API key

An API key is a pair of credentials an exchange issues so that software can connect to your account programmatically, without your password. Crucially, exchanges let you scope what a key is allowed to do. A key can be limited to reading data, permitted to place trades, or, separately, allowed to withdraw funds. Those permissions are independent, and the difference between them is the difference between safe and unsafe automation.

The safe configuration is a trade-only key: one granted permission to place orders but never to withdraw. With such a key, a connected app can act inside your account, buying and selling according to its rules, but it physically cannot move your money off the exchange. If the key were ever exposed, the worst case is unwanted trades, not stolen funds. Never granting withdrawal permission is the single most important habit when connecting any tool to an exchange.

Crypto Wealth follows exactly this standard. The optional AutoTrade tier connects through trade-only API keys that are encrypted and never granted withdrawal permission. The system can execute signals within your rules, but your funds stay on your own exchange, fully in your control. That is what makes the app non-custodial.