Setup guide

Paper trading account setup process

A useful paper-trading account is not just a login. It is a simulated workspace with written rules, a narrow watchlist, paper risk limits, journal fields, alert labels, and a review cadence that keeps practice separate from live-capital decisions.

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Paper-first account boundary

Trading Boy does not execute live trades, hold funds, or provide financial advice. This setup process is for simulated account organization, evidence review, and paper-mode discipline. It should not be treated as a brokerage onboarding guide or a recommendation to trade live capital.

Setup sequence

Set up the account in layers. The goal is to make every simulated decision reviewable before the first result appears. If a field is unclear during setup, it will usually be more confusing after a winning or losing trade creates bias.

Step	Decision	Good setup evidence	Common mistake
1. Account boundary	Define paper mode, owner, alias, and review purpose.	The account states that entries are simulated and reviewed for process quality.	Using live-trading language before a paper workflow exists.
2. Access and security	Store Trading Boy account keys safely and avoid unnecessary third-party credentials.	Keys are private, support paths are known, and exchange keys are not required for paper setup.	Sharing full keys in screenshots, chats, or support messages.
3. Watchlist	Choose a small token or market universe.	The watchlist has inclusion rules, removal rules, and a review date.	Adding every trending asset and losing the ability to compare decisions.
4. Agent rules	Write setup criteria, invalidation, skip rules, and cadence.	The first rule version links to the journal and pre-trade checklist.	Changing the agent prompt after every outcome.
5. Paper risk	Set simulated size, drawdown stop, and maximum correlated exposure.	Risk limits are visible before simulated entries begin.	Letting paper PnL decide the next position size.
6. Review routine	Decide when entries, exits, missed trades, and rule changes are reviewed.	There is a weekly review slot and a post-trade checklist.	Only reviewing interesting winners or painful losses.

Account setup worksheet

Use the setup as the first paper-trading record. The worksheet should be complete enough that a future reviewer can tell what was tested, what was excluded, and what evidence would justify changing the setup.

Field	What to write	Review question
Setup name	A short label such as BTC ETH SOL trend paper account v1.	Can the setup be found again without guessing from old journal entries?
Paper boundary	State that decisions are simulated and not connected to live execution.	Could a reader confuse this with a live brokerage or signal account?
Market universe	List allowed symbols, timeframes, excluded assets, and when the list may change.	Does every future trade belong to the same test?
Rule source	Link the prompt, checklist, persona, or manual rule set that creates decisions.	Can a reviewer compare outcomes with the rule that existed at the time?
Risk limits	Record simulated size, maximum open positions, daily decision cap, and drawdown pause rule.	Would a loss trigger a written action, or only an emotional reaction?
Journal fields	Choose required fields for thesis, trigger, invalidation, skipped trade, exit, and lesson.	Will the journal explain process quality, not just paper PnL?
Review cadence	Name the daily, weekly, and sample-size review moments.	Is there a scheduled checkpoint before changing the setup?

Example setup

Account purpose: A trader creates a Trading Boy paper account to practice a large-cap crypto trend workflow for eight weeks. They write the account purpose as "review rule consistency, not predict returns."

Initial configuration: The trader limits the watchlist to BTC, ETH, and SOL, sets one active simulated position at a time, writes a maximum paper drawdown pause rule, and links the account to the paper trading journal template.

Review result: After the first week, the account has fewer trades than expected. The setup process still worked because it exposed a missing market-data rule. The next action is to use the market data review process, not to widen the watchlist without evidence.

Safe setup without exchange keys

A paper account should be useful before any exchange credential enters the conversation. Start with watchlist rules, manual marks, journal fields, and review permissions. If a separate external tool ever asks for exchange access, treat that as a separate safety review and use the trading API key safety checklist first.

The safest default is to keep paper trading evidence separate from live-account permissions. A simulated account can still record thesis quality, rule adherence, drawdown behavior, missed trades, and review notes. None of those require withdrawal access, custody, or order-routing privileges.

Version the setup before testing

Give the initial configuration a version before the first simulated decision. If the account begins with "v1", later changes can be named "v1.1 watchlist limit" or "v2 breakout confirmation rule". That keeps paper samples from mixing old and new behavior without a visible boundary.

Versioning matters for AI paper agents because prompt changes can look like performance improvements when they are really a different system. Pair this setup with AI trading agent prompt versioning and the AI trading agent output format template when the account depends on agent-generated decisions.

Setup fields to write down

Paper-mode label: The account should visibly say simulated, paper, or practice so results are not confused with live capital.
Rule version: Give the first setup a version such as v1.0 and record future changes with dates.
Review owner: Decide who reads the journal, who can change rules, and who can archive a setup.
Market scope: Define symbols, timeframes, and excluded conditions before alerts start arriving.
Risk boundary: Write paper size, drawdown pause, and maximum daily or weekly decision count.

Pages to connect during setup

Pair this setup page with crypto paper trading workflow, AI trading agent rules, pre-trade checklist, and paper-trading limitations. Those pages turn setup fields into a repeatable review loop.

If the workflow touches API credentials or exchange terminology, read exchange API key safety for paper trading before adding any third-party access outside the paper workflow.

Day-zero validation before the first paper trade

Before logging the first simulated trade, run a dry review of the account. The goal is to catch missing setup fields while no outcome is pressuring the decision.

Check the first decision path

Walk through one hypothetical setup from watchlist to thesis, trigger, invalidation, risk sizing, journal entry, alert label, and post-trade review. If any step requires an unwritten assumption, add it to the setup before trading.

Check the skip path

A paper account that only records taken trades will miss useful evidence. Define how skipped trades are logged, especially when an AI agent says conditions are incomplete, the watchlist asset is outside scope, or risk limits are already used.

Check the pause path

Write what happens after a drawdown, repeated rule violation, missing data, or emotional override. A pause rule makes the account easier to review because the next action is defined before stress appears.

Week-one review after setup

A paper trading account setup is not finished just because the fields are filled out. After the first week, review whether the account captured enough evidence to judge the process. Look for missing screenshots, unclear skipped trades, late journal entries, mismatched timeframes, and risk notes that were written after the outcome was known.

If the setup is too broad, narrow the market universe before collecting more trades. If the journal is too thin, add required fields before judging results. If the agent output is inconsistent, tighten the prompt and reset the sample boundary. Then connect the account to paper trading results evaluation, sample size, and readiness review before live trading so setup quality is judged before any live-capital discussion.

What to avoid during account setup

Do not start with a giant watchlist, a vague agent prompt, and no journal. That creates a paper account that can generate activity but cannot explain whether the process is improving. The account should make review easier, not just make it easier to collect simulated trades.

Also avoid treating setup as a one-time admin chore. Setup is the first evidence in the paper sample. If the account starts with unclear rules, mixed timeframes, or hidden risk assumptions, every later result inherits that ambiguity. A conservative setup makes it easier to reject weak evidence later, which is often more valuable than collecting another attractive paper return.

Account setup FAQ

What should I set up before paper trading?

Define the simulated account boundary, access keys, watchlist, rules, paper risk limits, journal fields, alert labels, and review cadence before judging any paper result.

Does a paper trading account need exchange keys?

No. The setup process described here is for simulated review and does not require exchange keys, custody, or live order routing.

Is account setup the same as live trading setup?

No. Paper setup organizes practice data and review evidence. It does not approve live trading, predict returns, or replace professional guidance.

How detailed should a paper trading account setup be?

A useful paper trading setup should be detailed enough that another reviewer can understand the market scope, risk limits, journal fields, prompt or rule version, skipped-trade policy, and review cadence without asking for hidden context.

When should I change a paper trading account setup?

Change the setup only after a scheduled review identifies a specific problem. Record the old version, the reason for the change, and the new rule so later paper results are not mixed across incompatible setups.