Thousands of traders successfully build a profitable statistical edge in the Forex market over years of grueling work, only to blow their accounts to absolute zero the minute they transition to Crypto derivatives.

Why does this happen so frequently? Because the underlying mathematical infrastructure of risk—specifically how position sizes and margin leverage are calculated—is fundamentally entirely different.

If you bring a "Forex Lot Size" mentality directly into a Binance, Bybit, or OKX Perpetual Futures account, you are practically guaranteed to be instantly liquidated. Here is exactly how to calculate granular risk in both architectures without losing your shirt.

⚖️ Do Not Calculate Manually

Trading both Crypto and Forex? Don't blow your account with a rogue decimal point calculation.

Use the multi-asset TradeHaven Risk Management Calculator to instantly switch between Forex Pips and Crypto Dollar-Value, guaranteeing perfect risk execution every time.

1. Forex Position Sizing (The Pip & Lot Formula)

In the traditional Foreign Exchange market, trade volume is measured exclusively in standard batches called Lots.

1 Standard Lot = exactly 100,000 units of the base currency.
Distance on the chart is measured in Pips (the 4th decimal place, e.g., 1.1050 to 1.1051).

The Forex Formula: Position Size (Lots) = Account Risk ($) / (Stop Loss in Pips * Pip Value)

If you decide to risk $100 on a 20-pip stop loss trading EUR/USD ($10/pip), you simply execute a 0.50 Lot order. The broker inherently handles the underlying leverage and margin requirements behind the scenes.

2. Crypto Position Sizing (The Asset Quantity Formula)

In cryptocurrency trading (e.g., perpetual futures contracts on Bitcoin or Ethereum), there are absolutely no "Lots" and no "Pips."

Trade volume is simply measured in the literal Quantity of the Asset (e.g., 0.05 BTC, 10.5 ETH, 1000 SOL), and chart distance is literally measured in raw Dollar Value.

The Crypto Formula: Position Size (Asset Quantity) = Account Risk ($) / Stop Loss Distance ($)

Crypto Calculation Example

Let's see this in action. Say you want to long Bitcoin (BTC/USDT).

Your Total Account Balance: $5,000
Your Rigid 1% Risk: $50
Your Chart Entry Price: $65,000
Your Technical Stop Loss Price: $64,000
Total Stop Loss Distance ($): $1,000 ($65,000 minus $64,000)

The Calculation: $50 / $1,000 = 0.05 BTC

To safely execute this exact trade, guaranteeing you will only lose your $50, you must buy a position size of exactly 0.05 BTC.

The Massive Leverage Trap in Crypto

The absolute number one mistake transitioning Forex traders make in Crypto is catastrophically confusing Leverage with Position Size.

In Crypto CEXs (Centralized Exchanges), you are frequently asked to select your Leverage slider (e.g., 10x, 50x, 100x) before executing the trade.

Leverage does not dictate your account risk.

Leverage only dictates how much of your own pure margin is locked up by the exchange to open the position. Let that sink in.

If you buy the calculated 0.05 BTC using 1x leverage or 100x leverage, your $50 technical risk (based on the price dropping to exactly $64,000) remains exactly, mathematically the same.

The terrifying difference is that at 100x leverage, if the price drops by just 1% before hitting your technical stop, your entire position size is forcefully, automatically liquidated by the exchange’s liquidation engine, taking your margin with it.

The Professional Solution

Switching constantly back and forth between these two radically different mental models mid-session is incredibly dangerous if done in your head or in a clunky Excel file.

The TradeHaven Dashboard is designed to fix this. It features a specialized Risk Calculator that allows you to instantly toggle between standard "Forex Pip" mode and direct "Crypto Dollar-Risk" mode, ensuring you never accidentally blow an account by miscalculating a zero.

Start calculating risk flawlessly across every market with TradeHaven!