Nolus offers fixed-rate spot margin trading with self-custody and simple leverage mechanics. That toolbox supports more strategies than "go long and hope". Here are seven ways traders use it, from aggressive to conservative. On Solana you can stretch a down payment up to 5x. None of this is financial advice; every strategy below can lose money.
1. Stacked long: maximum exposure
Put up a down payment, borrow against it, and open a leveraged long. You can go long on cbBTC, HYPE, JLP, PUMP, SOL, wETH and ZEC with the down payment in SOL or USDC, except that cbBTC, HYPE, JLP, wETH and ZEC open with USDC only. Best when you have strong bullish conviction during clear uptrends. The risk is symmetric: downside moves are amplified too, and a deep drawdown can lead to liquidation. Note that a higher multiple means a thinner price buffer before liquidation, so the same down payment is a very different trade at each end of the slider. The fixed borrow rate keeps your cost stable no matter how volatile the market gets.
2. Short with confidence
Short positions are currently available on Solana for cbBTC, SOL and wETH. The plan: use stablecoin collateral to open a short and profit when the price declines. Suited to bear markets and technical breakdowns. Losses grow if the asset rallies instead, so position sizing matters.
3. Lend first, strike later
Park capital in the Earn pools at the current pool rate while you wait for a setup, then withdraw and deploy into a margin position when the market turns. Your capital earns instead of idling; the trade-off is opportunity cost if the rally starts without you. A Solana session has no Swap, so decide which asset you want to hold before you fund your account.
4. Lend and long: balanced exposure
Split capital between an Earn balance and a modest long position. The yield side cushions the volatility side, which suits sideways or uncertain markets.
5. Short to hedge
Holding an asset long-term but expecting a correction? A short position against it offsets the drawdown without selling your holdings, useful when you want to keep staking positions or avoid realizing a taxable sale. Short positions are currently available on Solana for cbBTC, SOL and wETH.
6. Lend more, risk less
The conservative allocation: most capital supplied to Earn, a small satellite in leveraged positions. Yield does the heavy lifting; the margin sleeve provides upside.
7. Laddered longs: smarter entries
Instead of one large entry, divide capital into several smaller positions at predefined price levels. This averages your entry and reduces timing risk in choppy conditions, at the cost of potentially not deploying everything if the market runs early. Watch the sizing limits when you split: on Solana the minimum down payment is $40, each asset has its own maximum shown in the form, and a position has to stay worth at least 15 USDC.
Before you pick one
Read the market before you pick a side. The home page leads with the Margin Markets board: a scrollable row with one entry per market, and under it the selected market's live price, its 30-day chart and four figures. Open Interest is the value of the positions open in it, Long / Short is how those positions split between the two sides, Avg. Leverage is what they are levered at on average, and Last Rate is the most recent borrowing rate in that market, shown per month. Crowd positioning and the cost of carry are both worth a look before you commit to a direction.
The board is also the shortest way in. Its header carries a Long button naming the selected asset, and a Short button beside it wherever that side is offered, each opening the position form with the asset already chosen.
Understand the mechanics first: Understanding Nolus Asset-Backed Margin Leverage, Understanding the Risks Involved, and Liquidations Explained. Then start smaller than you think you need.