Paper trading and testnets on every exchange TensorTrader supports

Key takeaways

1. 1Ten TensorTrader venues have a verified paper path: testnets, demo hosts or paper accounts.
2. 2Venues without one stay connectable only; TensorTrader never fakes a paper path.
3. 3Testnets prove mechanics; profitability needs forward results with real costs.

Why paper first

Every new venue in TensorTrader defaults to paper or testnet, and a stored credential never implies permission to trade live. The reason is simple: most automation failures are mechanical, not strategic. A symbol that maps wrong, a size ten times too large, a stop that never gets placed. Those are cheap to find with test money and expensive with real money. Live trading is a separate opt-in after a credential preflight.

Live-ready venues and their paper path

Binance

Futures testnet via CCXT sandbox mode

Hyperliquid

Hyperliquid testnet; balances from the public clearinghouse state

dYdX v4

dYdX v4 testnet; balances from the indexer subaccount equity

BloFin

Demo trading at demo-trading-openapi.blofin.com; demo keys need their own passphrase

BingX

VST demo: sandbox mode routes to the official open-api-vst.bingx.com host

Gate.io

Futures testnet via CCXT sandbox mode

Phemex

Testnet via CCXT sandbox mode

Lighter

zk-rollup testnet via CCXT sandbox mode, USDC collateral

Interactive Brokers

Paper accounts that start with DU

Alpaca

Paper trading at paper-api.alpaca.markets

Connectable venues

Kraken

Kraken Futures demo (demo-futures.kraken.com)

Gains Network

Arbitrum Sepolia; experimental, balances not yet verified end to end

Synthetix Perps

Base Sepolia; experimental, balances not yet verified end to end

edgeX

Testnet pending verified credentials

WhiteBIT

No public perpetuals testnet; TensorTrader fails closed

Aster

No testnet URLs; TensorTrader fails closed

Vertex, ApeX Pro, WOOFi Pro

Catalog only; no verified testnet path yet

OKX, Bybit, Bitget, KuCoin, MEXC and others

Key storage and verification; execution waits for the parity checklist

Testnet vs simulated paper trading

Some tools paper trade by pretending to fill orders at the last price. A testnet is a real matching engine with fake money: orders can be rejected, partially filled or slipped. TensorTrader prefers the venue's own testnet or demo for that reason. When a venue has none, TensorTrader does not fake one; it fails closed and keeps the venue off the live-ready list.

What to verify on paper

1. 1Alerts arrive and map to the right symbol and direction.
2. 2Sizes and leverage match your policy after the venue clamp.
3. 3Stops and targets appear on the exchange right after the fill.
4. 4Closed trades book profit and fees from the exchange’s fills.
5. 5Pausing trading and disconnecting the key stop new orders immediately.

Funding test accounts

Each testnet has its own way to get test funds: exchange demo accounts usually come pre-funded or have a top-up button, and DEX testnets use faucets whose rules the venue sets. If TensorTrader verifies a key but shows a zero balance, the demo account is unfunded or the funds sit in a different wallet than the one TensorTrader trades, for example spot instead of futures. The wallet picker in Exchange Auth shows the balance of each scope so you can pick the right one.

Moving from testnet to live

1. 1Create a separate live trade-only key; testnet keys do not work on live hosts.
2. 2Save it with the live option, which requires the explicit opt-in and credential preflight.
3. 3Start with a smaller allocation than you tested with.
4. 4Keep the testnet key running the same alerts for comparison.

Frequently asked questions

Do testnet results predict live results?

Only partly. Testnets prove mechanics; their liquidity differs from mainnet, so profitability can differ.

Why can’t I trade a venue without a testnet?

Because TensorTrader is paper-first by policy. Venues without a verified paper path stay connectable only.

Can I run testnet and live at once?

Yes, with separate keys; compare them to spot differences.

Keep reading

• Crypto trading automation, paper first: the complete guide

  How to automate crypto trading without losing your shirt: key safety, testnets, market regimes, DCA, leverage, fees, backtests versus forward tests, choosing a platform, and our own honest results.

• Hyperliquid testnet: paper trade perps before you risk USDC

  How the Hyperliquid testnet works, how to fund it, how to connect it to TensorTrader with an agent wallet, and what testnet results can and cannot tell you.

• Trade-only API keys: which permissions to enable, and which never to enable

  A plain guide to exchange API key permissions for trading bots: what trade, read, transfer and withdraw mean, the passphrase exchanges, IP allow-lists and DEX agent keys.

• Backtest vs forward test: why optimizer numbers differ from live

  What backtests, walk-forward tests and forward tests measure, why they disagree, and how TensorTrader reports optimizer results next to its own live testnet books.