February 2020 Summaries

We are excited to announce that Alpaca is now fully integrated with Blueshift, a web-based backtesting app that allows users to write strategies on the browser and run them in commission-free live trading on Alpaca. The integration enables a seamless workflow between backtesting and live trading, allowing users to test their strategies instantly before running them in real-time without changing their environment. This partnership aims to improve the experience for API users and traders by providing a more streamlined and efficient way to develop and execute algorithmic trading strategies.

We've made several updates to our web dashboard, including improvements to the Profile section where you can now configure your account settings without using the API, and access additional features such as uploading a profile picture. The Banking page has also been upgraded with a new design that allows for easier transfers and instant sending of funds. Additionally, we've introduced an Activities page that provides a single view of all trades, transfers, dividends, and other transactions, allowing you to track your trading activities more clearly.

Bracket orders are now available on Alpaca, allowing users to automate trades and mitigate risk by setting up a primary order, take-profit order, and stop-loss order. The bracket order works by waiting for the stock price to hit a specific low or high threshold, then canceling the remaining order type. This feature can be set up algorithmically via API, but Alpaca's platform provides better risk controls to minimize potential mistakes. To use bracket orders, users need to add extra parameters to the POST /v2/orders endpoint, including "order_class" set to "bracket", and "take_profit" and "stop_loss" nested JSON objects. Conditional orders may have increased risk due to reliance on trigger processing and market data, and users should monitor them for reasonability. Alpaca Securities encourages using paper accounts to become more comfortable with the intricacies of conditional orders.

The Alpaca API has added OAuth support, allowing developers to build applications with secure and transparent access to the platform's services without revealing sensitive information directly to users. This new feature enables a wider range of integrations and use cases, including trading platforms, signal services, mobile apps, and more, by providing an alternative to API key-based authentication. With OAuth support, developers can generate their own client IDs and secrets, and send users to the authorization page for secure access, reducing the risk of unauthorized access to user accounts. This addition expands the possibilities for Alpaca's developer community, allowing anyone with an Alpaca account to start building and developing new applications and services.