We are excited to announce that Alpaca is hosting its first virtual Electronic Trading Contest, a two week-long contest where participants compete against each other in a simulated market using the Alpaca Paper Trading feature. There are cash prizes (aka the amazon gift card ?) for the winning participants.
***1st contest entry has been filled and closed as of Aug 7th***
We have been looking at trading competitions by Quantopian, Quantiacs, QuantConnect closely, and we decided to host our own version of contest. Objective of Alpaca's contest is a little different from others. Our focus is to expand the community of enthusiastic developers and tech-savvy people around trading, so we welcome any types of trading styles which don't need to be strictly quants algorithmic trading (TradingView platform has been popular among the Alpaca users to support the algorithmic trading ?). Hence, we are not trying to recruit your algorithms into a fund. We want to create an occasion that gets you interested in trying the cross-road of tech x trading.
With that said, this competition is open to everyone globally, the US and non-US residents ?.
***The first competition starts on August 10th (MON), 2020***
How It Works
1. Enter the Contest
Firstly, create an Alpaca account with a new email address that you or your team can access the Alpaca Paper Trading feature.
Then, enter the contest by filling out this google form (make sure to use your new Alpaca account!)
2. Track Your Performance
We will update this leaderboard of the top 10 performers every day during the two-week contest. Participants will be ranked by his/her Equity values.
Alpaca Team
3. Win Your Prize
For this very first Alpaca Trading Competition, we are going to award top 3 participant winners with Amazon gift cards (yes, our google form asks for an email for us to send the gift card ?).
The amount is planned to be $150 for #1, $30 for #2, and $20 for #3.
How You Can Participate
High Level Rules
Please check out Trading Contest Fine Print - Rules for the detail, but unlike other quant trading competitions, we do not set any strict algorithm criteria. We will simply measure who can generate the best returns during the set period. Participants are free to use your preferred algorithms and strategies.
Alpaca Team
We are going to select winners who have the highest Equity value at the end of the contest day. There are multiple requirements, and we ask you not to reset the original Equity balance of $100,000 and require winners to result in positive returns.
FAQ
(Q) How do I sign up? (A) Create an Alpaca Paper Trading account from here. Sign up for the contest with this entry form.
(Q) What kind of algorithms are you looking for? (A) This contest does not restrict you from using any specific strategies or algorithms.
(Q) Will you see my algorithm? No, we will not look at your algorithm. Your code is private, visible only to you.
(Q) Do I need to pay an entry fee? (A) No.
(Q) Is there a submission deadline? (A) Yes, you need to sign up for the contest before the contest starts on [August 10th] market open.
(Q) Does Alpaca offer a backtesting tool? (A) No, we do not offer backtest software. However, Alpaca integrates with several highly-regarded backtest applications such as QuantRocket and Blueshift. Please see the list here.
Technology and services are offered by AlpacaDB, Inc. Brokerage services are provided by Alpaca Securities LLC, member FINRA/SIPC. Alpaca Securities LLC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of AlpacaDB, Inc.
You can find us @AlpacaHQ, if you use twitter.
