ItchySats goes Desktop

4 min readOct 11, 2022

With our latest release 0.7.0 we are proud to present you a binary to run ItchySats on Windows or macOS (intel, arm )- no need for a RPi anymore.

ItchySats is a trading tool for the self-sovereign Bitcoiner. If that doesn’t sound like you (yet), give it a go! We believe that once you get a taste of censorship-resistant, self-sovereign, noncustodial trading, you’ll never look back.

As of today, ItchySats allows you to trade BTCUSD and ETHUSD CFDs with zero counterparty risk.
Trades are fully collateralized on the Bitcoin blockchain and secured using DLCs.

If you want to read more on how ItchySats works, read here.

How to install ItchySats on Desktop

Download the binary for your operating system

The screenshots below are from macOS Monterey, but it should be the same or similar on Windows.

Install ItchySats

Installing is straightforward: just follow your usual workflow of moving the binary into the Application folder ;)

Alternatively you can make use of homebrew:

brew tap itchysats/itchysats
brea install itchysats

How to use ItchySats

Starting ItchySats

Once installed, you can start ItchySats.
When starting for the first time the default password is weareallsatoshi.
Once logged in you will be asked to change the password.
Store this password in a safe place, it’s your only way back into ItchySats!

Fund wallet

On the left side you see a button saying Wallet.
Go ahead and click it.
It will bring you to the wallet screen.

ItchySats is fully noncustodial and uses an internal hot-wallet. The application generates a random wallet for you the first time you start it up.
The wallet file is stored in your `app-data` folder

macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/itchysats-desktop\mainnet
Windows: %APPDATA%\itchysats-desktop\mainnet

This folder also includes application-specific data such as a database for your trades and your wallet history.

In the middle of the screen you can see your Bitcoin address.
Once you have deposited some funds you can go back to the trading screen by clicking on Trade on the left.

Open a long position

In the navigation bar on the left you can see a dropdown with two different assets: BTCUSD and ETHUSD.
Both are CFDs (Contracts for Difference) and are collateralized using Bitcoin.

If you are bullish on Bitcoin, you would want to open a long position.
Meaning, you are betting on the BTCUSD price to go up.

In the input field you can indicate how many contracts you want to go long.
At the time of writing, the allowed amounts are between 100-1000.
For BTCUSD, each contract is worth $1. This allows you to think in USD terms if that’s easier for you.
Do note that for ETHUSD this is not the case.

Use the slider to select your preferred leverage.
A higher leverage lowers the margin required for you to open a position with a set number of contracts.
On the other hand, the higher the leverage the more likely you are to get liquidated if the price of the asset moves against you.

Below the slider you see the Required margin amount, i.e. the amount you need to put up to open a position.
As mentioned, this is derived from the number of contracts and leverage chosen.
You will only be able to open a position if you have sufficient funds in your ItchySats wallet.

Once open, your position is _perpetual_. This means it does not have an expiry time but is extended on a regular interval.
The ongoing cost to keep your position open is depicted below in the `Perpetual Cost` section.
There is a great article from BitMEX explaining how funding rate works.
We have a similar behavior, meaning the perpetual cost can be positive or negative.
Depending on whether you are long or short in combination with a positive or negative funding rate, you might actually get paid for keeping your position open!

When you hit the Long button a final confirmation screen is shown summarizing the cost and margin requirements.
Once confirmed, your position will be open.

Closing a position

Once your position is open, you will find your position below.
To close this position simply hit the Close button and the position will be closed on-chain and you will receive your winnings into your wallet.

Final points

There are a few more things you can do in the app: withdraw your funds, back-up your wallet or even short Bitcoin or Ether.
We will leave you to it to explore.

Have fun and let us know if you have any questions.

Feedback

Any feedback is welcome, feel free to reach out via twitter: @itchysats or join our telegram group.
You can also find more ways to reach us on our website.