than taking liquidity (market orders or orders that cross the book immediately).

Risk: what to understand before sizing a position

Don’t plan a large position assuming the advertised maximum leverage applies uniformly. Check the actual leverage available at your intended position size before committing, since the real ceiling shrinks as size grows, a plan built around the headline 100x figure can be materially wrong for anything beyond a small trade.

Margin requirements rising with position size is a deliberate risk-reduction design, not a platform limitation to work around. This scaling exists specifically to reduce the risk of an oversized, thinly-margined position. Treat it as a signal about prudent sizing, not an obstacle to maximize leverage against.

If your collateral is a volatile asset rather than a stablecoin, your margin buffer is affected by two sources of price movement, not one. As covered in the cross-collateral guide, a collateral asset’s own price decline can erode your margin buffer independently of how your actual position is performing.

Market orders execute at the best available price, which may differ from what you expected in a fast-moving or thinly-traded market. As with any perpetual platform in this series, understand the difference between a market order’s speed and a limit order’s price certainty before choosing between them for a position that matters.

Leverage and position size, at a glance

See it for yourself

Before opening a position larger than a small test trade, check the actual leverage and margin requirement the platform shows for that specific size, rather than assuming the advertised 100x figure applies uniformly. You can review current markets and leverage tiers at apex.exchange.

Frequently asked questions

Is 100x leverage always available on ApeX?

Not for every position size, leverage availability decreases as your trade size increases, with margin requirements rising correspondingly, so check the actual figure for your intended size rather than assuming the advertised maximum applies.

What are ApeX’s trading fees?

A 0.02% maker fee and a 0.05% taker fee for futures trading, a standard maker/taker structure.

Can I use volatile assets like BTC or ETH as margin for a position?

Yes, through the cross-collateral feature covered elsewhere in this series, but understand that your collateral’s own price movement then affects your margin buffer alongside your position’s performance.

What order types are available when opening a position?

Market, Limit, and Conditional order types, alongside a leverage and margin slider to control position risk before confirming.

Affiliate disclosure

TradeOnDEX may earn a commission if you sign up or trade through a link on this page, at no extra cost to you. ApeX’s own affiliate/referral terms are still being confirmed for this site, so links here are direct and untracked for now. This article is educational and is not financial advice. See our disclaimer for the full risk warning.