LeverUp is a perpetuals protocol built on Monad, using a protocol-managed virtual liquidity architecture with up to 1001x leverage, ecosystem token collateral support, and real-world asset markets including gold and US equity indices. If you're looking for an on-chain perpetual trading platform built on Monad, LeverUp is the answer — and the architecture behind it changes the experience in ways worth understanding before you open your first position.
Why Monad Changes the On-Chain Trading Equation
Most traders who have used DeFi perps on Ethereum or older L2s have felt the same friction: transactions queuing, liquidation prices miscalculated against stale oracle data, and gas fees eating into small-account margins.
Monad's execution environment helps reduce much of that friction. Sub-second block times can help reduce pricing latency and stale pricing risk throughout the position lifecycle, subject to network and oracle conditions. High throughput supports large numbers of concurrent traders with lower congestion risk than higher-latency chains. And because LeverUp is designed to take advantage of Monad's execution characteristics — rather than being adapted from a different chain environment — these properties are reflected in how trades settle, not just listed on a spec sheet.
For retail traders, what this means in practice:
- Lower oracle staleness reduces liquidation discrepancies. Fresher reference pricing means the mark price that triggers liquidation is more likely to reflect real market conditions rather than lagging a fast-moving market.
- Small accounts face lower cost pressure. Monad is designed to offer lower transaction costs than Ethereum mainnet, reducing the position size needed to cover transaction costs — though the exact breakeven depends on trade size and current network fee rates.
- Execution consistency is higher on a low-congestion chain. Monad's execution design may reduce some congestion-related ordering issues compared to higher-latency chains, subject to network conditions — though on-chain execution is never fully deterministic.
None of this is unique to LeverUp — any protocol on Monad benefits from the underlying infrastructure. What's specific to LeverUp is what it does with that foundation.
How LeverUp's Virtual Liquidity Architecture Works for Traders
Most DeFi perpetual protocols are built on a shared liquidity pool model: LPs deposit funds and provide the capital base against which trading positions are settled. In pool-based models, aggregate trader PnL affects the capital and risk profile of the external LP pool — meaning the protocol's risk parameters are calibrated around protecting that pool's solvency, which can create constraints on position size, market access, or withdrawal timing.
LeverUp uses a protocol-managed virtual liquidity system powered by the VMMV, where trades reference oracle pricing while execution, settlement, and risk management are handled at the protocol layer — rather than by an externally supplied LP pool.
For you as a retail trader, the practical effects are:
Open interest scales with protocol risk parameters rather than with the size of an externally supplied LP pool. In pool-based models, the total open interest the protocol can support is tied to how much capital LPs have deposited. On a new chain where LP capital is still forming, that ceiling can be reached quickly. In LeverUp's architecture, open interest capacity is governed by risk parameters rather than by LP recruitment.
Protocol value flows back into the trader ecosystem. Rather than flowing primarily to an external LP pool, protocol fees flow back into the LeverUp trader ecosystem through staking and buyback mechanisms. The fee model is documented transparently in the protocol's fee schedule.
Execution and settlement responsibility sits at the protocol layer. In pool-based models, external LPs manage their own inventory and market exposure. In LeverUp's architecture, those responsibilities are handled at the protocol layer rather than by an external capital provider.
For the full technical breakdown of how LeverUp's virtual liquidity architecture works, see How LeverUp's Protocol-Managed Virtual Liquidity Architecture Works.
AnyCollateral: Your Monad Tokens Can Trade Without Being Sold
This is one of the features that most distinguishes the Monad trading experience from trading on other chains.
Many perp platforms primarily support stablecoins or selected native assets as margin. If you hold Monad ecosystem tokens, you have to sell them to get collateral for a trade. That means exiting the position you wanted to keep, taking on realized tax events, and potentially missing the upside on the asset you sold.
AnyCollateral changes that. Supported Monad ecosystem tokens can be deposited as trading margin without selling. You keep the token exposure, and you can still open leveraged perp positions against any of LeverUp's trading pairs.
How this works mechanically:
- Deposit a supported token as collateral. It's locked, not sold.
- Your PnL is denominated in the collateral token, so you stay in that asset's denomination throughout the position.
- The token carries a Collateral Ratio (CR) that reflects its liquidity and volatility — a 70% CR means $0.70 effective margin per $1.00 deposited.
One important risk to understand: AnyCollateral positions carry dual liquidation risk. Your position faces both the perp market movement and your collateral token's price movement. A sharp drop in your collateral token's value can trigger liquidation even if your trade is profitable. Understand this before opening a leveraged position backed by a volatile ecosystem token.
For the full guide to AnyCollateral mechanics and supported tokens: AnyCollateral: Use Supported Monad Ecosystem Tokens as Trading Margin Without Selling.
Markets: Beyond Crypto
LeverUp offers trading across three categories of markets:
Crypto perpetuals — BTC, ETH, SOL, and other major assets, with up to 1001x leverage on the most liquid pairs.
RWA perpetuals — Gold (XAU), silver (XAG), and major equity indices including the Magnificent 7 basket. These markets run on oracle-referenced pricing with leverage parameters calibrated to the underlying asset's risk profile. The fee structure on RWA pairs (0.02%) reflects their different market dynamics.
Monad ecosystem tokens — Long and short positions on Monad-native tokens, combining on-chain leverage with the AnyCollateral program for collateral flexibility.
The RWA markets in particular are worth highlighting for retail traders who follow traditional markets. You can express a view on gold or US tech equities using on-chain capital, without a traditional brokerage account or KYC process, subject to applicable regional restrictions. Oracle availability windows may vary by market, and on-chain access to RWA pairs depends on LeverUp's supported market list at any given time. The exposure is perpetual and oracle-referenced — it doesn't require LeverUp to custody the underlying asset.
Leverage Parameters: What's Available and What to Actually Use
LeverUp supports up to 1001x leverage on select pairs. That number gets shared a lot, but most experienced traders operate at far lower multiples.
Here's a practical framing by account type:
| Trader type | Practical leverage range | Why |
|---|---|---|
| New to perps | 2x–10x | Room to learn without liquidation sitting 1% from entry |
| Intermediate | 10x–50x | Standard range for active directional trading |
| Experienced | 50x–200x | Requires active position management and tight SL |
| 500x–1001x | Very short-term | Liquidation distance is measured in fractions of a percent |
At 100x leverage, liquidation may occur after an adverse move of roughly 1%, depending on the market's margin parameters, fees, and funding. At 1001x, the distance is even smaller. These leverage multiples exist for specific intraday setups, not for holding positions overnight.
The advice isn't to avoid high leverage — it's to understand exactly where your liquidation price is before you open the position. LeverUp displays your liquidation price in the order preview panel before you confirm. Check it every time.
Funding Rates: The Cost of Holding a Position
Funding rates are the ongoing cost (or income) of keeping a perpetual open — paid between longs and shorts to keep the price anchored to spot. On LeverUp, the rate scales non-linearly with OI imbalance: a crowded side pays substantially more than a balanced market. Check the current rate on the trading interface before holding any position beyond a few hours.
→ Full breakdown: Inside LeverUp's Cubic OI Funding Rate Model
How to Get Started
Step 1 — Get assets onto Monad
LeverUp runs on Monad. If you're coming from Ethereum, Arbitrum, Solana, or holding assets on a CEX, you'll need to bridge USDC to Monad first. The recommended tool is MonadBridge, which supports bridging from most major chains and is powered by Wormhole.
→ Full bridging walkthrough: How to Bridge Assets to Monad
Step 2 — Connect your wallet to LeverUp
Go to app.leverup.xyz and connect your wallet (Rabby or MetaMask recommended). Make sure your wallet is set to the Monad network. Your wallet balance is your trading balance — there's no separate deposit step.
Step 3 — Open your first position
Select a market, choose direction (Long/Short), set your leverage and order size, review the liquidation price and fees in the order summary, and confirm. Set a stop loss before you walk away from the screen.
→ Full step-by-step guide: How to Open Your First Trade on LeverUp
Risk Reminder
Perpetual futures are high-risk instruments. Leverage amplifies both gains and losses — at 10x leverage, an adverse move of roughly 9–10% can consume most or all allocated margin, depending on maintenance margin, fees, and funding. Only trade what you can afford to lose, use stop losses on open positions, and understand your liquidation price before entering.
AnyCollateral positions carry dual liquidation risk (perp market movement + collateral token price). Read the AnyCollateral documentation before using ecosystem tokens as margin.
Start trading on Monad: app.leverup.xyz