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Before you trade

Before you can place orders on Context, your wallet needs two things:
  1. Operator approval — authorize the Settlement contract to manage your holdings
  2. USDC deposit — move USDC into the Holdings contract so you have funds to trade
On testnet, both steps are gasless — the SDK handles this automatically. On mainnet, these are on-chain transactions.
Orders will fail if you skip this. The API returns a “not approved” error if your wallet isn’t set up, and orders require a funded Holdings balance.

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Quick version (SDK)

If you’re using the SDK, it’s three steps: 
import { ContextClient } from "context-markets"

const ctx = new ContextClient({
  chain: "testnet",
  apiKey: process.env.CONTEXT_API_KEY!,
  signer: { privateKey: process.env.PRIVATE_KEY! as `0x${string}` },
})

// 1. Approve contracts (gasless on testnet, on-chain on mainnet)
await ctx.account.setup()

// 2. Deposit USDC (gasless on testnet, on-chain on mainnet)
await ctx.account.deposit(100)

// Ready to trade
You only need to call setup() once per wallet. After that, deposit whenever you need more funds.
On testnet, you can mint free test USDC. See Testnet differences.

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Step by step

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1. Check your wallet status

Before doing anything, check whether your wallet already has the required approvals: 
const status = await ctx.account.status()

console.log("Address:", status.address)
console.log("USDC balance:", status.usdcBalance)
console.log("Ready to trade:", status.isReady)
If isReady is true, skip to the deposit step.

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2. Approve contracts

This authorizes the Settlement contract to transfer your holdings during order settlement. The SDK picks the right method based on chain: 
const result = await ctx.account.setup()

console.log("USDC approval:", result.usdcApproval.txHash)
console.log("Operator approval:", result.operatorApproval.txHash)
On testnet, your wallet signs an approval message and the Context relayer submits the transaction — no ETH needed. On mainnet, this sends on-chain transactions.
There may be a short indexer delay after approval. If your first order returns a “not approved” error, wait a few seconds and retry.

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3. Deposit USDC

Move USDC from your wallet into the Holdings contract: 
const result = await ctx.account.deposit(100) // deposit 100 USDC

console.log("Tx hash:", result.txHash)
console.log("Gasless:", result.gasless)
On testnet, this uses Permit2 (gasless). On mainnet, this is an on-chain transaction.

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4. Verify

Confirm everything is ready: 
const status = await ctx.account.status()

console.log("Operator approved:", status.isOperatorApproved)
console.log("USDC balance:", status.usdcBalance)
console.log("Ready:", status.isReady)

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Using the API directly

If you’re not using the SDK, call the gasless endpoints directly:

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Approve operator

POST /gasless/operator
Send a signed operator approval. See the API reference for the full request body schema.

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Deposit with Permit2

POST /gasless/deposit-with-permit
Send a signed Permit2 deposit. See the API reference for the full request body schema.

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Next steps

Place your first order

Now that your wallet is ready, place your first trade

Account reference

Full account module docs — withdrawals, complete sets, and more