Signal in. Position out.
Seven stages. Zero custody points.
Every trade APU executes follows the same path. Here it is in full.
THE SEVEN-STAGE PIPELINE
01
The circle.news Cascade
circle.news runs a 7-agent AI cascade continuously across Finance, Insurance, Real Infrastructure, and Electronic Labour. Every observation passes through all 7 agents. Any agent can reject. Only signals that survive the full cascade are published. Output: structured signal with sector tag [F/I/R/E], confidence score (0.0–1.0), direction (LONG/SHORT/WATCH), rationale paragraph, and timestamp.
02
Circle WebSocket Adapter
APU subscribes to circle.news at standard commercial API terms. Same price, same latency as any other subscriber. The adapter normalises the incoming signal to APU Signal Standard JSON. Schema is fixed. Intelligence varies.
03
APU Pre-Filter
Before any AI call, APU checks: Confidence below user threshold? → SKIP. Sector not in user's configured sectors? → SKIP. Direction = SHORT? → QUEUE_SHORT (requires manual approval). Asset not in tradeable registry? → SKIP. Saves AI call costs.
04
Your AI Model (your key · your device · via PicoClaw)
The signal passes to your AI model with: the full APUSignal JSON, your current portfolio state, your configured risk parameters, and your Custom Instructions (your domain thesis). Your API key is encrypted with your wallet signature. It never leaves your device. AI returns a structured decision: EXECUTE, HOLD, or QUEUE_SHORT with size, rationale, and confidence.
05
YieldFrontVault.sol (Polygon)
The vault contract validates against on-chain risk parameters: position size never exceeds your approved cap, daily loss limit enforced in contract logic, max open positions respected. In Supervised mode: decision enters your review queue. You approve within 30 minutes or it expires. In Autopilot/Agentic: contract executes directly.
06
Bancor Carbon (Polygon)
On-chain execution. Position entered from your wallet. Fees collected atomically at position close: 20% performance fee on net profit, 2% annual management fee. Both flow to APU treasury. Phi-split distributes to LP-100 stakers automatically.
07
NOSTR Audit Stamp
Every signal, every AI decision, every trade outcome is cryptographically stamped on NOSTR and written to Polygon calldata. Immutable. Publicly verifiable. This is the track record. It cannot be edited. It cannot be deleted.
LATENCY TARGET
Stage 1 → Stage 7: < 30 seconds
Stage 1–2 (Circle → APU): ~2s
Stage 3 (Pre-filter): <100ms
Stage 4 (AI decision): 3–8s (model-dependent)
Stage 5 (Vault validation): ~500ms
Stage 6 (Bancor execution): ~15s (Polygon block time)
Stage 7 (NOSTR stamp): ~2s (async, non-blocking)
THE THREE EXECUTION MODES
You choose how much
the AI decides.
Supervised (default)
Every trade the AI proposes enters your review queue. You approve or reject within 30 minutes. Trade expires if no response. Use this to learn how APU trades your thesis, build confidence in signal quality, calibrate your parameters.
Unlocks after: connecting wallet + API key
Autopilot
AI executes within your configured parameters. No approval required per trade. Automatic pause triggers if: daily loss limit hit, gas prices above threshold, signal confidence drops below your floor, or more than N positions open.
Unlocks after: 10 approved supervised trades
Agentic
Full autonomous execution. AI makes all decisions within your parameters. Positions open and close while you sleep. 15-minute reversal window on any position. emergencyExit() available at any time with no cooldown.
Unlocks after: 10 profitable autopilot trades
WHAT APU IS NOT
APU does not produce intelligence. Circle produces intelligence. APU routes it. If Circle's signal quality degrades, APU executes on degraded signals — efficiently. Monitor the Watchman score before deploying capital.
APU does not guarantee returns. The 2/20 fee structure reflects performance alignment — APU earns only when you earn. It does not reflect a performance guarantee. Past track record is not a future promise.
APU does not hold your funds. The vault contract holds an approval, not your tokens. Your tokens remain in your wallet until the moment of execution.
APU does not make decisions. Your AI makes decisions. APU routes the signal to your AI and the AI's decision to the contract. APU is the arrows. You and the AI are the nodes.
WHAT A SIGNAL LOOKS LIKE
{
"signal_id": "sig_7a3f9e2d-...",
"source": "circle-native-v1",
"timestamp": "2026-02-25T09:14:31Z",
"sector": "R",
"direction": "LONG",
"asset": "MATIC",
"confidence": 0.87,
"horizon": "5-10d",
"headline": "Philippines grid investment permits up 340% Q3 2025...",
"rationale": "The Philippine Department of Energy published Q3 2025 grid
interconnection permit data showing 340% YoY increase...",
"sources": ["https://www.doe.gov.ph/...", "https://meralco.com.ph/..."],
"adapter_version": "1.0.3"
}
This is a real signal schema. The intelligence that fills it is Circle's. The decision of whether to execute on it is your AI's. APU is the pipe between them.