> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.intention.xyz/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Deposit

> Getting collateral into the account you trade from — the faucet, and the bridge path from another chain.

You trade against collateral held in your Intention account. This page covers getting it there.

## From the faucet

The fastest way to get collateral is the faucet at [faucet.intention-testnet.xyz](https://faucet.intention-testnet.xyz). Connect the same wallet you use on the exchange and request funds — they arrive in the account you trade from.

See [What is Intention](/help/what-is-intention) for what faucet collateral is and is not.

## From another chain

The `Deposit` button in the account panel on the right of the trading screen opens the bridge flow.

<img src="https://mintcdn.com/intentionlabs/Cx_aW186sys0N-Mw/images/help/account-panel.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=Cx_aW186sys0N-Mw&q=85&s=4d56df727adf451141b2f7162ee2e1bd" alt="Deposit and Withdraw buttons in the account panel" width="744" height="348" data-path="images/help/account-panel.png" />

<Steps>
  <Step title="Choose the source chain and asset">
    The dialog lists what is currently supported. That list is authoritative — it changes as routes are added.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Send from your wallet">
    Funds are locked in the bridge contract on the source chain.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Wait for confirmations">
    Intention validators observe the source chain and credit your account once its confirmation requirement is met. The wait is the source chain's finality, not Intention's.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Check Balances">
    The credit appears under **Balances** at the bottom of the trading screen, and in `Available to Trade` in the order ticket.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## What a deposit costs

**Nothing, from the protocol.** Deposits are free — you pay the source chain's gas to send the transaction, and the full amount you locked becomes tradeable collateral.

There is a **minimum deposit**, so a transfer cannot be smaller than the cost of processing it. See [Non-trading fees](/programs/other-fees).

## What happens the moment it lands

A credited deposit is an ordinary protocol transaction, which has a consequence worth knowing if you are topping up a position in trouble: it takes effect in the same execution step everything else does.

Margin restored by a deposit is visible to the risk engine immediately — not after a reconciliation pass. A deposit that arrives before your position reaches its maintenance requirement counts. See [Clearinghouse](/protocol/architecture/clearinghouse).

That said, do not rely on it. Bridge deposits wait on another chain's finality, and a fast market can reach your liquidation price long before the confirmations land.

<Warning>
  **Send only supported assets, on supported chains, to the address the dialog gives you.** Funds sent on the wrong chain, or in an unsupported asset, are usually unrecoverable — nobody has a key that can spend them. Verify the chain in your wallet, not just the address: the same address string is valid on many chains and leads to different accounts on each.

  Test a new route with a small amount first. See [Wrong network or asset](/help/wrong-network-or-asset).
</Warning>

## If it does not arrive

Deposits are not instant, and slow is normal before it is a problem. The wait-versus-escalate criteria are on [Deposit not credited](/help/deposit-not-credited).

## Where to go next

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Your first trade" href="/help/first-trade">
    Putting the collateral to work.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Withdraw" href="/help/withdraw">
    The path back out.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Deposit not credited" href="/help/deposit-not-credited">
    When to wait and when to raise a ticket.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Bridge" href="/protocol/architecture/bridge">
    How the crossing actually works.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>