I don't think people realize how easy it is to build a REAL AI trading bot in 2026. If you have a laptop, WiFi, and 10 minutes of free time, you can automate your entire trading with Claude. How to ACTUALLY build an AI trading bot (5 simple steps): Step 1. Understand the architecture Every trading bot, whether for stocks or crypto, is built from the same two parts: → The brain: strategizes your trading. Claude handles this. → The hands: executes your trades. This happens through an MCP connection. Step 2. Pick your MCP connection (stocks) For stocks, Alpaca is one of my favorites. It's completely free and includes paper trading, so you can test everything with fake money before risking a cent of real capital. Step 3. Connect it (3 sub-steps) → Sign up for an Alpaca account → Grab your API key → Plug the API key into Claude Your brain and your hands are now connected. Step 4. Pick your MCP connection (crypto) Same exact process, different exchange. Go to whichever exchange you use (Blofin, Binance, Bybit, etc) and grab your API key from account settings. Step 5. Connect your exchange to Claude Plug the key into Claude with a prompt like: "I want to automate my trading with the Blofin MCP, connect my API key [insert key], and build a dashboard to manage my trading." Once connected, Claude can read your positions, place trades, and manage everything through a single interface. From here, you can build a fully custom dashboard (like the one shown below) to give your connections a nice interface for trading. Super simple - save this so you don't forget it.(Miles Deutscher)