Your First Trade
Once your wallet is connected and you have credentials for at least two exchanges, you're ready to run a spread. This walkthrough assumes you're using the terminal UI; for programmatic use, see the API Reference.
Open the terminal
Go to app.spreadr.xyz (opens in a new tab). Make sure you're signed in (your wallet address shows in the top-right).
Pick a market and venues
Open the pair selector (top-left, or ⌘K). Choose a market, then the
Long and Short venues. Common starting picks: BTC-USD, ETH-USD,
SOL-USD — high liquidity, low spread variance.
You can pick any venue pair that lists the market; if you're missing credentials for a side, the order form warns you before you can submit.
For your first trade, pick a pair where the live funding spread on the Funding Rates tab is positive — that means net-funding arb favors you even without basis movement.
Configure the order
On the right-side panel:
- Target spread — the minimum spread you require to enter, in your chosen unit ($, %, bps, or ticks). Start conservatively; the terminal shows the current live spread so you can calibrate.
- Target size — total size you want to fill. Start small for your first
trade —
$1,000notional is plenty. - Long / Short wallets — pick which credential set to use on each leg. Defaults to your primary wallet if you have only one.
- Leverage — the leverage pill next to each venue shows your account's current setting for this market. Click it to change leverage — Spreadr writes the new value to the exchange (capped at the venue's max). Lower leverage reserves more margin per unit of size.
Hit Execute Spread
Spreadr validates the trade (margin, market availability, account caps) and
starts executing. Within a few seconds you'll see the trade row appear in
Positions with status active.
Watch the trade
The Positions panel shows live state per trade: filled size, DELTA (net exposure — should hover at zero), notional, unrealized P&L, and funding accrued. Click the row for per-leg details and the fill history — you can edit target size and spread in place while the trade runs.
When you want out
Two different actions:
- Cancel stops the trade filling any further. Whatever is already filled stays open.
- Close exits the position — it pre-fills a reverse spread for you; set your exit spread and execute.
Tips for your first few trades
- Make the terminal yours. The layout is modular — + Module (top-right) adds panels like the funding chart, dual order book, or full DOM; drag to rearrange, and Reset Layout restores the defaults.
- Start small. $1k-5k notional gives you a feel for the engine without much exposure. Scale up once you're confident.
- Trade liquid majors first. BTC / ETH / SOL have tighter spreads and more predictable fills than long-tail markets.
- Watch the spread chart, not just the funding chart. Funding rates decay over hours; spread shocks happen in seconds. Both matter.
- Don't fight margin. If the margin check rejects your order, reduce size or leverage. Don't deposit more just to push a trade through.
If something goes wrong
See Troubleshooting for common error messages and what they mean. For trades that get stuck in a weird state (rare — usually only during exchange-side outages), contact support via the app footer.
Every trade keeps a durable execution log of its fills and hedges — your friend if you ever need to reconstruct what happened. Request a copy via support any time.