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Leverage Built for Performance
Find out how leverage is applied in practice, including Dynamic Leverage and periods of
Higher Margin Requirements (HMR), below.
Dynamic Leverage
At IC, leverage is applied through a tiered margin system that automatically adjusts based on your position size. This means your trade is split across tiers, with each portion margined at the rate of the tier it falls into. As your exposure increases, margin requirements scale accordingly, resulting in progressively lower leverage on larger positions. The entire position is not assigned a single leverage rate. Instead, each part is calculated separately.
Designed to deliver competitive trading conditions across all account sizes and asset classes, the tiered margin system works seamlessly in the background, empowering traders to focus on strategy and adapt to market dynamics.
Example
- Instrument: USDCHF
- Position size: 70 lots
- Contract size: 1 lot = 100,000 USD
- Total position size: 70 x 100,000 = 7,000,000 USD
Normal market conditions
- Tier 1: 0–25 lots → 1:5000
- Tier 2: 25–50 lots → 1:3000
- Tier 3: 50+ lots -> 1:1000
How the margin is calculated
- Tier 1 Calculation (0 – 25 lots)
25 × 100,000 = 2,500,000 USD
Margin required = 2,500,000 ÷ 5000 = 500 USD - Tier 2 Calculation (25.00 – 50 lots)
25.00 × 100,000 = 2,500,000 USD
Margin required = 2,500,000 ÷ 3000 = 833.33 USD - Tier 3 Calculation (50.00+ lots)
20 × 100,000 = 2,000,000 USD USD
Margin required = 2,000,000 ÷ 1000 = 2,000.00 USD
Total margin required
- 500 USD + 833.33 USD + 2,000 USD = 3,333.33 USD
Leverage may change and impact your margin requirements. Please ensure sufficient funds are maintained.
Higher Margin Requirement (HMR)
Some trading periods are subject to Higher Margin Requirements (HMR), during which available leverage is temporarily capped to help manage risk during elevated market volatility. This may apply around end-of-day roll, major news events, and weekends.
HMR does not change how margin is calculated. The same incremental tiered margin logic continues to apply, meaning each leverage tier is applied only to the portion of your position that falls within that tier's lot range, not to the full position.
-
End of day : Daily 30 minutes before market close and 15 minutes after the market opens.
-
Weekend : Every Friday, 1 hour before market close until Monday, 30 minutes after the market opens on Monday.
-
Major News : 15 minutes before until 1 minute after a high-impact news release.
Example
- Instrument: USDCHF
- Position size: 70 lots
- Contract size: 1 lot = 100,000 USD
- Total position size: 70 x 100,000 = 7,000,000 USD
Tiers During HMR
- Tier 1: 0–25 lots → 1:500
- Tier 2: 25–50 lots → 1:200
- Tier 3: 50+ lots → 1:200
How Margin is calculated during HMR periods
- Tier 1 Calculation (0 – 25 lots)
25 × 100,000 = 2,500,000 USD
Margin required = 2,500,000 ÷ 500 = 5,000.00 USD - Tier 2 Calculation (25.00 – 50 lots)
25.00 × 100,000 = 2,500,000 USD
Margin required = 2,500,000 ÷ 200 = 12,500 USD - Tier 3 Calculation (50.00+ lots)
20 × 100,000 = 2,000,000 USD
Margin required = 2,000,000 ÷ 200 = 10,000.00 USD
Total margin required during HMR
- 5,000 USD + 12,500 USD + 10,000.00 USD = 27,500.00 USD
These rates apply to new positions only. Existing open positions retain the leverage at which they were opened. When the HMR period ends, your margin is automatically recalculated based on the prevailing mark-to-market value at that time, which may result in higher or lower margin compared to when the positions were originally opened.
Products
Forex
Max Leverage 1:5000
Trade Major, Minor, and Exotic currency pairs. The world's most liquid markets.
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Metals
Max Leverage 1:2000
Trade Gold, Silver, Palladium, and Platinum with superior conditions.
Learn More
Energies
Max Leverage 1:500
Trade global energy markets including Brent, WTI and natural gas.
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Futures
Max Leverage 1:200
Trade futures markets across commodities, indices, metals and other key asset classes.
Learn More
Crypto
Max Leverage 1:500
Trade the biggest cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP and 90 more.
Learn More
Stocks
Max Leverage 1:20
Trade stocks and ETFs across the world's largest exchanges, including NYSE, NASDAQ, LSE, Xetra and more.
Learn MoreLeverage Tiers
| Max Leverage | HMR | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Instrument | 0-25 Lots | 25-50 Lots | 50-100 Lots | 100+ Lots | 0-25 Lots | 25-50 Lots | 50-100 Lots | 100+ Lots |
| FX Major/Minor | 1:5000 | 1:3000 | 1:1000 | 1:500 | 1:500 | 1:200 | 1:200 | 1:200 |
| FX Exotics | 1:3000 | 1:2000 | 1:1000 | 1:500 | 1:500 | 1:200 | 1:200 | 1:200 |
-
HMR Period : End of day, Major news announcements, Weekends
| Max Leverage | HMR | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Instrument | 0-25 Lots | 25-50 Lots | 50-100 Lots | 100+ Lots | 0-25 Lots | 25-50 Lots | 50-100 Lots | 100+ Lots |
| Gold (XAU) | 1:2000 | 1:1000 | 1:500 | 1:100 | 1:500 | 1:200 | 1:100 | 1:50 |
| Silver (XAG) | 1:1000 | 1:500 | 1:200 | 1:100 | 1:200 | 1:100 | 1:50 | 1:20 |
-
HMR Period : End of day, Major news announcements, Weekends
| BTC | ||
|---|---|---|
| Tier | Max Leverage | HMR |
| <= 49.99 Lots | 1:500 | 1:200 |
| >50 Lots | 1:300 | 1:200 |
| ETH | ||
|---|---|---|
| Tier | Max Leverage | HMR |
| <= 999.99 Lots | 1:500 | 1:200 |
| >1000 Lots | 1:300 | 1:200 |
Note: For the remaining crypto CFDs, no tiered structure applies.
| US Stocks | ||
|---|---|---|
| Tier | Max Leverage | HMR |
| 16:35-21:55 | Core session | 1:20 |
| 21:55-22:40 | Pre-close window | 1:10 |
| 22:40-22:55 | Final auction | 1:5 |
Important Notes
- These adjustments occur every trading day during the standard stock trading session.
- Margin requirements for existing positions will be recalculated when the HMR period is in effect.
- Once the HMR period ends, leverage automatically returns to standard levels.
| 24H US Stocks | ||
|---|---|---|
| Tier | Max Leverage | HMR |
| 16:35-21:55 | Core session | 1:20 |
| 21:55-22:40 | Pre-close window | 1:10 |
| 22:40-16:35 | Pre/after market hours | 1:5 |
Important Notes
- These adjustments occur every trading day during the US stock trading standard and extended session.
- Margin requirements for existing positions will be recalculated when the HMR period is in effect.
- Once the HMR period ends, leverage automatically returns to standard levels.
| ASX, LSE, Euronext, Xetra, JPX Stocks, Bolsa, SIX Stocks | ||
|---|---|---|
| Tier | Max Leverage | HMR |
| 20 mins after market open | Core session -post open | 1:20 |
| 1 hour before market close | Pre-close window | 1:10 |
| 15 mins before market close | Final auction | 1:5 |
Important Notes
- These adjustments occur every trading day during the standard stock trading sessions.
- Margin requirements for existing positions will be recalculated when the HMR period is in effect.
- Once the HMR period ends, leverage automatically returns to standard levels.
View detailed information on our Margin & Leverage Framework.
FAQs
Margin is calculated progressively by tier. Your position is split into portions, and each portion is margined at the leverage of the tier it falls into, rather than applying a single leverage rate to the entire trade.
As your exposure grows, portions of your position move into higher tiers where margin requirements are higher. This helps manage risk while still offering higher leverage on smaller portions of your trade.
HMR periods are times of increased market risk, such as major news events, (Central Bank Rate Decisions, Non-Farm Payrolls (NFP), CPI , Core CPI , Crude Oil Inventories) market close, or weekends, when leverage is temporarily reduced and margin requirements are increased for new positions. The events listed are indicative and not exhaustive. The Company reserves the right to implement HMR conditions at any time, at its sole discretion, where deemed necessary due to market volatility or prevailing market conditions.
Once the HMR period ends, margin is automatically recalculated based on the current market value of your positions, and standard leverage conditions resume for new trades.
In most cases, no. HMR applies only to new positions, and existing trades retain the leverage at which they were opened.
However, for certain instruments such as stocks, margin requirements on existing positions may be recalculated during HMR periods, depending on market conditions.
However, for certain instruments such as stocks, margin requirements on existing positions may be recalculated during HMR periods, depending on market conditions.
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