FAQ

High-frequency questions by topic. How-tos live in Guides; failures in Troubleshooting. Product shortcuts: strategy leaderboard  and leader tracking .

Platform and security

What is AlphaFox? AlphaFox (Chinese brand: 灵狐量化) is an AI-native crypto quant platform for backtests, paper trading on real market data, public leaderboard copy trading, leader tracking, and live automation. Configure strategy templates on the Web, or use your own AI agent with the AlphaFox CLI for supported strategy and backtest operations. Live connections include non-custodial exchange APIs and optional AlphaFox-managed Hyperliquid wallets custodied by Turnkey. Canonical site: www.alphafox.app .

Is AlphaFox a crypto paper trading platform with backtests? Yes. AlphaFox combines Web Engine Backtest for supported templates with paper trading on real market data, then the same template can move to live through an exchange API or supported managed wallet. Start with First Paper Strategy  and Core Concepts .

Can I build AI trading strategies without giving AlphaFox custody of funds? Yes. Choose an exchange API connection: your trading capital stays in your own exchange account, and AlphaFox places orders only through API keys you authorize with read and trade permission, never withdrawal. The optional managed-wallet model has a different custody boundary. More detail: Core Concepts .

Does AlphaFox hold my funds? Custody depends on the connection. Exchange API connections are non-custodial: funds stay in your exchange account and AlphaFox uses only the API access you authorize. If you choose an AlphaFox-managed Hyperliquid wallet, Turnkey provides custody and AlphaFox can submit authorized trading, transfer, and withdrawal operations. See the Risk Notice .

What permissions does my exchange API key need? For an exchange API connection, the key needs read and trade permission only. Withdrawal permission is never required, and a red warning fires if AlphaFox detects that the key has it enabled. Credentials are stored encrypted and displayed masked, and deleting a connection stops the strategy bound to it.

What can I use on AlphaFox without logging in? Without an account you can browse public documentation and pages such as the strategy leaderboard  and leader tracking . Running strategies, binding connections, copying, and lead trader analysis need an account. The former in-site AI Workspace and Strategy Plaza publishing trial are retired.

What if my API key leaks? Revoke or rotate the key on the exchange immediately, then update the credential in AlphaFox under Trading accounts → Edit credentials. Without withdrawal permission, a leaked exchange key cannot directly withdraw assets, but it can still place harmful trades; revoke it immediately. The daily-hygiene checklist lives in Security Settings .

How do I contact support? Email support@alphafox.app with the time it happened, the page URL, what you did, and the exact error text; include the strategy name when relevant. Never include API keys, secrets, or private keys.

Strategies and running

Does AlphaFox have a perpetual copy trading leaderboard? Yes. The public strategy leaderboard  ranks crypto perpetual (futures) copy-trading and quant strategies by ROI verified from real runs on AlphaFox, in both paper and live mode. You copy parameters, not returns—check 90+ days and drawdown first. Details: Leaderboard docs .

Can I copy a strategy straight from the leaderboard? Leaderboard strategies marked “public config” can be copied in one click. What you copy is the parameter set, not the past returns, so read at least 90 days of history and the drawdown before committing, and run the copy on a paper connection first. Browse the public strategy leaderboard .

What is the difference between paper trading and live trading? Paper trading and live trading on AlphaFox run identical strategy logic; only the money differs. Paper uses virtual funds against real market data, which makes it the place for practice and validation. Live uses real funds in either a connected exchange account or an AlphaFox-managed Hyperliquid wallet and produces real profit and loss. Always run paper first.

Why can one exchange API key run only one strategy? AlphaFox binds one API key to one strategy at a time so two strategies cannot fight over the same account’s positions and margin. To run several strategies in parallel, prepare a separate exchange connection for each one.

Does copy trading replicate the leader’s current positions? No. Copy trading on AlphaFox follows the signal source’s future trades only. A newly created copy strategy stays flat until the leader acts again, and it never back-fills positions the leader opened before you started copying.

Why did my strategy stop running? Open the strategy’s detail page and read the stated stop reason. A stop-loss or take-profit trigger is normal risk control. An abnormal stop is usually an insufficient balance or a broken exchange connection—work through the checklist .

Can copy trading and automated strategies lose money? Who bears the loss? Yes, and the loss is yours. Live strategies use real funds in either a connected exchange account or an AlphaFox-managed Hyperliquid wallet; AlphaFox guarantees no returns and covers no losses. What you can do is cage the risk: validate on paper first, set stop-loss and take-profit, size copy trades with the sync ratio, and only commit funds you can afford to lose.

How many strategies can I run at once? Free slots depend on your subscription: Pro gives 3 live + 5 paper, Pro Max gives 20 + 30, and anything beyond bills hourly. Separately, one exchange API key binds to only one strategy at a time—add more connections to run more.

Costs

How much does AlphaFox cost? Browsing and research on AlphaFox are free. Running strategies is free within your subscription slots and billed hourly beyond them, at 0.07 USDT per live strategy hour and 0.01 USDT per paper strategy hour. New users get 3 days of Pro. Structured summary: pricing.md ; product details: Membership .

What is the difference between withdrawable balance and site balance? The AlphaFox wallet holds two balances. Deposits and rebates land in the withdrawable balance, which you can withdraw or transfer out. The site balance pays subscriptions and strategy fees and cannot be withdrawn. Transfers run one way only, from withdrawable to site balance.

How long does a withdrawal take? AlphaFox withdrawals are reviewed by an operator before execution, so they are not instant. Check the BSC destination address carefully before submitting, because funds sent to a wrong address cannot be recovered.

Retired AI workspace and current research

Can I generate and publish a strategy through the old AI workspace? No. The in-site AI Workspace, Chat Backtest, and Strategy Plaza publishing flow are retired. Use Strategy development → Classic builder for supported templates, open the backtest page for Web Engine Backtest, and validate on paper before live trading. An Agent can call documented CLI commands; it cannot provide arbitrary source generation.

Does a good backtest mean a strategy will be profitable live? No. A backtest only shows that the rule was self-consistent against past data; it says nothing about future returns. Be especially skeptical of a strategy that looks strong only inside one narrow time window, which is a common sign of overfitting.

Can I still publish a chat strategy to the Strategy Plaza? No. New chat publication to the former Strategy Plaza is retired, so AlphaFox does not currently expose a workflow that publishes a full chat transcript, generated source code, or chat backtest result. Existing links remain for migration; use the leaderboard and supported template workflow for current product capabilities.