Core Concepts
Published Jun 22, 2026 · Updated Oct 16, 2026
AlphaFox is a crypto quant platform: configure automated strategies from templates, backtest them on historical data, validate them on paper, then run live through an exchange API connection or a managed Hyperliquid trading account. This page explains the words that keep coming up; no technical background needed.
What is the difference between a template and a strategy?
A strategy template is trading logic the platform provides, such as Simple Copy Trading, DCA Strategy, or Grid Strategy. Templates fall into five categories—Copy, DCA, Grid, Trend, and Others; see New Strategy for the full list.
A strategy is the running instance you get by choosing a template, setting its parameters, and binding a trading account (the docs sometimes call it a Trader). Every card in Strategy → My strategies is one strategy.
What is a trading account?
A trading account is where a strategy places orders. Add one in Account → Trading account; there are three kinds:
| Kind | What it is |
|---|---|
| Paper exchange | AlphaFox’s built-in paper trading: real market data and virtual funds, with no real exchange and no API key |
| HyperLiquid | A Hyperliquid trading account created by AlphaFox, or your existing HyperLiquid wallet authorized through an Agent Wallet |
| Other exchanges | Connected with an API key you create on the exchange |
One trading account serves one running strategy at a time; to run several strategies at once, prepare several trading accounts.
What is the difference between paper trading and live trading?
Both run the same strategy logic; the money and the fills differ:
- Paper: virtual funds on real market data, with fills simulated by the engine. Use it to practice and validate without real funds.
- Live: real funds in an exchange account or Hyperliquid trading account, real fills, and real PnL.
Paper first, then live. For what each stage can and cannot validate, see Backtesting vs Paper Trading vs Live.
What does a backtest tell you?
A backtest replays a backtest-capable template over historical data; go to Strategy → Strategy backtest. Each backtest experiment is fixed to one template, and every run creates a version with its parameter snapshot and results. A backtest answers whether the rules held up in the past, not how much you will make. A result that only looks good in one short window or at one narrow parameter value usually means overfitting. See Strategy Backtest & Parameter Sweep.
How does copy trading work?
Copy trading means creating a Copy-category strategy that automatically follows a signal source’s future trades.
- Leader: a trader worth following; browse them in the Leader plaza.
- Signal source: where the followed trades come from, such as exchange lead traders, Hyperliquid wallets, or TradingView signals. You can add your own in Strategy → Copy signal management.
- Copy strategy: follows the source’s new actions from the moment you create it.
Copy trading never back-fills the leader’s existing positions. A new copy strategy stays flat until the source acts again.
How much does it cost to run a strategy?
Browsing and research are free; only running strategies costs money. Each plan includes some live and paper slots, and usage beyond them is charged by runtime in credits (1 USDC buys 1 credit); billing stops when the strategy stops:
| Plan | Included | Beyond |
|---|---|---|
| Free | None | Live 0.07 / paper 0.01 credits per hour each |
| Plus | 1 live + 2 paper | Same |
| Pro | 3 live + 5 paper | Same |
| Pro Max | 20 live + 30 paper | Same |
Trading accounts bound through HyperLiquid carry no AlphaFox run fee and use no plan slot once the start check passes, but a Hyperliquid Builder Fee applies. When credits run out, hourly-billed strategies are stopped and their positions closed. The estimated cost shown at creation is authoritative; see Membership.
Who holds the funds?
AlphaFox supports two custody models for live funds:
- Exchange API connection (non-custodial): your trading capital stays in your own exchange account, and AlphaFox places orders only through API keys you authorize. Keys need read + trade permission only; a key with withdrawal permission fails the connection test and cannot be saved. An existing HyperLiquid wallet authorized through an Agent Wallet likewise keeps funds in your own wallet.
- AlphaFox-managed Hyperliquid trading account (custodied by AlphaFox): funds are transferred in from your Funding account and traded there; AlphaFox can submit the trading and transfer operations you authorize, and withdrawals are initiated only from the Funding account.
Exchange API credentials are stored encrypted and shown masked. A connection used by a strategy cannot be deleted until you delete or move that strategy, and a connection created for an AlphaFox trading account cannot be deleted like an ordinary API key. Read the Risk Notice before live trading.