Connecting trading accounts and assigning them to strategies

When to use this guide

Use this guide when you want your strategies to place real trades on your behalf.

By the end, you will know how to:

• Create trading accounts for different venues.
• Complete the confirmation process for each account.
• Assign confirmed accounts to specific strategies.

Key concepts

• A trading account represents a concrete venue account:
  • A blockchain wallet on a given chain.
  • An on‑chain DEX subaccount (for example, a Drift account + authority).
  • A centralized exchange (CEX) account, linked via API keys.
• A trading account has a confirmation status:
  • Pending – created, but not yet validated.
  • Confirming – you are mid‑flow (for example, signing messages or setting delegates).
  • Confirmed – ready for Structure’s engine to trade.
  • Failed – confirmation failed, with error details.
• Each trading account belongs to one user and can be assigned to at most one strategy at a time.

Prerequisites

• You are signed in and have a Structure user account.
• You hold or control:
  • The relevant wallets for on‑chain or DEX accounts.
  • The necessary API keys for any centralized exchanges you plan to connect.

Step 1: Create a trading account

1. Go to the Trading accounts section of the app.

2. Click Add account or Connect account.

3. Choose:

   • Venue type:
     • Blockchain.
     • DEX.
     • CEX.
   • Specific venue (for example, Drift, a particular CEX, or a supported chain).

4. Provide the required details, which may include:

   • For blockchain accounts:
     • The wallet address (often auto‑detected from your connected wallet).
     • The target blockchain (for example, Solana).
   • For DEX accounts:
     • DEX account identifier or subaccount number.
     • Any required authority or delegate settings.
   • For CEX accounts:
     • API key and secret.
     • Optional passphrase, if required by the exchange.

5. Give the account a display name (for example, “Drift perp account #1” or “Binance main”).

6. Confirm to create the trading account.

At this point, the account exists in Structure with status Pending. It cannot yet be used by strategies.

Step 2: Complete the confirmation flow

To protect you and ensure data quality, Structure requires a confirmation step that proves:

• You own or control the account, and
• It is correctly configured for automated trading.

From the trading accounts list:

1. Select the newly created Pending account.
2. Click Start confirmation.
3. Follow the guided steps, which vary by venue type:

For blockchain accounts

You may be asked to:

• Sign a message with the connected wallet to prove control.
• Approve specific on‑chain instructions, such as:
  • Setting a delegate or permissioned program.
  • Granting Structure’s execution engine the right to place orders on your behalf.

After you approve the required transactions:

• The account transitions to Confirming while Structure verifies on‑chain state.
• Once verified, it becomes Confirmed.

For DEX accounts

You may be asked to:

• Provide a specific DEX account ID or subaccount number.
• Sign one or more DEX‑specific transactions:
  • For example, assigning a delegate key that Structure uses to trade.
• Confirm any required margin or collateral configuration on the DEX.

Structure then validates that:

• The DEX account exists and matches your wallet.
• Delegation or permissions are correctly set.

On success, the status becomes Confirmed; otherwise it is marked Failed with error details.

For CEX accounts

You typically:

• Enter API keys with:
  • Read access to balances and positions.
  • Trade access for order placement.
  • No withdrawal permissions (recommended best practice).
• Optionally perform a test connection.

Structure verifies:

• That the keys can read account information.
• That trading permissions are available where required.

If all checks pass, the account becomes Confirmed.

Step 3: Understand confirmation status

On the trading accounts page you can see, for each account:

• Display name.
• Venue and type.
• Confirmation status.

Interpretation:

• Pending:
  • Just created.
  • Not yet linked to real‑world permissions.
• Confirming:
  • You have started the flow, but final checks are still in progress.
  • Some background validation (for example, on‑chain state or API reachability) may be running.
• Confirmed:
  • The account is fully verified.
  • It is eligible for strategies and for inclusion in holdings.
• Failed:
  • Something went wrong.
  • Open the account detail view to see an error message and recommended next steps.

Only Confirmed accounts are made available to Structure’s execution engine.

Step 4: Assign accounts to strategies

Once an account is Confirmed, you can assign it to a strategy.

From the Strategies area:

1. Open the strategy you want to connect.
2. Go to the Accounts or Connections tab.
3. Choose Assign account.
4. Select one or more Confirmed trading accounts from your list.
5. Confirm the assignment.

Rules and implications:

• A single trading account can be assigned to at most one strategy at a time.
• A strategy can use multiple trading accounts (for example, multiple venues or subaccounts).
• When you assign an account:
  • Future orders generated by that strategy will flow through that account.
  • Positions and balances in that account will appear under that strategy in holdings and monitoring views.

If you later want to free an account for a different strategy:

1. Stop any running strategy that uses it.
2. Remove or change the assignment.
3. Assign it to a new strategy as needed.

Step 5: Manage and remove trading accounts

From the trading accounts list you can:

• Rename an account by editing its display name.
• See which strategy, if any, it is currently assigned to.
• View recent status changes and error messages.

To remove an account:

1. Ensure any strategies using it are stopped or reassigned.
2. Choose Remove or Disconnect on the account.
3. Confirm the implications:
   • Structure will stop trading via that account.
   • The account will no longer appear in holdings or monitoring views.

Depending on the venue, you may also wish to:

• Revoke API keys on a CEX.
• Remove or change delegation settings on a DEX or blockchain.

Risk considerations

When connecting accounts and assigning them to strategies, keep in mind:

• Strategies will issue orders on real capital in the assigned accounts.
• Make sure:
  • The strategy logic matches your risk tolerance.
  • Account‑level risk settings (for example, leverage, margin thresholds) are configured at the venue.
  • You understand which instruments and markets the strategy may trade.

You can always:

• Stop a strategy.
• Detach or remove trading accounts.
• Monitor live positions and holdings in real time.

Next steps

• With trading accounts connected, proceed to:
  • Creating and running strategies if you haven’t already.
  • Monitoring portfolio & strategies to see how live strategies impact your holdings.