# Trading
The first thing required to trade on Apemex is a compatible DeFi wallet. We recommend using Chrome or Brave Browser on desktop with the Metamask extension, and Metamask Browser on mobile.
1. Download & install Metamask browser / the Metamask browser extension from their official website:
2. Head over to Apemex.exchange and click 'Connect Wallet' at the top of the page.
3\. Navigate to your Metamask, choose your address, and click **NEXT** and then **CONNECT**.
4\. Deposit BNB and BUSD (on BSC) or MATIC and USDC (on Polygon) into your metamask wallet.
5\. You’re ready to deposit funds into your margin balance.
Note: If you are trading large amounts of funds, please consider getting a reputable hardware wallet such as [Trezor](https://trezor.com/).
## Deposit into your margin account
NOTE: Before trading on Apemex, it is important to note that like other DeFi projects, each interaction with the exchange requires a blockchain transaction (and the respective gas fee). If you are making any kind of deposit into the smart contract for the first time, you will need to issue an “APPROVE” transaction first in order for the smart contract to be able to use your funds for trading. If this is unclear, simply follow the step by step guide below.
Before trading, you will first need to deposit funds into your own personal margin account on the Apemex Protocol.
1. Make sure you have BUSD (Binance Smart Chain) or USDC (Polygon) in your wallet. If you have BNB or MATIC you can swap it to BUSD/USDC using **Swap Tokens**
2. On the left panel on Apemex.exchange under Margin Account Balances, press **Deposit**
3. If this is the first time you are depositing funds into this account, you will have to **Approve** the smart contract to use tokens on your behalf. Click **Approve** and confirm the transaction in your Metamask wallet.
4. Please wait until the transaction is confirmed.
5. Input the amount you would like to add to your account and press **Deposit**
6. Confirm in your Metamask wallet, and wait for the transaction to confirm.
Congratulations, you now have funds in your margin account and are ready to start trading!
## Place a margin trade
1. Make sure you have deposited funds for trading as outlined above.
2. Navigate to Apemex.exchange/margin
3. Pick the desired token from the dropdown menu
4. Press “LONG” or “SHORT” on the right of the MARGIN tab and enter the desired commitment of your position (please note that the commitment is how much you put in, not the actual size of the position).
5. If you would like, you can add a stop loss (your position will automatically close if it goes below this %) or a take profit (your position will automatically close if it goes above this %).
6. Click Open Position
7. Confirm in your Metamask wallet and wait for the transaction to go through.
8. Congratulations, you’ve placed a position and should now be able to see it in the positions tab as well as your current PnL (profit and loss percentage)!
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