# EVEDEX vs Extended: Where the Leverage Ladder Inverts

Updated: 24 September 2026 | Book readings 22 September 2026 | Venue documents read 18 September 2026 | The Margin Brief desk

## Summary

EVEDEX vs Extended turns on position size. Under $544,000 of notional the EVEDEX ladder asks no more
margin than the Extended schedule; above it Extended asks half as much, then keeps
rungs to $60 million. The readings put $18.4 million of bitcoin depth against
$7.8 million. Posted collateral is the whole of what one of these contracts can lose.

## Weighting

Exit liquidity 30 · Collateral and settlement 22 · Cost per round trip 20 · Loss record and audits 14 · Contracts and asset classes 9 · Getting a position on 5. One formula for every table on this site, fixed on 22 September 2026 before either venue was read: https://insurancerefocused.com/how-we-rate

## EVEDEX vs Extended on the terms that decide a margined position

| Criterion | EVEDEX | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| Score of 15 | 9.7 | 11.5 |
| Where the book sits, and what reaches a chain | Off-chain matching on a central order book; position data written to Arbitrum periodically | Own book, or a market maker's quote; every transaction settled on Starknet |
| Maker and taker, entry tier | 0.015% maker / 0.045% taker, reduced by cashback on fees already paid | 0% maker / 0.025% taker, one schedule for every account |
| Bitcoin leverage as published | 200x on BTC, ETH and SOL to $50,000 of notional; 100x to $200,000; 25x to $716,000, where the rungs stop | 50x to a $4 million position; 25x to $8 million; 3.3x at $56-60 million |
| Margin mode and collateral | Cross only, posted in USDT | Cross by default; USDC in full, USDT at 95%, wrapped bitcoin and ether at 90% |
| Perpetual markets, and what is in them | 52 contracts trading 24/7: 39 crypto, 5 US stocks, an index, 3 commodities, 2 currency pairs, 2 pre-IPO | 325 active: 47 with a public book, 278 quoted on request |
| Audits and bounty | 2 by CertiK, latest delivered 28 July 2025; no bounty listed on CertiK Skynet | 2 of the Starknet contracts it settles through; self-run bounty to $500,000 |
| Loss of user funds, last 24 months | None on record | None of its own; its settlement layer halted on 5 January 2026, reverting 18 minutes of activity |

Venue terms read 18 September 2026 in each venue's own documentation and terms.

## Order-book readings

Both BTC perpetual books were read over 122 polls between 21 September 2026 and 22 September 2026; medians of all successful snapshots, no orders placed.

| Venue | Spread | Depth, 10 bps | Impact, $100,000 | Impact, $1 million | Snapshots |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Extended | 0.12 bps | $7.8 million | 0.06 bps | 0.70 bps | 50 |
| EVEDEX | 4.12 bps | $18.4 million | 2.06 bps | 2.75 bps | 121 |

## What the figures decide

1. Margin at the rungs: $250 behind $50,000 of bitcoin exposure at 200x on BTC, ETH and SOL, against $1,000 at Extended's 50x; at $716,000 of notional it is $28,640 against $14,320.
2. Cost of the same trade: a taker round trip on $100,000 is $50.00 at Extended and $90.00 at EVEDEX, or about $58.50 after cashback of up to 35% of a trader's own fees.
3. Depth and impact disagree: a median $18.4 million rested within 10 basis points on the EVEDEX book against $7.8 million, yet a $1 million order moved the Extended mid less, 0.70 bps against 2.75 bps.

## Assessments

### EVEDEX — the deeper band, six asset classes on one balance, and the higher rung at small size

Score 9.7 of 15.


EVEDEX is a hybrid exchange for perpetual futures: a central order book takes the matching off-chain,
and settlement runs on-chain on Arbitrum (EVEDEX documentation, our reading of 18 September 2026). The entry tier is
0.015% maker / 0.045% taker, with cashback paid back out of fees already charged.

Its 52 contracts trade 24/7 and run to 39 crypto markets and 13 beyond them —
US stocks, an index, gold through XAUT, silver, crude oil, currency pairs and pre-IPO markets —
margined from one cross balance in USDT.

- Works: Median bitcoin depth of $18.4 million within 10 basis points, two and a half times the other book here; $250 of margin behind $50,000 of bitcoin exposure, at 200x on BTC, ETH and SOL.
- Falls short: Position data reaches Arbitrum in batches rather than trade by trade; No bug bounty programme listed on CertiK Skynet; The published bitcoin ladder stops at $716,000 of notional; cross is the only margin mode.
- Not for: traders sizing a bitcoin position past the top of a published ladder.

### [Extended](https://extended.exchange/) — the flat fee, the longer list, and one rung that holds to $4 million

Score 11.5 of 15.


Extended runs its own central order book and settles every transaction on Starknet, a zero-knowledge
rollup, with balances in self-custodial contracts
([Extended documentation](https://docs.extended.exchange/about-extended/technical-architecture), checked 18 September 2026). One schedule covers every account,
0% maker / 0.025% taker, which makes it the cheaper venue at every size measured here.

It listed 325 active perpetual markets on 18 September 2026, 47 with a public
order book and 278 quoted by a market maker on request.

- Works: 0% maker and 0.025% taker for every account, with no volume tier to climb; 50x holding to a $4 million position, and a bounty paying up to $500,000 for a critical report.
- Falls short: 278 of its markets are quoted on request, where the book shown is indicative only; Neither published audit covers its own matching or risk engine; A real-world market halts outside its session while positions and margin requirements stay live.
- Not for: traders who expect resting orders on every market they can open.

## The ladder inverts at $544,000 of notional

A leverage cap reads better as the collateral it leaves behind — the same bitcoin exposure, at the
highest rung each venue publishes:

| Position value | Margin on EVEDEX | Margin on Extended |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $250 at 200x | $1,000 at 50x |
| $200,000 | $2,000 at 100x | $4,000 at 50x |
| $544,000 | $10,880 at 50x | $10,880 at 50x |
| $716,000 | $28,640 at 25x | $14,320 at 50x |

EVEDEX publishes a ladder that begins high and falls fast: 200x on BTC, ETH and SOL holds to $50,000
of notional, 150x to $75,000, 100x to $200,000, 75x to $372,000, 50x to $544,000 and 25x to $716,000,
where the rungs stop (EVEDEX trading terms, read 18 September 2026). Extended holds one rung, 50x
on bitcoin and ether, to a $4 million position, then 25x to $8 million and 3.3x at $56-60 million
([Extended margin schedule](https://docs.extended.exchange/extended-resources/trading/crypto-markets/margin-schedule), checked 18 September 2026).

So the pair crosses twice. Up to $544,000 the rung on one side is higher and the margin smaller; at
$544,000 both ask 2% of the notional; above it one ladder halves while the other holds, and past
$716,000 only Extended publishes a rung. Read as distance, 200x makes a 0.5% move against the
position worth the whole margin and 50x a 2% move; the position closes earlier, at the 1%
maintenance level on the Extended schedule.

## The book behind the exit, and the number in front of it

Both bitcoin books were read over 122 polls between 21 September 2026 and 22 September 2026: 121 usable
snapshots on one and 50 on the other. EVEDEX quoted a median spread of
4.12 bps against 0.12 bps and held a median $18.4 million
within 10 basis points of the mid against $7.8 million.

The deeper book did not produce the cheaper exit. A $1 million market order would have moved the mid
2.75 bps on one book and 0.70 bps on the other, about
$275.00 against
$70.00, and both filled in full. Depth says how much is resting; impact says where, and the
Extended book met the larger order with more size close to the mid.

Reported open interest runs the other way again: $704.9 million against $84.0 million on
22 September 2026 ([CoinMarketCap](https://coinmarketcap.com/rankings/exchanges/dex/?type=derivatives)).
A reported total is the sum of positions held, not the size an exit can reach.

## What each record has bought, and what the trade costs

Fees separate cleanly. Extended charges 0% maker / 0.025% taker on one schedule for every account,
with no volume tier ([Extended fee schedule](https://docs.extended.exchange/extended-resources/trading/trading-fees-and-rebates), checked 18 September 2026): a taker round trip
on $100,000 costs $50.00 and two maker fills cost nothing. EVEDEX charges
0.015% maker / 0.045% taker at the entry tier, $90.00 for that round trip, and
returns part of the fees already paid as cashback — at the documented ceiling of 35% of own fees the
effective taker rate is 0.02925%, about $58.50 for the pair (EVEDEX documentation, our reading of
18 September 2026).

Each side bought different evidence. Extended's two audits sit on the Starknet perpetual contracts it
settles through and leave its own matching and risk engine unexamined, and a critical report to its bounty
pays up to $500,000. On the other side CertiK has completed 2 audits of EVEDEX smart contracts, the
most recent dated 28 July 2025 and returning no finding at critical, major, medium or minor severity
([CertiK Skynet](https://skynet.certik.com/projects/evedex), read 18 September 2026); no bounty is
listed. That single input is the three points between them on the loss record criterion.

Neither documents a withdrawal that works when its operator stops answering, and the two write to a
chain at different rates: Extended settles every transaction on Starknet, while EVEDEX records
position data on Arbitrum once enough changes have accumulated (EVEDEX documentation, our reading of 18 September 2026) —
the two points between them on collateral and settlement. Neither arrangement is cover: the margin
behind a position here can be lost in full. The full order is on the
[comparison sheet](/crypto-derivatives-exchanges-compared), and what stands behind each audit on the
[audit register](/best-crypto-derivatives-exchange).

## Sources quoted

> "User position data is written to the blockchain after sufficient changes have accumulated." — EVEDEX documentation, on-chain settlement, cited in text without a link, 18 September 2026.

> "All transactions are validated and settled on Starknet, ensuring transparent and verifiable state transitions." — Extended documentation, technical architecture, 18 September 2026. https://docs.extended.exchange/about-extended/technical-architecture

> "Currently, XVS balances can be transferred between sub-accounts but cannot be withdrawn from the exchange." — Extended documentation, the vault, 18 September 2026. https://docs.extended.exchange/extended-resources/vault

## How the two were compared

Nobody publishes what an exit costs, so depth, spread and impact are this desk's own: every public BTC
perpetual book read over 122 polls between 21 September 2026 and 22 September 2026, no account anywhere, no order of ours. Charges, margin
demands, ladder rungs, market lists and audit history are each venue's own record on 18 September 2026.
Six weights, settled 22 September 2026 and unchanged since, carry 2 venues
([how we rate](/how-we-rate)).

Read the margin figures as arithmetic, not as a warning: a documented cap divided into a hundred thousand
dollars of exposure, closed out at the maintenance level with collateral still in the account.
Settlement, exit routes and audit history are what each venue publishes, never the whole of it. Fee
columns are the entry tier, before cashback or volume tiers, and BTC alone was measured, its smaller
neighbours on the same venues being thinner.

## FAQ

### Is EVEDEX or Extended better for a leveraged bitcoin position?

It depends on the size. Up to $544,000 of notional the EVEDEX ladder leaves the smaller margin behind
the trade, and below $50,000 that gap is $250 against $1,000. Above $716,000 only Extended publishes
a rung, holding 50x to a $4 million position.

### How much margin does each venue ask on a $1 million bitcoin position?

Extended asks $20,000, its 50x rung holding to a $4 million position, with maintenance at 1%. The
other ladder publishes nothing above $716,000 of notional, where 25x asks $28,640, so a position that
size sits outside the terms we read on 18 September 2026.

### What leverage does Extended allow on bitcoin?

Up to 50x, and that rung holds to a $4 million position before the schedule steps to 25x at
$8 million and down to 3.3x between $56 and $60 million. The 100x headline in its public data
belongs to one currency pair, not to bitcoin or ether.

### Does EVEDEX run a bug bounty programme?

Not one that we could find. Its CertiK Skynet profile recorded no bounty of its own and no
third-party programme when we read it on 18 September 2026, against a self-run programme on the
other side paying up to $500,000 for a critical report.

### Which of the two is cheaper to trade?

Extended, on the published schedules. A taker round trip on $100,000 costs
$50.00 there and $90.00 on EVEDEX at the entry
tier, and two maker fills cost nothing against $30.00. Cashback of up to 35% of own fees narrows that
round trip to about $58.50.

### What happens to a position when one of these markets is halted?

On Extended, a real-world market quoted on request stops accepting orders outside its session while
open positions and margin requirements stay live, and after any restart it runs 120 seconds
post-only. The 52 contracts on the other side, shares included, are documented as trading 24/7.

### Which bitcoin book was deeper while you watched?

The EVEDEX one, by about two and a half times: a median $18.4 million within 10 basis points
of the mid against $7.8 million, read every ten minutes across the window named on this
page. A $1 million order still moved the Extended book less, 0.70 bps against
2.75 bps.

### Do EVEDEX or Extended ask for identity documents?

Neither asks for documents to trade, and a wallet signature opens the account on both. EVEDEX
screens deposits on-chain instead, while the Extended terms reserve the right to
refuse access after a transaction risk assessment. Neither route is a promise of access: both sets
of terms exclude sanctioned persons and a list of places that differs between them.

### What can be posted as collateral on each venue?

Margin on EVEDEX is cross only and posted in USDT. Extended shares collateral across every position
in one account and counts several assets with haircuts: USDC in full, USDT at 95%, wrapped bitcoin
and ether at 90%. It allows up to ten accounts per wallet.

### What happens to my margin if one of these venues stops answering?

Neither publishes a route out that works without the operator. Extended settles on Starknet and holds
balances in self-custodial contracts, and that layer halted once, on 5 January 2026, reverting
18 minutes. The other side writes position data to Arbitrum in batches.

## Editorial note

Both venues sell leveraged exposure: the margin behind a position is all of what it can lose. Placement here is paid for; the order is not, and one published formula scores both columns. Nothing here is advice or cover against a loss. Corrections: editorial@insurancerefocused.com.

The Margin Brief desk, 24 September 2026

Placement in this file is paid for; the order of every table follows the published formula and nothing else.