Overview
What Aura is, which exchanges and account types it supports, which algos it offers, and where to start.
Aura is a crypto trading terminal built around execution algorithms. You connect your own exchange accounts, or open paper accounts, and work your orders from one screen. This page explains how Aura fits together and where to go next.
How Aura works
Your funds stay in your exchange account. You create an API key on the exchange, and Aura sends your orders to the exchange with it.
The key needs account data and trading access, and no withdrawal permission. See Connect an exchange for the permissions each exchange needs.
You pick an algo for each order in the order ticket. The algo decides how your order reaches the market: as one order, or as a series of smaller child orders.
Exchanges
Aura trades on four exchanges. The Markets column shows the label the Accounts sheet gives each one.
| Exchange | Markets | Account types |
|---|---|---|
| OKX | Spot & Perpetual | Live, Paper |
| Coinbase Advanced Trade | Spot & U.S. Futures | Live, Paper |
| Kraken | Spot | Live, Paper |
| Bybit | Spot & Perpetual | Live, Paper |
OKX perpetuals include coin-margined (inverse) perpetuals. Coinbase futures are U.S. futures through Coinbase Financial Markets, in the same Advanced Trade account as your spot trading. Bybit perpetuals settle in USDT or USDC, in the same Unified Trading Account as your spot trading.
See Exchanges for what differs between them.
Live and paper accounts
Every account is Live or Paper.
| Account | What it is |
|---|---|
| Live | Your own exchange account, connected with an API key. Your orders reach the exchange. |
| Paper | A simulated account. Its orders fill against live market data and never reach the exchange. It needs no API key. |
You can connect several live accounts on one exchange. You can open one paper account per exchange. The terminal marks every paper account with a Paper badge.
See Paper trading for how paper fills work.
Algos
The order ticket offers five algos.
| Algo | What it does |
|---|---|
| DMA | Sends one order as you enter it, as IOC or Post. |
| Chase | Rests your order at the best price and requotes it as the market moves. |
| TWAP | Releases your order over a schedule and works what is released the way Chase does. |
| Sniper | Takes liquidity with IOC orders, never past your limit price if you set one, and never rests an order on the book. |
| Spreader | Works two markets on one account: a lead leg priced off a hedge leg, and the hedge leg, which follows what the lead fills. |
Spreader is not available on Kraken.
See Choosing an algo to compare them.
Get started
- Sign in. Your Aura account is created the first time you sign in. A new account needs an access code.
- Open the Accounts sheet and connect an exchange, or start paper trading.
- Learn the layout of the terminal.
- Place an order.
Where things are
The top bar has two pages.
| Page | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Terminal | Charts, the order book, the order ticket and your orders, for the account you trade. See The terminal. |
| Portfolio | Balances and positions across your accounts, Live or Paper, never the two added together. See Portfolio. |