BTC/USD Backtester

The BTC/USD Backtester is a simple command-line application for backtesting a hypothetical Bitcoin trade against historical pricing data.

How to Use

1. Run the app.
2. Enter 1 to backtest a trade or 2 to exit when prompted.
3. Input the trade details (start date/time, end date/time, fee percentage).
4. View the results including starting price, ending price, fees, and profit/loss.

Features

• Validates user inputs for proper datetime format and valid fee percentage.
• Retrieves historical BTC/USD pricing data from a Google Sheet.
• Calculates profit or loss for the backtested trade including fees.
• Provides clear user prompting and error handling.

Data Model

The app uses a Google Sheet with pricing data structured Timestamp Low High 2021-01-01 06:00:00 29237.45 29338.25

User Stories

Casual Crypto Enthusiast - Easy Backtest

• I want to: Understand how much profit (or loss) I would've made by buying and selling BTC on specific dates.
• So that: I can see how well I would've done if I'd acted on my hunches.

Acceptance Criteria

• The tool should allow me to easily input the buy and sell dates/times.
• It should display a simple breakdown: initial investment, final value, gross profit/loss, fee amount, and net profit/loss.
• There should be an easy and clear user guide that helps me understand how to use the tool without prior backtesting experience.

Aspiring Trader - Impact of Fees

• I want to: Understand how much profit (or loss) I would've made by buying and selling BTC on specific dates.
• So that: I can see how even a single trade is influenced by fees, setting the foundation for my understanding before I scale up to multiple trades.

Acceptance Criteria

• The tool should allow me to input single trade (buy/sell pair).
• It should provide a breakdown of results for a trade, highlighting the fees.
• The tool should emphasize the difference between the gross outcome and net outcome (after fees).
• A brief note on the impact of fees and how they can add up with increased trading frequency would be educational.

Researcher - Historical Price Exploration: reputable source

• I want to: Explore historical BTC/USD prices for specific timeframes.
• So that: I can gather insights on price movements and volatility for my research.

Acceptance Criteria:

• The tool should allow me to input a start and end date/time.
• It should display the opening, closing, highest, and lowest prices within that timeframe.
• A simple visualization or chart (even if it's just a link to the Google Sheet's chart) would be a bonus.
• It would be beneficial to have a note or reference on where the historical data comes from to ensure its reliability.

ISSUE I RAN INTO

• I used Alpaca API and alpaca-py library with a client and successfully retrieved data till 2021, but I would get empty lists after that date. The free tier promised to give 5 + years of free historical data and I reached out to support. I have reached out to support who confired that they have data till 2021.