Everything you need to get started and stay safe
The most important thing to know before you begin:
Your money never leaves your own exchange account. Pascal connects to your exchange via an API key that can only trade — it cannot withdraw, transfer, or move your funds. You remain in full control of your assets at all times.
This manual walks you through the setup to ensure that remains true.
Gather these items before you begin. The whole setup takes about 20-30 minutes.
We strongly recommend purchasing a hardware wallet before you begin. This is a one-time purchase (£50-150) that provides the highest level of security for your funds. Think of it as the lock on the front door — you wouldn't leave a property without one.
If you don't yet own a hardware wallet, you can complete setup and begin trading, but please make it your first priority to purchase one and complete the whitelisting step in Section 03.
By the end of this manual you will have:
Pascal operates through the Crypto.com Exchange. If you already have an account, skip to Section 03. If not, follow the steps below.
Go to exchange.crypto.com in your browser. Click "Sign Up" in the top-right corner.
If you have a referral code from Pascal, enter it in the referral code field during signup. This may provide a welcome bonus depending on your region.
Provide your email address and create a strong, unique password. Do not reuse passwords from other services. A password manager is highly recommended.
Crypto.com requires identity verification (Know Your Customer). You will need to upload a photo of your government-issued ID and take a selfie for verification.
This typically takes 5-15 minutes to submit and 24-48 hours to approve, though it can be faster. You'll receive an email when verification is complete.
Once your identity is verified, your account is active and ready for the next steps. You'll receive a confirmation email. Don't proceed until this is complete.
A complete screen-recorded walkthrough of the Crypto.com Exchange signup process is available in the Pascal resource library. Watch it alongside these steps if you'd prefer visual guidance.
This is the most important section of the entire manual. Please read it carefully and complete every step.
Pascal is designed with a three-layer security model. Each layer independently protects your funds. Together, they make unauthorised access to your money virtually impossible.
Three independent security layers. Any single layer is sufficient to prevent fund loss. Together, they provide institutional-grade protection.
Install Google Authenticator or Authy on your phone. These generate time-based security codes that change every 30 seconds.
Navigate to Settings → Security → Two-Factor Authentication. Scan the QR code with your authenticator app. Enter the 6-digit code to confirm.
SMS-based 2FA is vulnerable to SIM-swap attacks. Always use an authenticator app (Google Authenticator or Authy). If you are currently using SMS-based 2FA, switch to an authenticator app immediately.
Write down your 2FA backup codes and store them somewhere safe offline. If you lose your phone, these codes are the only way to regain access to your account.
Follow the manufacturer's instructions to set up your Ledger or Trezor device. Write down your seed phrase on paper and store it in a secure location. Never store your seed phrase digitally — not in a photo, not in a note, not in the cloud.
Open your hardware wallet's companion app and generate a USDC receiving address on the Solana network. This must match the network you'll use for deposits. Copy this address carefully — you will need it for the next step.
In your Crypto.com Exchange account, go to Settings → Withdrawal → Address Book.
Paste the USDT address from your hardware wallet. Give it a clear label like "My Ledger — Primary." Confirm with your 2FA code.
Enable the "Whitelist Only" setting. This means withdrawals can ONLY go to addresses you have explicitly added. No other destination is possible.
Add only your hardware wallet address. Do not add exchange addresses, friends' wallets, or any other destination. The fewer whitelisted addresses you have, the safer your funds are.
If you ever need to add a second address, most exchanges enforce a 24-48 hour cooling period before new whitelisted addresses become active. This gives you time to react if someone has gained unauthorised access.
With your exchange account set up and secured, it's time to add funds for Pascal to trade with. We use USDC on the Solana network because transaction fees are fractions of a penny — meaning more of your money works for you, not for network fees.
Pascal works with any amount, but we recommend a minimum of £5,000 to give Pascal sufficient room for diversification across your chosen assets. Smaller amounts can work but limit the number of positions Pascal can hold simultaneously.
We recommend funding your account with USDC on the Solana network. Transaction fees on Solana are fractions of a penny, compared to £5-20 on Ethereum. This means more of your money goes to trading, not to network fees. The same applies when you withdraw — your whitelisted hardware wallet address should be a USDC (Solana) address.
If you already hold USDC, transfer it to your Crypto.com Exchange wallet. Navigate to Wallet → Deposit → USDC, then select Solana as the network. Copy the deposit address carefully.
Ensure you select the Solana network — sending USDC via a different network (e.g., Ethereum) to a Solana address will result in lost funds.
If you're starting with GBP, EUR, USD or other fiat currency, deposit via bank transfer to your Crypto.com account. Then convert to USDC using the exchange's built-in conversion tool. Pascal will handle the rest from there.
Bank transfers typically take 1-3 business days. Crypto.com also supports faster deposit methods depending on your region.
When depositing or withdrawing USDC, always confirm you have selected the Solana network. Sending crypto on the wrong network can result in permanent loss of funds. Double-check the network name before every transaction.
Copy-paste the deposit address directly — never type it manually. Verify the first and last 6 characters match.
This is the most important technical step in the entire setup. Take your time. Follow each instruction exactly.
An API key is like a limited-access pass to your exchange account. You control exactly what it can and cannot do. The key we create here will allow Pascal to trade on your behalf, but absolutely nothing else.
In your Crypto.com Exchange, go to Settings → API Keys → Create New API Key.
Give it a clear label: "Pascal — Trade Only". This helps you identify it later if you ever need to review or revoke it.
This is the critical moment. Set the permissions exactly as shown in the table below.
| Permission | Setting | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Read account data | ✓ Enable | Pascal needs to see your balances and positions |
| Spot trading | ✓ Enable | Pascal needs to buy and sell assets |
| Derivatives trading | ✓ Enable | Pascal uses perpetual futures for some strategies |
| Withdrawal | ✗ DISABLE | Pascal must NEVER be able to withdraw your funds |
| Transfer between wallets | ✗ DISABLE | Pascal does not need to move funds between wallets |
These two permissions must ALWAYS remain disabled. There is no legitimate reason for Pascal to need withdrawal or transfer access. If anyone — including someone claiming to be from Pascal — asks you to enable these permissions, refuse and email the Architect immediately.
Pascal will never ask you to enable withdrawal permissions. Ever.
Enter your authenticator code to create the API key. You will be shown two values: the API Key and the API Secret.
The API Secret is only shown ONCE. Copy both the API Key and API Secret and paste them directly into Pascal (Section 06). Do not store them in a text file, email, or message.
A screen-recorded walkthrough showing exactly where to click and what to select for the API key creation is available in the Pascal resource library. We recommend watching it alongside these steps.
With your API key created, it's time to connect Pascal to your exchange.
If you haven't already, create your Pascal account and subscribe to your chosen tier. You'll be directed to the setup wizard.
Paste your API Key and API Secret into the designated fields. Pascal encrypts these immediately — they are never stored in plain text, and no human at Pascal ever sees them.
Pascal will run a quick verification check — confirming read access and trade access are working, and confirming that withdrawal access is correctly disabled. If verification fails, Pascal will tell you exactly what needs fixing.
Choose how you want Pascal to split your portfolio across assets. Use the sliders to set your preferred percentages. You can change this at any time.
Click the green "Start Pascal" button. Pascal begins observing the markets immediately and will take the first trade when conditions align with your allocation.
That's it. You're live.
Section 07Here's what to expect — and what not to worry about.
Pascal may not trade immediately. Pascal only trades when conditions meet strict quality thresholds. It's entirely normal for Pascal to evaluate hundreds of potential setups and take none of them in the first few hours. This is discipline, not malfunction.
You may see "evaluating" status on some agents. Pascal's trading specialists are analysing market conditions to determine which strategies match the current environment. This is expected behaviour.
Small movements in P&L are normal. Your first trade might be a winner. It might be a loser. Individual trade outcomes are not meaningful — what matters is performance over dozens of trades.
Connection errors. If Pascal reports it cannot connect to your exchange, check that your API key was entered correctly and that Crypto.com Exchange is not experiencing an outage.
"Insufficient permissions" errors. This means the API key permissions need adjusting. Re-check Section 05 and ensure both read and trading permissions are enabled.
Any message asking you to change your API key permissions. Pascal will never ask you to enable withdrawal or transfer access. If you see such a message, it is not from us. Email the Architect with URGENT in the subject line immediately.
Section 08The red "Pause Pascal" button is available on every page. One click pauses all new trading activity. Existing positions continue to be managed — Pascal won't abandon open trades. Click the green "Resume Pascal" button when you're ready to allow new trades.
Click "Edit" on the allocation card of your dashboard. Adjust the sliders and click "Save changes." Changes take effect on the next trading cycle. Open positions are managed to completion under the previous allocation — we don't force-close profitable trades.
Pascal does not handle withdrawals. To take profit:
Pause Pascal to prevent new trades from being opened while you withdraw.
Navigate to your exchange account (not through Pascal).
The only available withdrawal destination will be your hardware wallet — the address you whitelisted in Section 03. Enter the amount, confirm with 2FA, and the withdrawal will process.
Once you've withdrawn what you wanted, resume Pascal to continue trading with your remaining balance.
If you ever want to disconnect Pascal completely, go to your Crypto.com Exchange account, navigate to Settings → API Keys, and delete the API key labelled "Pascal — Trade Only." Pascal will immediately lose all access to your account. Your funds remain untouched.
Section 09If you need assistance with anything not covered in this manual:
We respond within 24 hours during UK business hours (Monday to Friday, 9am–6pm GMT). For non-urgent questions about setup, allocation, or general operation, email is the best route.
If you suspect unauthorised access to your account or see activity you don't recognise, take these two actions immediately:
1. Pause Pascal (red button, top right of any page)
2. Revoke your API key on your Crypto.com Exchange account (Settings → API Keys → Delete)
Then email the Architect with URGENT in the subject line. Your funds are safe the moment you complete those two actions.
As Pascal grows, we are building an AI-powered support assistant that will be available around the clock to answer setup questions, troubleshoot common issues, and guide you through any process in this manual. Until then, you're dealing directly with the people who built the system — and we think that's a feature, not a limitation.
This is almost always normal. Pascal evaluates hundreds of setups and only acts on a small percentage. Check the "Under the Hood" section on the Performance page to see how many signals have been evaluated. If the number is zero, there may be a connection issue — check your API key status.
Losses are a natural part of trading, even for excellent systems. Pascal's edge is not "every trade wins" — it's "winners are larger than losers over time." A losing day, or even a losing week, does not mean the system is broken. Review the Trading Stats section to see the broader picture.
Use the "Forgot Password" link on the login page. If that doesn't work, email the Architect. Your exchange account and funds are completely unaffected by any issue with your Pascal account.
If Pascal is active, all trades on your exchange are being placed by Pascal. Check the Trade History page to see Pascal's reasoning for each trade. If you see trades that don't appear in Pascal's history, pause Pascal immediately, revoke the API key, and email the Architect with URGENT in the subject line.
Review Section 03. Confirm that 2FA is active, your withdrawal address is whitelisted, and your API key has no withdrawal permissions. If all three are in place, your funds are protected by three independent security layers.
Section 10Keep these principles in mind at all times:
The golden rule: if something feels wrong, it probably is. Pause Pascal, revoke the API key, and email the Architect. Your funds are safe the moment you take those two actions. You can always reconnect later.