Backtesting cryptos Margin trading by Dirk bothof

Dirk bothof INVESTOR

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Hi guys!

I'm working on an algorithm attempting to pair trade crypto currencies! However I have run into an issue that I'm curious about. Moreover, it might be something that needs updating :)

Currently it is possible to short on bitfinex and on coinbase pro, both brokers supported by Quantconnect.

https://techcrunch.com/2020/02/12/coinbase-launches-margin-trading-for-some-users/

https://support.bitfinex.com/hc/en-us/articles/115004555165-Intro-to-Margin-Trading

Nevertheless, below statements all lead to my account setting being put to a 'Cash' account type, and therefore not accepting shorting.

self.SetBrokerageModel(AccountType.Margin)

self.SetBrokerageModel(BrokerageName.GDAX, AccountType.Margin)

leaving out the SetBrokerageModel statement

My question is twofold;

1. is there a way to circumvent this?

2. Should QuantConnect support Margin trading with Cryptos now that there are supported brokers offering it?

thanks in advance for any comments or insights,

best,

Dirk

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Dirk bothof

Accepted Answer

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Jared Broad

Hey there Dirk!

It's not a matter of "should" but "do we". Currently, we do not, but yes it is, of course, something we'd like to do. But even in the links above the margin feature has only been on Coinbase for 2 months. It takes time for us to work through the current work list and schedule the upgrades required to support it.

We'll need to do a careful review and upgrade the brokerages one by one. Please give us time to do this or if you'd like to fast track it please dive into the open-source! The crypto integrations have been largely from the open-source community. For now, though I'll review it with the team and see if we can give a clearer ETA for QC getting bandwidth to integrate these new features.

Sorry for the unclear answer for now. The best way to work around it would be dive into the open-source to see why its like that and try removing the limitation on a fork.

Dirk bothof INVESTOR

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