Kraken is expanding margin leverage across 40 pairs: stablecoins, gold tokens, BTC and ETH regional pairs, mid-cap assets, and DeFi blue-chips. This is the largest single leverage expansion on Kraken Pro, and it’s structured deliberately: four distinct categories, each designed to unlock a different class of strategy.
This isn’t just a number going up. It’s your trading surface area expanding.
Stablecoins: up to 10x (13 pairs)
This is the highest-impact batch in the expansion (and probably the most underappreciated).
Stablecoin pairs aren’t glamorous. They’re where carry traders, funding arbitrageurs, and tactical hedgers live. And until now, those strategies were capped at 2–5x depending on the pair. Moving the ceiling to 10x on 13 stablecoin pairs is a meaningful capital efficiency upgrade for anyone running those books.
PairPrevious leverageNew leverageUSDT/USD2x10xUSDC/EUR3x10xUSDC/USD3x10xUSDT/EUR3x10xUSDC/USDT5x10xUSDT/CHF4x10xUSDC/GBP3x10xUSDT/AUD4x10xUSDT/GBP4x10xUSDC/CAD4x10xUSDT/CAD4x10xUSDC/CHF4x10xUSDC/AUD3x10x
BTC, ETH regional pairs and gold tokens: up to 5x (8 pairs)
Your core book gets more room, and a macro angle opens up.
BTC and ETH pairs quoted in CAD, GBP, and CHF move from 3x to 5x. If you’re trading into European or Canadian markets, or hedging FX exposure alongside crypto positions, these pairs now give you significantly more flexibility.
But the more interesting story here is gold.
PAXG and XAUT are moving from 3x to 5x at a moment when tokenized gold is among the best-performing assets of the year.
If you have a macro thesis on commodities outperforming crypto in risk-off conditions, this gives you a way to express it on the same platform where you’re running everything else.
PairPrevious leverageNew leverageXBT/CAD3x5xXBT/GBP3x5xXBT/CHF3x5xETH/CAD3x5xETH/GBP3x5xETH/CHF3x5xPAXG/USD3x5xXAUT/USD3x5x
Mid-cap and high-momentum assets: up to 5x (9 pairs)
These pairs have been running at 3x. That cap was a friction point for traders with strong directional views on assets with real community and trading depth behind them.
ZEC, XMR, BCH, and DOT are established mid-caps with consistent volume. TAO and PEPE have active trading populations. FARTCOIN and BNB round out a batch that spans from privacy-focused assets to DeFi and meme-adjacent names.
PairPrevious leverageNew leverageZEC/USD3x5xXMR/USD3x5xFARTCOIN/USD3x5xTAO/USD3x5xBCH/USD3x5xPEPE/USD3x5xBNB/USD3x5xTRX/USD3x5xDOT/USD3x5x
DeFi blue-chips and EUR pairs: up to 5x (10 pairs)
The final batch extends 5x leverage to the next tier: DeFi-focused assets and EUR-denominated versions of pairs already expanded above.
CRV, UNI, and AAVE are the core DeFi liquidity protocol tokens; traders with views on DeFi activity and protocol revenue can now take those positions at higher leverage. HYPE and HBAR bring in newer high-conviction names. The EUR pairs give European traders direct access to the same leverage expansions happening in USD-denominated markets.
PairPrevious leverageNew leverageCRV/USD3x5xTRX/EUR3x5xHYPE/USD3x5xUNI/USD3x5xHBAR/USD3x5xAAVE/USD3x5xBCH/EUR3x5xZEC/EUR3x5xDOT/EUR3x5xSHIB/USD3x5x
What this means for your book
Forty-four pairs. Four distinct categories. Each expansion is designed to unlock a different class of strategy, not to push leverage for its own sake, but to remove ceilings that were limiting well-formed positions.
Stablecoins give carry and arbitrage traders more capital efficiency. Gold tokens give macro-oriented traders a new lever at a relevant moment. BTC and ETH regional pairs extend what’s already in your book. Mid-caps and DeFi assets broaden your surface area.
Before you start
To trade using margin, you’ll need to hold at least one eligible collateral currency. Margin trading is subject to eligibility criteria and availability may vary by region.
Margin trading incurs additional fees for opening, closing, and holding a position. See full rates and fees.
Trading on margin involves significant risk and may not be suitable for all investors. You could lose more than your initial investment. Spot margin trading products are offered by Payward Trading Ltd, incorporated in the British Virgin Islands (BVI). This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Product availability may vary by jurisdiction. Please ensure you fully understand the risks involved before trading. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
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