Slippage Cost
Slippage cost is the difference between the expected price of a trade and the actual price at which the trade is executed. In the context of leveraged tokens, slippage occurs when the protocol attempts to rebalance a large position in a market with insufficient liquidity.
As the protocol places large buy or sell orders to adjust its leverage, it may move the market price against itself, resulting in a worse execution price. This cost is particularly prevalent in decentralized exchanges or during periods of low liquidity.
Over time, these small differences in execution prices accumulate, further eroding the value of the leveraged token. Minimizing slippage is a critical challenge for protocol designers, who must balance the need for accurate leverage with the costs of executing large trades in potentially illiquid markets.