Introduction
Two exchanges with identical fees can differ by hundreds of euros a month in what your balance nets you. This page compares the deciding factors — the theory sits in Capital efficiency explained.
The four factors in brief
- Yield on idle collateral — 0% to ~4-5% APY difference
- Cross collateral / multi-asset margin — trade without selling, so no conversion costs or taxable events
- Portfolio margin — hedged positions require less margin
- Unified wallet — no idle money in the "wrong" sub-wallet
The detailed comparison
| Category | Backpack | Binance | Bybit | OKX | Bitget | Hyperliquid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yield on collateral | Yes — all assets in the borrow/lend pool | Only via BFUSD (proprietary stablecoin) | Only via USDe (limited promo) | USDG only | No | Only via HyENA/USDe |
| Yield on unrealized PnL | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
| Margin from unrealized PnL | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Borrowing against unrealized PnL | No | Unknown | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Public interest-rate models (borrow/lend) | Yes — publicly visible | No | No | No | No | Yes (on-chain) |
| Cross margin | Default on | Yes — not default | Yes | Yes, with balance requirements | Yes — not default | Yes |
| Wallet model | 1 unified wallet | 10 separate wallets (combinable via portfolio margin) | 4 wallets | 4 wallets | 11 separate wallets | 2 (spot, perps) |
| Collateral assets | 19 (incl. real stocks MU, SPCX) | 8 (cross) to 185+ (portfolio margin) | 140+ | 8 (selected) to 150+ (multi-currency) | 8 | 1 (USDC) |
Based on public product documentation per platform. Margin limits and haircuts vary per mode and asset. Last updated: July 2026.
The wallet model: the silent efficiency killer
The least visible but most tangible factor is the number of wallets. Some platforms keep Funding, Spot, Spot Margin (isolated and cross), USDT futures, Coin futures, Options, Bots, Earn and Copy Trading in separate wallets — up to eleven pockets. Each pocket means idle balance, manual transfers and missed margin. A unified wallet solves this: one balance covering all products simultaneously.
Example: the basis trade
Capital efficiency compounds most visibly in a classic basis trade (long spot + short perpetual on the same asset). Where spot assets and lent assets both count as collateral, three streams stack: lending yield on your BTC collateral, the funding rate on your short, and — where supported — yield on your unrealized profits. On platforms with separate wallets or without yield-bearing collateral, part of those streams disappears.
A calculation example
€100,000 balance, 30% idle on average. On a platform without yield: €0 extra. With ~4% APY on the idle part: ~€1,200/year — before your first trade.
Frequently asked questions
Is this only relevant for large accounts?
It scales — but above ~€10,000 the difference becomes clearly noticeable.
What is the risk?
Cross collateral and portfolio margin amplify losses when a position goes wrong. Use risk limits.