Data Provider Policy
Understanding the distinction between data providers and trading exchanges for accurate backtesting and strategy development.
Last Updated: January 2026|Version: 1.0
KEY INFORMATION
Amaltash supports both Data Providers (like Polygon.io) and Trading Exchanges (like Binance, Coinbase, Delta Exchange). Understanding the difference is crucial for effective strategy development and backtesting.
Data providers are for backtesting only and cannot execute live trades.
1. Understanding Data Providers vs Exchanges
When building and backtesting trading strategies, it's important to understand the distinction between data providers and trading exchanges.
Trading Exchanges
Trading Exchanges (Binance, Coinbase, Delta Exchange, etc.) are platforms where you execute live trades. While they provide market data, this data typically represents only transactions that occurred on their specific platform.
- Limited Historical Data: Most exchanges retain historical data for 6 months or less
- Platform-Specific: Data reflects only transactions on that particular exchange
- Live Trading: Required for executing actual trades with real funds
Data Providers
Data Providers (Polygon.io, now part of massive.com) specialize in aggregating and normalizing market data from multiple exchanges and sources.
- Aggregated Data: Combines data from multiple exchanges for a more complete picture
- Extended History: Often provides years of historical data, not just months
- Backtesting Only: Cannot execute trades - designed purely for data access and analysis
CURRENTLY SUPPORTED DATA PROVIDERS
Amaltash currently integrates with Polygon.io as a data provider. Polygon aggregates market data from multiple sources to provide comprehensive historical data for stocks, ETFs, and cryptocurrencies.
2. Why Use Data Providers for Backtesting
Data providers offer several advantages for strategy development and backtesting that make them preferable to exchange-only data for comprehensive testing.
Extended Historical Data
Access to years of historical data instead of just a few months enables you to test strategies across multiple market cycles, including bull runs, crashes, and consolidation periods. This is crucial for understanding how your strategy might perform in various market conditions.
Aggregated Price Discovery
By combining data from multiple exchanges, data providers give you a more accurate view of the "true" market price, reducing the impact of single-exchange anomalies, flash crashes, or potential manipulation that might exist on individual platforms.
Consistent Data Quality
Professional data providers maintain strict data quality standards. They fill gaps, handle outliers appropriately, and ensure timestamp accuracy - all of which are essential for reliable backtesting results.
Cross-Exchange Visibility
See how prices varied across exchanges at any given moment. This is particularly valuable for strategies that depend on understanding price discrepancies or for validating that your strategy would work across different market microstructures.
BUILDING DURABLE STRATEGIES
Building a strategy that works across multiple months and years requires comprehensive historical data. While 6-month backtests on exchange data can show recent performance, they may miss important patterns that only appear during specific market conditions like recessions, flash crashes, or major bull runs.
3. Data Accuracy Disclaimer
IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER
While we strive to provide the best available data for your strategy development, the accuracy and completeness of market data ultimately depends on the data provider or exchange supplying it.
Our Responsibilities
Amaltash acts as an intermediary to make data accessible through our platform. We do not:
- Guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of any market data
- Verify every data point from third-party sources
- Accept responsibility for trading decisions made based on backtesting results using any data source
Data Provider Responsibility
The data provider or exchange is responsible for the quality of data they provide. Data errors, gaps, or inconsistencies may exist in historical data from any source. You should review each provider's own terms of service and data quality documentation.
Your Acknowledgment
By using our platform, you acknowledge that:
- Historical backtesting results do not guarantee future performance
- Data quality varies between providers and exchanges
- You are responsible for verifying data accuracy for critical trading decisions
- We act as an intermediary to make data accessible, not as a guarantor of its quality
4. Usage Guidelines
KEY PRINCIPLE
Data providers are for backtesting and strategy development only. When deploying strategies for live trading, you must connect to a trading exchange.
Use Data Providers For
- Extended Backtesting: When you need 6+ months of historical data to validate your strategy across different market conditions
- Strategy Development: Building and refining trading algorithms with comprehensive historical data
- Research: Analyzing market patterns and behaviors over extended time periods
Use Trading Exchanges For
- Live Trading: Executing actual trades with real funds
- Recent Validation: Confirming strategy behavior with the most recent market data (last 6 months)
- Paper Trading: Simulating trades on actual exchange data before going live
Recommended Workflow
- Develop and backtest your strategy using data provider data for comprehensive historical testing (1+ years)
- Validate with recent exchange data (last 6 months) to confirm current market behavior
- Deploy to a connected trading exchange for live execution when ready
5. Acknowledgment
By Using Data Providers on Amaltash
When you select a data provider for backtesting, you acknowledge and confirm that:
- You understand the distinction between data providers and trading exchanges
- Data providers cannot be used for live trading
- Amaltash does not guarantee the accuracy of third-party data and is not responsible for any decisions made based on backtesting results
- You have read and accept this Data Provider Policy along with our Terms of Service and Risk Disclaimer
- You understand that backtesting results with historical data do not guarantee future performance
Amaltash, Inc.
2261 Market St
San Francisco, CA 94114
United States
Data Questions: support@amaltash.com
Legal Inquiries: legal@amaltash.com
By using data providers through the Amaltash platform, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to this Data Provider Policy. This policy should be read in conjunction with our Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, and Risk Disclaimer.