diff --git a/lib/protocol/api/balance.js b/lib/protocol/api/balance.js
deleted file mode 100644
index 9df3c274..00000000
--- a/lib/protocol/api/balance.js
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,49 +0,0 @@
-'use strict';
-
-var _transferExchange;
-var _tradeExchange;
-var _api;
-var _config;
-var _balance = null;
-var _balanceTriggers = [];
-
-var winston = require('winston');
-var logger = new (winston.Logger)({transports:[new (winston.transports.Console)()]});
-
-var async = require('async');
-
-exports.init = function(config, api, transferExchange, tradeExchange) {
-  _api = api;
-  _config = config;
-
-  _transferExchange = transferExchange;
-  _tradeExchange = tradeExchange;
-
-  _balanceTriggers = [function (cb) { _transferExchange.balance(cb); }];
-
-  if (tradeExchange)
-    _balanceTriggers.push(function(cb) { _tradeExchange.balance(cb); });
-
-  _pollBalance();
-  setInterval(_pollBalance, 60 * 1000);
-};
-
-exports.balance = function balance() {
-  return _balance;
-};
-
-exports.triggerBalance = _pollBalance;
-
-function _pollBalance() {
-  logger.info('collecting balance');
-  async.parallel(_balanceTriggers, function(err, results) {
-    if (err) return;
-
-    _balance = {
-      transferBalance: results[0],
-      tradeBalance: results.length === 2 ? results[1] : null,
-      timestamp: Date.now()    
-    };
-    logger.info('Balance update:', _balance);
-  });
-}
diff --git a/lib/trader.js b/lib/trader.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..b28ecf32
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/trader.js
@@ -0,0 +1,179 @@
+'use strict';
+
+var path = require('path');
+
+var SATOSHI_FACTOR = Math.pow(10, 8);
+
+var Trader = module.exports = function (db) {
+  if (!db) {
+    throw new Error('`db` is required');
+  }
+
+  this.db = db;
+  this.logger = new (winston.Logger)({
+    transports: [new (winston.transports.Console)()]
+  });
+};
+
+Trader.prototype._findExchange = function (name) {
+  var exchange;
+
+  try {
+    exchange = require('lamassu-' + name);
+  } catch (err) {
+    if (!err.message.match(/Cannot find module/)) throw err;
+    exchange = require(path.join(path.dirname(__dirname), 'exchanges', name));
+  }
+
+  return exchange;
+};
+
+Trader.prototype._findTicker = function (name) {
+  var exchange = Trader.prototype.findExchange(name);
+  return exchange.ticker || exchange;
+};
+
+Trader.prototype._findTrader = function (name) {
+  var exchange = Trader.prototype.findExchange(name);
+  return exchange.trader || exchange;
+};
+
+Trader.prototype._findWallet = function (name) {
+  var exchange = Trader.prototype.findExchange(name);
+  return exchange.wallet || exchange;
+};
+
+Trader.prototype.configure = function (config) {
+  if (config.settings.lowBalanceMargin < 1) {
+    throw new Error('`settings.lowBalanceMargin` has to be >= 1');
+  }
+
+  var tickerExchangeCode = config.plugins.current.ticker;
+  var tickerExchangeConfig = config.plugins.settings[tickerExchangeCode] || {};
+  tickerExchangeConfig.currency = config.settings.currency;
+  this.tickerExchange = exports.findTicker(tickerExchangeCode).factory(tickerExchangeConfig);
+
+  var tradeExchangeCode = config.plugins.current.trade;
+  if (tradeExchangeCode) {
+    var tradeExchangeConfig = config.plugins.settings[tradeExchangeCode];
+    this.tradeExchange = this._findTrader(tradeExchangeCode).factory(tradeExchangeConfig);
+  }
+
+  var transferExchangeCode = config.plugins.current.transfer;
+  var transferExchangeConfig = config.plugins.settings[transferExchangeCode];
+  this.transferExchange = this._findWallet(transferExchangeCode).factory(transferExchangeConfig);
+
+  this.config = config;
+};
+
+/**
+ * return fiat balance
+ *
+ * in input to this function, balance has the following parameters...
+ *
+ * balance.transferBalance - in satoshis
+ * balance.tradeBalance    - in USD
+ *
+ * Have added conversion here, but this really needs to be thought through, lamassu-bitstamp should perhaps
+ * return balance in satoshis
+ */
+Trader.prototype.fiatBalance = function (transferSatoshis, tradeFiat) {
+  var rate = this.rate;
+  var balance = this.balance;
+  var commission = this.config.exchanges.settings.commission;
+
+  if (!rate || !balance) return 0;
+
+  // The rate is actually our commission times real rate.
+  rate = commission * rate;
+
+  // `lowBalanceMargin` is our safety net. It's a number > 1, and we divide
+  // all our balances by it to provide a safety margin.
+  var lowBalanceMargin = this.config.settings.lowBalanceMargin;
+
+  // `balance.transferBalance` is the balance of our transfer account (the one
+  // we use to send Bitcoins to clients). `transferSatoshis` is the number
+  // of satoshis we're expected to send for this transaction. By subtracting
+  // them, we get `adjustedTransferBalance`, amount of satoshis we'll have
+  // after the transaction.
+  var adjustedTransferBalance = balance.transferBalance - transferSatoshis;
+  
+  // Since `adjustedTransferBalance` is in Satoshis, we need to turn it into
+  // Bitcoins and then fiat to learn how much fiat currency we can exchange.
+  //
+  // Unit validity proof: [ $ ] = [ (B * 10^8) / 10^8 * $/B ]
+  //                      [ $ ] = [ B * $/B ]
+  //                      [ $ ] = [ $ ]
+  var fiatTransferBalance = ((adjustedTransferBalance / SATOSHI_FACTOR) * rate) / lowBalanceMargin;
+
+  // If this server is also configured to trade received fiat for Bitcoins,
+  // we also need to calculate if we have enough funds on our trade exchange.
+  if (balance.tradeBalance === null) return fiatTransferBalance;
+  var tradeBalance = balance.tradeBalance;
+
+  // We need to secure `tradeFiat` (amount of fiat in this transaction) and
+  // enough fiat to cover our trading queue (trades aren't executed immediately).
+  var adjustedFiat = tradeFiat + exports.trade.queueFiatBalance(rate);
+
+  // So we subtract `adjustedFiat` from `tradeBalance` and again, apply
+  // `lowBalanceMargin`.
+  var fiatTradeBalance = (tradeBalance - adjustedFiat) / lowBalanceMargin;
+
+  // And we return the smallest number.
+  return Math.min(fiatTransferBalance, fiatTradeBalance);
+};
+
+Trader.prototype.sendBitcoins = function (deviceFingerprint, tx, cb) {
+  var self = this;
+
+  self.db.summonTransaction(deviceFingerprint, tx, function (err, isNew, txHash) {
+    if (err) return cb(err);
+
+    if (isNew) {
+      return self.transferExchange.sendBitcoins(
+        tx.toAddress,
+        tx.satoshis,
+        self.config.settings.transactionFee,
+        function(err, txHash) {
+          if (err) {
+            self.db.reportTransactionError(tx, err);
+            return cb(err);
+          }
+
+          cb(null, txHash);
+          self.db.completeTransaction(tx, txHash);
+          self.triggerBalance();
+        }
+      );
+    }
+
+    // transaction exists, but txHash might be null, 
+    // in which case ATM should continue polling  
+    cb(null, txHash);
+  });
+};
+
+Trader.prototype.startPolling = function () {
+  setInterval(this.pollBalance.bind(this), 60 * 1000);
+};
+
+Trader.prototype.pollBalance = function () {
+  var self = this;
+
+  self.logger.info('collecting balance');
+
+  async.parallel({
+    transferBalance: self.transferExchange.balance.bind(self.transferExchange),
+    tradeBalance: function (next) {
+      if (!self.tradeExchange) {
+        return next(null, null);
+      }
+
+      self.tradeExchange.balance(next);
+    }
+  }, function (err, balance) {
+    balance.timestamp = Date.now();
+    self.logger.info('Balance update:', balance);
+    self.balance = balance;
+  });
+};