How to Trade on Fomo App: A Complete Beginner's Guide

If you’ve used a centralized exchange before, Fomo works a little differently — and that difference is the whole point of it. Here’s what to expect, start to finish.

Before you download: understand “non-custodial”

On a traditional exchange, the exchange holds your funds and you trust it to give them back. Fomo doesn’t work that way. It’s non-custodial, meaning your wallet and private keys are generated and secured on your own device — Fomo uses a method called Shamir’s Secret Sharing to split your key so that, by design, the company itself can’t move your assets. That’s a real security upgrade in one sense (no exchange collapse can touch your funds), but it also means there’s no “forgot password” safety net. If you lose your recovery method, nobody — including Fomo — can get your funds back for you. Keep that in mind before you fund anything.

Step 1: Download the app

Fomo is available on iOS, Android, and as a web app. Get it from the official app store listing or directly from fomo.family — skip third-party APK downloads, which is generally good practice for any wallet-based app.

Step 2: Create your account and back up your recovery method

The signup flow will generate your wallet on-device. Whatever backup or recovery option the app offers you at this stage, actually do it — write it down, store it somewhere safe, and don’t skip it because it feels like an extra step. This is the single most common regret among new non-custodial wallet users.

Step 3: Apply a referral code

If you have a referral code, enter it during signup — not after. Codes typically apply at signup and give you 10% off your trading fees from that point forward. (We’ve got one on our referral code page if you don’t already have one.)

Step 4: Fund your account

Deposit using whichever method the app supports for your region and the chain you’re using. Fomo runs across Solana, Base, BNB Chain, and Monad — double-check you’re sending funds on the correct network before you send anything. Sending assets on the wrong chain is one of the few mistakes in crypto that’s genuinely irreversible.

Step 5: Make your first trade

Spot trading — memecoins, altcoins, stablecoins — is available to everyone. Perpetual futures, which run through an integration with Hyperliquid, are available outside the US but not currently to US-based users. If you’re new to this, start with a small position on an asset you actually understand rather than jumping straight into whatever’s trending on the feed — the app’s social/leaderboard format is built to move fast, and it’s easy to get pulled into trades you haven’t really thought through.

Step 6: Lock down your security settings

Before you deposit anything you’d be upset to lose, turn on every security option the app offers — biometrics, backup verification, whatever’s available. Because Fomo can’t intervene on your behalf if something goes wrong with your device or your keys, your own setup is doing more of the work than it would on a custodial exchange.

What it costs

Spot trades run roughly 0.5% per trade before any discount; a referral code brings that down by 10%. For the full breakdown, including perpetuals fees, see our fees guide.

That’s really it — the mechanics aren’t complicated once you’ve done it once. The learning curve is less about the app itself and more about getting comfortable with what “non-custodial” actually means for how you use it day to day.