# Overview

Product: Direct Trade API
Guides follow API reference 0.1.0 and event reference 0.1.0.
Canonical page: https://docs.axiym.io/direct-trade-api/concepts/overview

The Direct Trade API lets your organization hold, move, and convert funds
through Axiym accounts it owns. You can use these accounts for your own
activity or as part of services you provide to clients. In both cases, the
access token identifies your organization and every API resource belongs to
it.

Your clients are not represented as Axiym clients in this API. They do not
complete individual Axiym onboarding, receive `clientId` values, or own Direct
Trade API resources. Funds enter and leave Axiym through the bank accounts and
wallets your organization registers in its **address book**.

Third-party funding and third-party withdrawals are not supported. The owner
of the address book entry must be the same as the owner of the Axiym
account. Using Direct Trade for client work does not change this ownership
rule.

## One organization, one account context

There is no downstream-client dimension in this API. Paths address your
organization’s resources directly - `/accounts`, `/deposits`, `/conversions`,
`/withdrawals` - and webhook events describe resources in the same account
context, so their payloads carry no `clientId`.

When an operation supports client work, keep the customer relationship and
attribution in your own system. Correlate the Axiym resource identifiers and
`externalReference`, where available, with your customer, order, payment, or
treasury records.

If each client should be onboarded with Axiym and own separate Axiym accounts
and activity, use the [Client Trade API](/trade-api) instead.

## The core model

The API is organized around six connected resources.

| Resource           | What it represents                                                                                                                             |
| ------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Address book entry | A bank account or wallet your organization owns and has registered with Axiym. Only `ACTIVE` entries can fund deposits or receive withdrawals. |
| Axiym account      | A balance with Axiym in one currency, connected to a specific payment rail.                                                                    |
| Deposit            | An incoming payment from an address book entry that credits an Axiym account.                                                                  |
| Conversion pair    | Permission to sell one currency and buy another over specified payment rails, in one direction.                                                |
| Conversion         | An exchange that debits the sell-side Axiym account and credits the buy-side Axiym account resolved by a conversion pair.                      |
| Withdrawal         | An outgoing payment from an Axiym account to an address book entry.                                                                            |

An Axiym account is the center of the balance model. Deposits increase its
balance, withdrawals decrease it, and conversions move value between Axiym
accounts.



```mermaid
flowchart TD
  fundingAccount["Address book entry<br/>(funding source)"] -->|Deposit using deposit instructions| sell["Axiym account holding sell<br/>currency"]
  sell -->|Permitted conversion| buy["Axiym account holding buy<br/>currency"]
  buy -->|Withdrawal using destinationId| withdrawalAccount["Address book entry<br/>(withdrawal recipient)"]

  class fundingAccount,withdrawalAccount externalNode
  class sell,buy accountNode
  classDef externalNode stroke-width:1.5px
  classDef accountNode stroke-width:2px
```



The external account at the start and end represents the same type of
registered resource. A workflow does not have to include a conversion, and it
does not have to use every address book entry for both directions.

Bank deposits are matched using the reference in the deposit instructions;
wallet deposits are matched by the receiving wallet address. Send funds only
from an active entry in your organization's address book. Withdrawals identify
the registered recipient with `destinationId`.

## A typical workflow

1. **Build your address book.** Add a bank account or wallet your company
   owns and wait until the entry is `ACTIVE`.
2. **Find the Axiym accounts.** Identify the account for each currency you plan
   to hold or move.
3. **Fund an Axiym account.** Retrieve its deposit instructions and send funds
   from the address book entry using the specified details.
4. **Wait for the deposit.** Wait until the deposit completes and the Axiym
   account is credited.
5. **Convert funds if needed.** Select a permitted conversion pair, create a
   conversion to lock the rate, and confirm it before the quote expires.
6. **Withdraw funds.** Create and confirm a withdrawal to send funds to an
   address book entry in the same currency.
7. **Reconcile activity.** Use deposits, conversions, withdrawals, and account
   statements to reconcile the resulting balance movements.

Not every integration needs every step. For example, you can deposit and
withdraw without converting when the incoming and outgoing currency is the
same.

## Where to continue

* [Address Book](/direct-trade-api/concepts/address-book)
* [Axiym Accounts & Balances](/direct-trade-api/concepts/accounts-and-balances)
* [Depositing Funds](/direct-trade-api/concepts/depositing-funds)
* [Currency Conversions](/direct-trade-api/concepts/currency-conversions)
* [Withdrawing Funds](/direct-trade-api/concepts/withdrawing-funds)
* [Notifications & Webhooks](/direct-trade-api/concepts/notifications-and-webhooks)
* [Terminology](/direct-trade-api/concepts/terminology)

When you understand the model, use the
[Integration Guide](/direct-trade-api/integration-guide) to set up credentials
and make your first sandbox requests.