Exchanges lower token risk values, leaving leveraged traders with less breathing room

Both Binance and Coinbase International Exchange announced changes to the collateral ratios applied to a range of tokens, reducing the amount of market value that can be counted toward borrowing or margin requirements.

Binance collateral ratio adjustments

On September 18, Binance lowered the collateral ratio for six tokens—AUCTION, BLUR, GALA, HYPER, S and SYRUP—from 30% to 10%. The same update raised the ratios for ARB, TAO and WLD from 50% to 60%.

For a trader holding $100,000 of a token whose ratio drops from 30% to 10%, the recognized collateral value falls from $30,000 to $10,000, a 66.7% relative reduction. Binance said the change affects the amount customers can borrow or transfer out in its Cross Margin product and influences the unified maintenance margin ratio (uniMMR) used in Portfolio Margin.

Coinbase International Exchange collateral changes

Coinbase International Exchange will remove 29 assets from its eligible‑collateral list on September 29. The list includes BNB, AVAX, ARB, ONDO, PEPE, SHIB and UNI. Customers relying on these assets for margin may need to add other collateral or reduce exposure.

Implications for leveraged traders

The adjustments illustrate how exchange‑defined risk weights can tighten usable leverage without any change in token prices. Potential outcomes include reduced borrowing capacity, margin calls, position reductions or liquidations, depending on each account’s overall composition.

Additional Binance updates

On the same day, Binance removed five cross‑margin pairs (ENJ/USDC, GENIUS/USDC, CVX/USDC, GUN/USDC, VANA/USDC) and settled the GENIUS/USDC isolated‑margin pair.