An account is the unit of ownership, margin, and permissions. Every account has one address, one nonce sequence, and one USDC balance per account mode.
Account types
| Type | Owner | Can trade | Can withdraw | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Master | Wallet or embedded signer | Yes | Yes | Human trading |
| Sub-account | Master | Yes | No | Strategy isolation |
| Vault | Leader + depositors | Yes | Via vault rules | Managed liquidity |
| API wallet | Master | Yes (scoped) | No | Bots and integrations |
Sub-accounts do not have keys
A sub-account cannot sign for itself. The master signs on its behalf and sets the vaultAddress field to the sub-account address. Do not try to derive a private key for a sub-account.
Account abstraction modes
Nexwest supports three modes. The mode determines which positions share margin.
Standard
Each perp DEX has its own cross-margin pool. Positions in different DEXs do not share collateral. This is the default for accounts that trade a single venue.
Unified account
All cross positions across DEXs share one USDC balance. Spot collateral can be enabled as margin with a haircut. This is the recommended mode for active traders.
Portfolio margin
Positions are grouped into a portfolio and risk is computed from scenario shocks rather than position-by-position maintenance margin. Portfolio margin can unlock more capacity for hedged books, but it introduces borrow/lend and liquidation logic that does not exist in the other modes. See portfolio margin.
You can change modes from Settings → Account. Changing modes recomputes margin requirements and may fail if the account is below the new requirement.
Sub-accounts
Create sub-accounts from the app or with the createSubAccount action. Each sub-account has:
- an isolated balance,
- its own orders and positions,
- a name and an address derived from the master.
Sub-account volume counts toward the master fee tier. Transfers between the master and a sub-account are instant and free.
API wallets
An API wallet is a scoped signer. It can place and cancel orders, modify leverage, and transfer between sub-accounts, but it cannot withdraw to an external chain. API wallets can be revoked at any time without changing the master key.
See authentication and nonces.
Account state
The clearinghouseState endpoint returns:
marginSummary— account value, total notional, maintenance margin,crossMarginSummary— cross-only view,assetPositions— size, entry price, margin, liquidation price,withdrawable— the amount available after the transfer margin rule.