Instruments

Who it’s for

Anyone choosing what to trade

Assumes

You have read Markets

An instrument is the specific tradeable item, the ETH/USDT spot pair on a particular exchange, or RELIANCE on NSE. It belongs to an asset class and trades on a venue.

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The asset-class taxonomy​

Family	Classes	Build & backtest	Paper	Live
Equity cash	equity_cash, equity_share	Yes	Yes	Yes for India; US pending
Crypto spot	crypto_spot, crypto_native	Yes	Yes	Yes
Equity derivatives	equity_option, equity_future	Yes	Yes	No, refused
Index	index, index_spot, index_option, index_future	Yes	Yes	No, refused
Crypto derivatives	crypto_perpetual, crypto_dated_future, crypto_option	Yes	Yes	No, refused
FX	fx_spot, fx_otc_spot, fx_future, fx_forward, fx_option	No, out of scope	No	No
Other	etf, bond, commodity, commodity_future	Defined; not user-reachable

Live derivative entry is refused because the live exit path is not implemented. See Derivatives.

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Naming an instrument​

The builder resolves ordinary names:

You type	It resolves to
Reliance, RELIANCE, RELIANCE.NS	The NSE cash equity
TCS, HDFC Bank	NSE cash equities
ETH/USDT, ETH-USDC, SOL_USDT	Crypto spot pairs
NIFTY, BANKNIFTY	Indices, and the underlying for derivatives
BTC_USDT	A crypto pair, or a perpetual underlying

For a derivative, the symbol is always the underlying (RELIANCE, NIFTY, BTC_USDT) and the derivative detail (instrument type, right, strike rule, expiry rule) is captured alongside it. An F&O request never means an empty symbol. See Derivatives

If it is not supported​

The builder says so and shows the supported set, grouped by category. It does not substitute something similar, an instrument the platform does not carry has no data behind it, and a strategy on it would produce nothing.

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What to check before building on an instrument​

Five things, and each one has caused a real problem:

1. Currency and quote unit​

Not always the same. LSE quotes pence (GBX) and settles pounds (GBP), a price threshold stated in the wrong unit is off by a factor of a hundred. See Currencies & GBX.

2. Session and calendar​

Your trading window must overlap the instrument's session. Validation catches the egregious cases; the subtle ones are yours. See Trading hours & holidays

3. History depth​

Every backtest starts no earlier than 1 January 2024. A 200-period daily indicator needs 200 bars, and near the floor the warm-up padding is clamped. See Historical data.

4. Volume availability​

A volume condition on an instrument with no usable volume series is a condition that cannot be evaluated. The engine checks before evaluating, and there are volume-free fallbacks for some studies. See Indicators.

5. Alternative-data coverage​

Fundamental and event metrics depend on your tenant's entitled feeds, and coverage varies by instrument. See Indicators.

Look all five up on Asset Explorer.

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Quantity granularity​

Instrument type	Smallest increment
Equity cash	Whole shares
Crypto spot	0.00001
Derivatives	Whole lots

Lot granularity is the one with teeth: if one lot's risk exceeds your per-trade budget, the smallest possible position is already too large. See Position sizing

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Instrument-specific mechanics​

Indian equity​

Mechanic	Effect
Circuit limits	5/10/20% bands. A locked instrument cannot be exited, your stop cannot fill
Overnight gaps	The session closes; the price can reopen through your stop
Delivery vs intraday	Determines the STT rate, 0.025% sell-side intraday, 0.1% both legs on delivery
Corporate actions	Splits, dividends, mergers, spin-offs, symbol changes are tracked

Crypto spot​

Mechanic	Effect
Continuous	No session square-off. Bound the hold yourself
Quote asset	P&L is denominated in USDT/USDC, not your home currency
De-duplication	In a universe, BTC_USDC and BTC_USDT count once
Higher fees	10 bps per leg by default, five times the equity commission

Derivatives​

Lot size, margin, expiry, assignment. See Derivatives

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Corporate actions​

A corporate-actions service tracks splits, cash dividends, mergers, spin-offs, symbol changes, redemptions and coupons. Events are immutable and source-versioned: a revision is a new event linked to the one it supersedes, and an accepted event is never overwritten.

Why it matters for you: splits and bonuses change the price series. An unadjusted series would show a 1:2 split as a -50% move, and a strategy would read that as a crash. If an equity backtest shows a surprising single-day move, check whether a corporate action fell on that date.

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Next​

• Indicators & data
• Asset Explorer
• Instrument reference
• Markets & brokers

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