How to get native DYDX in your bank for gas
Every Cosmos transaction needs a gas fee paid in the chain's native token. On dYdX, that's adydx (native DYDX). You need ~$0.50 worth in the bank before you can register a trading key.
Why this is a separate step
Your USDC for trading lives in subaccount 0 — locked, not spendable for gas. The MsgAddAuthenticator transaction that registers your Botely trading key uses bank-level gas, paid in adydx (the native dYdX token).
0.02 DYDX (about $0.50 at typical prices) is plenty. The trading-key wizard checks this balance and tells you to top up if it's missing.
Option 1 — Buy on a CEX and withdraw
DYDX is listed on Coinbase, Binance, Kraken, Bybit, OKX, and others. Buy ~$5-$10 worth (most exchanges have a $5-$10 minimum withdrawal amount), then send to your dydx1… address.
Pick the network labeled "dYdX Chain" or "dYdX (Cosmos)". Some exchanges still show the legacy ERC-20 DYDX on Ethereum — that one will NOT arrive at your dydx1… bank. Use the native one.
Confirmation takes 1-2 minutes after the exchange processes the withdrawal.
Option 2 — Bridge from another chain
If you already hold crypto on Ethereum, Solana, Arbitrum, Optimism, Base, or another chain, use Squid Router (https://app.squidrouter.com) or Skip:Go (https://go.skip.build) to bridge to dYdX directly.
Pick destination chain = dYdX Chain, destination token = DYDX (native). $5-$10 worth is enough. Bridging takes ~5 minutes and the DYDX lands directly in your bank.
Option 3 — Withdraw from subaccount and swap
If you already have USDC in subaccount 0 and don't want to fund externally, you can withdraw a few USDC from sub 0 to bank on dydx.trade, then swap USDC → DYDX on Osmosis (IBC bridge) and return. This is more involved (15-20 minutes) and only worth it if you can't use options 1 or 2.
After topping up, return to the Botely trading-key wizard and click "Re-check balance". The pre-flight panel will now pass and you can continue.