Connect VALR to TensorTrader: API key + secret, paper first

VALR and TensorTrader

VALR is a South African crypto exchange with spot and perpetual futures markets.

This guide shows exactly what VALR needs from you, how to create it without withdrawal permission, how to save it in TensorTrader on paper first, and what TensorTrader can do on VALR today. TradingView execution for VALR is not switched on yet, so this guide focuses on connecting and verifying the key.

At a glance

status

Connectable (key storage + verification; execution not yet live-ready)

type

CEX

markets

perps · spot

venue max leverage

10x

credential

API key + secret

Create a trade-only VALR key

1. 1Open your exchange, then Account / API management.
2. 2Create a new API key. Name it TensorTrader.
3. 3Turn ON trade or futures permission. Leave withdrawals OFF.
4. 4If the exchange shows an IP allow-list, leave it open or add this server after you know the outbound IP.
5. 5Copy the API key and secret now. Most venues show the secret only once.
6. 6Paste them below. TensorTrader saves them as paper/testnet first.

allow

Trade / futures · Read account / positions

never

Withdrawals · Transfer / internal send · Account login or 2FA codes · Transfers / internal sends · Your login password or 2FA codes

Save the VALR key in TensorTrader

Verification is a real call to the exchange, not a format check. A key that verifies but reads a zero balance usually points at the wrong wallet (spot instead of futures) or an unfunded demo account.

1. 1Sign in and open Settings (the tab on the right edge), then the Exchange Auth tab.
2. 2Pick VALR from the venue list.
3. 3Leave the key marked as testnet / paper. New keys always start there; live is a separate opt-in after preflight.
4. 4Paste the API key and the API secret.
5. 5On a live-ready venue, testnet credentials save and verify on their own a moment after you stop typing ("Paper/testnet credentials save automatically"). Elsewhere, press Save & Verify. The status turns green and your balance appears when the key works.
6. 6If the venue offers more than one wallet or account, pick the one TensorTrader should trade from in the wallet picker.

What works on VALR today

VALR is connectable but not live-ready. You can save and verify a trade-only key now; execution switches on once the venue passes the same parity checklist as Binance and Hyperliquid (balances, margin, fills, reconcile, fill-based profit). Connecting now also helps us finish it, which is exactly what the Pioneer program rewards.

key storage + verification

Yes: the key is checked with a real call to the exchange.

TradingView alert execution

Not yet. Alerts for this venue are not executed until it has a verified paper path.

live-ready (paper-first parity checklist)

Not yet.

paper / testnet path

Venue sandbox or demo keys where the exchange provides them; otherwise the connector stays read-only.

If the VALR key does not verify

TensorTrader treats authentication errors as errors and stops. It never reads a dead VALR key as an empty account.

invalid key

Usually a live key saved as testnet, or the reverse. Match the key to the environment.

IP restricted

The key is locked to other IP addresses; clear the allow-list or add the server’s outbound IP.

zero balance

The key works but the account or wallet it trades is empty, for example funds in spot instead of futures.

permission denied

Trade permission is off; edit the key on the exchange and enable trading (never withdrawals).

Placing VALR orders from TradingView

Until VALR is executable, alerts that name it are not turned into orders. Build your TradingView setup on a live-ready venue in the meantime: the same Batch Create alerts can later be pointed at VALR by changing the exchange in step 1 · Exchanges.

• Batch Create strategies and indicators explained →

Beta Pioneer: 90 days, plus seats to share

A verified trade-only VALR key makes you a Beta Pioneer: your free beta runs 90 days instead of 30, and you get an invite code with 90-day seats for other traders. The code has 5 seats while we are still finishing a venue, and 2 once it is complete.

Find the code under Settings → Community and use "Copy invite link". Each seat gives a new account the same 90-day beta.

Frequently asked questions

Does TensorTrader need withdrawal permission on VALR?

No. Leave withdrawals and transfers off. TensorTrader only needs to trade and read your account.

Can I test VALR without real money?

Use VALR's sandbox or demo keys if it offers them. New keys in TensorTrader always start marked as testnet / paper.

Keep reading

• TradingView webhook automation: from alert to exchange order

  Everything about automating TradingView: alert types, webhook JSON, plan limits, building hundreds of alerts with the Chrome extension, managing them, and executing on 30 exchanges and brokers, paper first.

• Trade-only API keys: which permissions to enable, and which never to enable

  A plain guide to exchange API key permissions for trading bots: what trade, read, transfer and withdraw mean, the passphrase exchanges, IP allow-lists and DEX agent keys.

• Paper trading and testnets on every exchange TensorTrader supports

  Which crypto exchanges and brokers offer a testnet, demo or paper environment, how TensorTrader uses each one, and which venues have no paper path at all.