© 2026 Della Group. All Rights Reserved.
Okay, so most people jump into GMX thinking it's just like spot trading but with leverage. They slam in a huge position at 50x on BTC, no stop loss, and boom-liquidated in an hour when it dips 2%. I've seen it a million times. In my experience, that's the fastest way to turn your stack into dust.
But here's the right way. Start tiny. Like, if you've got $100, use $10 on a 2x long. Watch it. Feel the funding fees tick. Set a stop loss right away. Why? Leverage amplifies everything-gains, sure, but losses hit like a truck. Sound familiar? That wiggle you ignore on spot? On perps, it nukes you.
GMX is this decentralized spot where you bet on crypto prices going up or down, no expiry date. Perpetuals, right? You don't own the actual coins. Just collateralize a position, add leverage up to 100x if you're nuts, and ride the direction.
Long means you win if price pumps. Short if it dumps. Profits come from the liquidity pool-GLP holders basically back your trade. They get fees when you lose, you get 'em when you win. Pretty much a zero sum game, but with gas covered sometimes.
The thing is, it's on chains like Arbitrum, Avalanche, even Solana now. Low fees, no KYC. But funding fees? Those hourly charges between longs and shorts. If everyone's long, you pay as a long holder. Keeps things balanced.
Got it? It's like futures but forever, no delivery.
Look, first thing: head to gmx.io. Hit connect wallet. Use MetaMask or whatever, but add Arbitrum or Avalanche if it's not there. Prompts guide you.
Bridge some funds. I usually send USDC or ETH from mainnet via official bridges-superbridge or whatever's cheap that day. Gas on Arbitrum? Like 0.0005 ETH tops. Avalanche even less.
Pro tip: Fund with collateral you like-USDC for shorts, ETH/BTC for longs. Profits pay out in those. Oh, and enable tokens if needed. GMX asks for approvals once.
Alright, now the fun part. Pick a pair-BTC/USD, ETH/USD, whatever's pumping.
Two step thing sometimes-request then execute. Keepers handle it fast. Fees? Open/close 0.05%-0.07% depending on pool impact. Borrow fee hourly, like 0.01%ish of position size, flips based on long/short imbalance.
What's next? Boom, position open. Track PnL live.
People forget these kill profits slow. Swap fees: 0.05%-0.07% tokens, 0.005%-0.02% USDC. Position fees same on open/close. Borrow? Dynamic-longs pay if longs dominate, etc. Say longs are heavy, you pay shorts every hour.
In my experience, time entries when funding's neutral. Check the dashboard-it shows rates. Gas reimbursed often via native tokens set aside. Arbitrum: ~0.000005 ETH. Negligible.
Table time for clarity:
| Fee Type | Range | When It Hits |
|---|---|---|
| Open/Close | 0.05%-0.07% | Every position |
| Swap | 0.005%-0.07% | Token swaps |
| Borrow/Funding | Hourly, variable | Hold time, imbalance |
| Gas | ~0.000005 ETH/AVAX | Reimbursed often |
Plan trades short term first. Fees add up on long holds.
Once in, don't just stare. Positions tab shows everything-PnL, liq price, funding accrued.
Issue: Slippage on big orders. Fix: Use limit orders, smaller sizes. Another: Oracle delays. Rare, but keepers use Chainlink-solid.
I usually set trailing stops after a win. Locks gains if it reverses. Why does this matter? Markets fake you out constantly.
Okay, GMX lets you crank to 100x. But honestly? Even 10x wipes you on volatility. BTC wiggles 5% daily easy.
Start low. 2x-5x. Your liq price stays far. Example: $100 collateral, 10x on ETH $2000. Position size $1000, liq around $1800 (ish, minus fees). Tighter than spot.
Potential issue: Auto deleveraging. If pool stressed, big positions get trimmed. Rare for small fries like us.
Say short BTC at $50k, $500 collateral, 20x. Size $10k. Drops to $45k? Profit $500 (5% move x 20). Up to $55k? Loss $500-half collateral gone.
Funding: If shorts rare, you pay longs. Could be $1-5/day on that size. Stack up.
But wait, shit happens.
In my experience, demo first? Nah, GMX has no demo, but paper trade on notebook. Or tiny sizes.
This ain't optional. Position size: Risk 1-2% per trade. $10k bankroll? $100-200 max collateral.
Always SL. TP too. No revenge trades after losses. Why? Streaks happen. One bad day, you're out.
Diversify pairs. BTC, ETH, alts. Watch open interest on dashboard-crowded trades dump hard.
Not perping? Swap tokens low impact. Pick from/to, amount, market/limit. Fees tiny. Use to fund positions cheap.
I usually swap to USDC first. Stable collateral.
Once comfy, limits for entries. TP/SL chains-close part at levels.
Hedge: Long BTC, short ETH if correlated. Funding arbitrage: Go against crowd, collect fees.
GLP? That's liquidity providing. Earn from trader losses. Separate guide, but pairs nice with trading.
Chains matter. Arbitrum liquidest, Avalanche cheaper. Solana new-fast but watch.
After 10 good trades? Bump size 20%. Track win rate. Under 60%? Fix strategy.
Tools: GMX dashboard, Dexscreener for pairs, Twitter for sentiment. No bots yet-manual first.
Taxes? US folks, track everything. Perps are taxable events on close.
Honestly, consistency beats home runs. Grind 1-2% daily, compound.
Positions tab. Pick one, partial or full close. Market or limit. Review PnL, fees. Sign.
Profits in collateral token or pool asset. Withdraw to wallet.
Last tip: After close, chill. Analyze. What worked? Journal it.
© 2026 Della Group. All Rights Reserved.