Exness Leverage Guide

Exness operates through multiple regulated entities:

- FSA Seychelles / FSA BVI (international clients): Highest leverage available
- CySEC (EU clients): Capped at 1:30 (ESMA rules)
- FCA (UK clients): Capped at 1:30
- FSCA (South Africa): Higher leverage available

For most clients in UAE, Asia, Africa, and Pakistan — FSA Seychelles entity applies:

| Account Type | Forex Major Pairs | XAU/USD | Crypto |
|-------------|------------------|---------|--------|
| Standard | Up to 1:∞ (unlimited) | Up to 1:2000 | Up to 1:200 |
| Standard Plus | Up to 1:∞ | Up to 1:2000 | Up to 1:200 |
| Pro | Up to 1:∞ | Up to 1:2000 | Up to 1:200 |
| Zero | Up to 1:∞ | Up to 1:2000 | Up to 1:200 |
| Raw Spread | Up to 1:∞ | Up to 1:2000 | Up to 1:200 |

Unlimited leverage eligibility: Requires 15 trading days of history on the account AND minimum 10 lots total volume. New accounts default to 1:2000 maximum until these conditions are met.

Setting leverage at account opening:
1. Log into Exness Personal Area
2. Open a new trading account
3. Select leverage from the dropdown (options from 1:2 to 1:Unlimited depending on eligibility)
4. Confirm

Changing leverage on an existing account:
1. Personal Area → My Accounts
2. Find the account → Settings (gear icon)
3. Change Leverage → select new level
4. Confirm

Important: If you have open positions, you may not be able to change leverage. Close all positions first, then adjust leverage.

Leverage and margin interaction:
At 1:2000 leverage, a 1 standard lot EUR/USD ($100,000 position) requires only $50 in margin. At unlimited leverage, margin approaches zero. This means you can hold large positions with minimal capital tied up as margin — useful for specific strategies, dangerous if combined with large position sizes.

High leverage does not mean high risk if position sizing is controlled. The risk is determined by:

Risk = Stop loss (pips) × Pip value × Lot size

Not by leverage. A trader with 1:100 leverage opening a correctly sized 0.05 lot position has the same dollar risk as a trader with 1:2000 leverage opening the same 0.05 lot position.

The danger: High leverage lowers the margin requirement, making it tempting to open far larger positions than risk management allows. "I have $500 margin free" does not mean "I should open 10 lots."

The correct approach:
1. Decide your risk per trade (e.g., 1% of $1,000 = $10)
2. Calculate your stop loss distance (e.g., 20 pips)
3. Calculate lot size: $10 ÷ (20 pips × $10/pip) = 0.05 lots
4. Open that position — regardless of what your leverage allows

When unlimited leverage is useful:
- Capital-efficient carry trade strategies where you need minimal margin tied up
- Hedging scenarios where you hold opposing positions simultaneously
- Not as a tool to open oversized risk — as a tool to minimize idle margin on appropriately sized trades