Your $3/Day 'Cheap' Leverage Just Cost You $270

October 15th. You open a 10x leveraged Bitcoin position. Your calculator shows:

"Daily funding: $3.00"

You think: "Three bucks a day? That's nothing. A coffee costs more."

Fast forward 90 days. Bitcoin is exactly where you need it. Your target hits. You close the position.

Expected profit: +$500 Actual profit: +$230

Where did $270 go?

Funding fees. $3 per day × 90 days = $270. That's 27% of your $1,000 margin—gone.

You were right about Bitcoin. You timed the trade perfectly. But you lost over a quarter of your capital to a cost you never properly calculated.

This is what happens when calculators only show you one day.

The Industry Hides Long-Term Costs (Here's Proof)

I tested every major crypto calculator I could find. Here's what they show you about funding fees:

Popular exchange calculators:

Binance: Daily rate only
Bybit: Daily rate only
OKX: Daily rate only
Kraken: Daily rate only

Independent calculators:

8 out of 10: Show daily rate only
2 out of 10: Show 7-day projection
0 out of 10: Show 30, 60, or 90-day totals

Why the industry stops at daily rates:

Because $3/day doesn't scare anyone. It's psychological camouflage.

But show traders the real numbers?

30 days = $90 (9% of margin)
60 days = $180 (18% of margin)
90 days = $270 (27% of margin)

Suddenly that "cheap" leverage doesn't look so cheap anymore.

Aha moment: When you see you'll pay 27% in fees over 3 months, you start asking "Wait, why don't I just buy spot?"

And that's exactly what exchanges don't want you asking.

Real Example: How $3/Day Becomes $270

Let me show you exactly how daily fees compound. This is a real scenario with verified math.

Setup:

Bitcoin at $100,000
Position size: $10,000
Leverage: 10x
Your margin: $1,000
Funding rate: 0.01% per interval
Intervals: 3 per day (every 8 hours)

The Math: ``` Daily Cost = Position Size × Rate × Intervals Daily Cost = $10,000 × 0.01% × 3 Daily Cost = $10,000 × 0.0001 × 3 Daily Cost = $3.00 ```

Day 1: $3 in fees

Total paid: $3
% of margin: 0.3%
Your thought: "Basically nothing."

Day 7: $3/day × 7 days

Total paid: $21
% of margin: 2.1%
Your thought: "Still fine. Position is working."

Day 30: $3/day × 30 days

Total paid: $90
% of margin: 9%
Breakeven moved: Entry + 0.9%
Your thought: "Fees are adding up, but I'm profitable."

Day 60: $3/day × 60 days

Total paid: $180
% of margin: 18%
Breakeven moved: Entry + 1.8%
Your thought: "Holy shit. I need a 2% move just to break even?"

Day 90: $3/day × 90 days

Total paid: $270
% of margin: 27%
Breakeven moved: Entry + 2.7%
Your thought: "I've lost over a quarter of my capital to fees. And Bitcoin hasn't even moved."

Aha moment #1: $3/day is psychologically invisible. Your brain can't process small daily amounts as "real money."

Aha moment #2: But $270 over 3 months? That's 27% of your capital—gone. Not from volatility. Not from bad timing. From holding a position.

Aha moment #3: If you'd bought spot Bitcoin with that same $1,000 margin, you'd have paid $20 in trading fees total. That's it. No daily bleeding.

This is the trick: Exchanges want you thinking in daily rates because your brain dismisses $3. But show you the quarterly total? Suddenly you're asking uncomfortable questions about whether leverage is worth it.

The Math They Don't Want You to See

Here's what happens at different leverage levels over 90 days:

5x Leverage ($10,000 position, $2,000 margin):

Borrowed: $8,000
Daily funding (0.01% × 3): $2.40
90-day total: $216
Percentage of margin: 10.8%
Bitcoin move needed to break even: +1.08%

10x Leverage ($10,000 position, $1,000 margin):

Borrowed: $9,000
Daily funding (0.01% × 3): $2.70
90-day total: $243
Percentage of margin: 24.3%
Bitcoin move needed to break even: +2.43%

20x Leverage ($10,000 position, $500 margin):

Borrowed: $9,500
Daily funding (0.01% × 3): $2.85
90-day total: $256.50
Percentage of margin: 51.3%
Bitcoin move needed to break even: +2.57%

50x Leverage ($10,000 position, $200 margin):

Borrowed: $9,800
Daily funding (0.01% × 3): $2.94
90-day total: $264.60
Percentage of margin: 132.3%
Bitcoin move needed to break even: +2.65%

Notice the pattern: Higher leverage means higher margin efficiency but also means fees can exceed your entire margin in under 3 months.

At 50x, you've paid more in fees than you put up as collateral. Even if Bitcoin moved exactly 0%, you're down 132% of your initial capital.

Why 30 Days Isn't Enough

Position traders, swing traders, and anyone holding through volatility don't close in 30 days.

Real holding periods:

Swing trade: 5-14 days
Position trade: 3-8 weeks
Strategic hold: 2-4 months
Conviction play: 3-6+ months

If you're holding BTC through a macro trend, you're not closing in 30 days. You're holding until the thesis plays out or invalidates.

That's where the 60-90 day projection matters.

The Compounding Effect

Funding fees don't just add up—they compound in impact because they:

Reduce your margin - Each fee payment lowers your liquidation buffer
Shift your breakeven higher - Every day adds to the price move you need
Turn winners into losers - A +5% move might be +2% after 90 days of fees

Example:

Entry: BTC at $100,000
Target: $110,000 (+10%)
Stop: $98,000 (-2%)
R:R at entry: 5:1 (risking 2% to make 10%)

After 90 days of fees (2.7% of position):

True breakeven: $102,700 (not $100,000)
Real gain if target hits: $7,300 (not $10,000)
Real R:R: 3.65:1 (not 5:1)
If BTC is at $108,000: You're up +5.3% (not +8%)

The fees didn't just cost you $270. They fundamentally changed your trade.

When Does Spot Become Cheaper?

Here's the crossover point where buying spot Bitcoin becomes more capital-efficient than holding leveraged derivatives:

Setup: $10,000 exposure to BTC

Option A: Spot

Capital required: $10,000
Trading fees: ~$20 (0.1% entry + 0.1% exit)
Holding cost: $0
Total cost: $20

Option B: 10x Derivatives

Capital required: $1,000
Trading fees: ~$10 (0.05% entry + 0.05% exit)
Funding at 0.01%/interval × 3/day:
- 30 days: $90
- 60 days: $180
- 90 days: $270
Total cost at 90 days: $280

The math:

Spot is 10x more expensive in capital (need full $10,000)
But derivatives cost 14x more in fees over 90 days ($280 vs $20)
Breakeven point: ~45 days

Aha moment #4: After 45 days, spot becomes cheaper than 10x leveraged derivatives—even though it locks up 10x more capital.

Why this matters: If you're a position trader holding for 2-3 months, you're better off buying spot with borrowed money at fixed interest than using exchange leverage with daily funding.

Example: Borrow $10,000 at 8% APR = $200/year = $50 for 3 months. That's cheaper than $270 in funding fees for the same 3 months.

What Other Calculators Show vs. What We Show

Standard Calculator: ``` Position: $10,000 Leverage: 10x Margin: $1,000 Daily Funding: $3

✓ Looks reasonable ```

Our 90-Day View: ``` Position: $10,000 Leverage: 10x Margin: $1,000

Funding Costs:

Day 1: $3
Week 1: $21
Month 1: $90 (9% of margin)
Month 2: $180 (18% of margin)
Month 3: $270 (27% of margin)

True Breakeven:

Entry: $100,000
After fees: $102,700
Move needed: +2.7%

Warning: If held 90 days, you need +2.7% move just to recover fees. Consider spot for holds beyond 45 days. ```

See the difference?

One shows you the daily cost. The other shows you the consequence of the daily cost over realistic holding periods.

The Extended Slider (1-90 Days)

This is why our calculator has a slider that goes from 1 to 90 days—not 1 to 30.

Move the slider and watch:

Day 7: Fees seem minor
Day 30: Starting to add up
Day 60: Okay this is real money
Day 90: Wait, this completely changes my trade

Most important insight: You can see exactly when fees cross the threshold where spot makes more sense.

For most positions at 10x leverage with 0.01% funding:

Under 30 days: Derivatives are efficient
30-60 days: Borderline
Over 60 days: Spot is likely better

Real Trader Stories

The Strategic Hold Gone Wrong:

Trader bought BTC at $95,000 with 20x leverage in August. Thesis: BTC hits $120,000 by December (4-month hold).

The plan:

Entry: $95,000
Target: $120,000 (+26.3%)
Position: $100,000 (20x on $5,000 margin)
Expected profit: $25,000 (500% on margin)

What actually happened:

Held for 120 days
BTC hit $118,000 (+24.2%)
Position gained $23,000
Funding fees (0.015%/interval average over 4 months): $21,600
Net result: +$1,400 (28% ROI instead of 460% ROI)

He was RIGHT about direction. RIGHT about the magnitude. But he didn't calculate that 120 days at elevated funding would consume 93% of his profit.

If he'd seen a 90-120 day projection: He would've used 5x instead of 20x, or bought spot with borrowed capital at fixed rates.

Why We Built This Feature

In 14 years, I've held positions through:

Bull runs that took 6 months to play out
Consolidation periods that lasted 8 weeks
Macro trends that needed 90+ days to develop

Every time, the same mistake: I calculated fees for the first week, assumed they'd stay linear, and got crushed by the compounding impact.

$3/day sounds harmless. $270 over 90 days sounds expensive. They're the same thing.

But nobody sees it until they've already held for 60 days and realized their "winning" position is underwater from fees.

How to Use the 90-Day Projection

Before entering:

Estimate your hold time - Be honest. "I'll close in a week" usually becomes 3-4 weeks.
Set the slider to your realistic hold - If you're waiting for a macro catalyst 2 months out, set it to 60 days.
Check the total fee cost - Not daily. Not weekly. The full cumulative cost.
Calculate true breakeven - Entry price + (total fees ÷ quantity)
Adjust your strategy:
- Reduce leverage if fees exceed 20% of margin
- Consider spot if hold exceeds 45-60 days
- Set a hard exit date if fees compound too fast

Example workflow:

``` Planned hold: 75 days Slider position: 75 days Funding projection: $247 over 75 days

Thought process:

That's 24.7% of my $1,000 margin
I need +2.47% just to break even
My target is +8%, so real gain would be +5.53%
R:R is still 2.2:1 after fees
Acceptable. Trade is valid. ```

Why We Show You 90 Days (And Why Others Don't)

We could stop at 30 days.

Hell, we could stop at 1 day like everyone else. It would make leverage look cheaper. More traders would use it. We'd look like the "friendly" calculator.

But we'd also be lying to you.

The truth: Position traders don't close in 7 days. Strategic holds run 2-4 months. And if you're holding Bitcoin through a macro trend, you're not closing at day 30 just because the calculator stopped showing you costs.

Aha moment #5: The industry stops at daily rates because longer projections reveal an uncomfortable truth—leverage bleeds you slowly, and most traders don't notice until it's too late.

By day 60, you've paid 18% of your margin. By day 90, it's 27%. That's not "cheap leverage." That's a significant tax on time.

We show 90 days because:

That's how long real position trades actually last
Fees don't stop accumulating after day 30
You deserve to see the full picture before risking capital
Transparency beats marketing every single time

Key Takeaways

Daily fees lie - $3/day sounds cheap until you multiply by 90
30 days isn't realistic - Most position trades run 6-12 weeks
Spot crossover exists - After ~45 days, spot is often cheaper than 10x derivatives
Leverage amplifies - Higher leverage means fees eat a larger % of your margin
Extended visibility = better decisions - See the 90-day cost, adjust your plan accordingly

Use Our Calculator

Set the slider to your realistic holding period. Not your hopeful "I'll close in a week" timeline. Your actual "this thesis takes 8-12 weeks to play out" timeline.

Then decide if the leverage still makes sense.

Because the market doesn't care about your plans. But fees are charged every day regardless.

Calculate your true cost over realistic time horizons. Our 90-day projection shows you what other calculators hide →

Your $3/Day 'Cheap' Leverage Just Cost You $270