Connecting an Exchange

Before you can trade with real funds, you need to connect at least one exchange account by providing your API credentials. The terminal executes your orders server-side using the keys you supply — read IP whitelisting below before locking your keys down.

Supported exchanges

• Binance (Futures + Spot)
• Bybit (Futures + Spot)
• CoinW (Futures + Spot)
• Gate.io (Futures + Spot)
• Hyperliquid (Futures only)
• OKX (Futures + Spot)
• Phemex (Futures + Spot)

Spot trading is available on every exchange except Hyperliquid. For details on each exchange, see Supported Exchanges.

Connecting your account

1. In the top toolbar, open the Accounts dropdown.
2. Select “Add exchange account” (the key icon).
3. Fill in the connection dialog:

Field	Required	Description
Exchange	Yes	Select your exchange from the list.
Account Type	Yes	Choose Futures or Spot. Spot is only offered for exchanges that support it; Hyperliquid is futures only.
Display Name	Yes	A nickname for easy identification (minimum 3 characters, e.g. “Bybit Main”).
API Key	Yes	Your API key from the exchange.
API Secret	Yes	Your API secret from the exchange.
API Passphrase	OKX only	An extra secret you set when creating the key on OKX. This field appears only when OKX is selected.
Use Testnet	No	Connect to the exchange’s testnet / demo environment instead of live trading. See Testing on testnet.

4. Click Create. Your credentials are encrypted and stored securely.

Note

The Account Type selector only appears for exchanges that offer spot markets. For futures-only exchanges the account is always created as Futures.

Testing on testnet

Tick Use Testnet in the connection dialog to point the account at your exchange’s testnet (demo) environment. This lets you place real orders and manage positions with test funds, so you can learn the interface without risking real money.

Tip

Create your API key on the matching environment. A testnet key only works with Use Testnet enabled, and a live key only works with it disabled. Mixing the two is a common cause of a failed connection.

Selecting an account

After connecting, select the account from the Accounts dropdown in the top bar. The positions table, order form, and charts all update to reflect the selected account.

The Connection Status indicator shows the state of the live data feed:

Indicator	Meaning
Connected (green)	The real-time data feed is live.
Reconnecting	The feed dropped and is re-establishing — usually transient.
Disconnected	No live feed. Check your network or the connection status details.

Managing multiple accounts

You can connect as many exchange accounts as you need. Switch between them using the Accounts dropdown — the positions table, order form, and charts all update to reflect the selected account.

Editing, rotating, and removing a connection

Each account in the Accounts dropdown has action icons:

• Edit (pencil) — opens the connection dialog for that account.
• Delete (trash) — permanently removes the connection.

Editing an existing connection

When editing, the Exchange and Account Type are locked — these cannot be changed after creation. You can update the Display Name and re-enter credentials.

Note

To keep your existing API key and secret, leave the API Key and API Secret fields blank when editing. Only fill them in when you want to replace them.

Rotating your API keys

To rotate keys (for example after regenerating them on the exchange):

1. Create a fresh API key + secret (and passphrase, for OKX) on your exchange.
2. Edit the connection in the terminal.
3. Enter the new API Key and API Secret (and API Passphrase for OKX).
4. Click Update.

Removing a connection

Click the Delete (trash) icon next to the account and confirm. This removes the stored credentials from the terminal. Deleting a connection here does not revoke the key on the exchange — delete or disable it there as well if you no longer want it to work.

IP whitelisting (important)

The terminal places your orders server-side — the request to the exchange comes from ZoneX’s servers, not from your computer. This has a critical consequence for API-key security settings:

Caution

If you restrict your API key to your own IP address, trading will break — orders and data requests come from ZoneX’s servers, not your machine, so the exchange will reject them.

Unless ZoneX publishes a current set of static egress IP addresses for you to whitelist, leave your API key without an IP restriction. If your security policy requires an allow-list, contact support for the current egress IP addresses before enabling one.

API key permissions

When creating API keys on your exchange, enable the following permissions:

• Read — Required for fetching balances, positions, and order history.
• Trade — Required for placing and managing orders.
• Do NOT enable withdrawal — The terminal never needs withdrawal access.

Troubleshooting a failed connection

If the account can’t fetch balances/positions or your orders are rejected, work through these causes:

Symptom / cause	What to check
Invalid API key or secret	Re-copy the key and secret exactly (no stray spaces). Edit the connection and re-enter them.
Missing Trade permission	The key can read balances but orders fail — enable the Trade permission on the exchange and rotate the key.
Wrong passphrase (OKX)	OKX requires the exact API Passphrase you set when creating the key. Re-enter it via Edit.
Testnet mismatch	A testnet key with Use Testnet off (or a live key with it on) will fail. Match the toggle to the key’s environment.
IP block	If the key is IP-restricted, ZoneX’s server IP is blocked. Remove the IP restriction (see IP whitelisting).
Wrong account type	A Spot key on a Futures account (or vice versa) won’t work. Recreate the connection with the correct Account Type.

Tip

Most connection failures come down to a permission or environment mismatch. When in doubt, generate a fresh key with Read + Trade enabled, no IP restriction, on the correct (live vs testnet) environment, then update the connection.