Some tools verify performance by reading your broker through an API. That's a real, useful check. Alphaproof does that too, and then goes one step further: it makes any edit or backdating of the record detectable by anyone. Here's the honest difference.
| Alphaproof | Typical broker-API-only tools | |
|---|---|---|
| Broker coverage | 79 brokers via Plaid + SnapTrade, read-only | Limited to brokers the platform has integrated |
| Tamper-proof record | Yes — SHA-256 hash chain; editing any trade breaks every later hash | No — data sits in the platform's database; you trust they don't alter it |
| Backdating detectable | Yes — chain tip is anchored to a Bitcoin block; you can't insert history before it | Not provable — timestamps are whatever the database says |
| Independently verifiable | Yes — anyone can re-derive the chain and check the Bitcoin anchor on mempool.space | No — verification is the platform's word |
| Crypto, DeFi, options, manual | Yes — crypto/FX/options supported; manual entries are price-constrained and labeled, statements can be attested | Usually broker equities only |
| Every trade carries its thesis | Yes — entry, exit, rationale; a "journal edited" flag warns if changed after chaining | Typically numbers only |
| Survives the platform | Yes — the Bitcoin proof stands even if Alphaproof disappears | No — proof dies with the service |
| Privacy control | Private, public, or paywalled per portfolio | Varies |
| Shareable proof link | alphaproof.app/u/handle — one public, no-login page | Profile page on the platform |
| Cost to start | Free — 10 trades/month + a broker connection, forever | Varies |
Reading a broker API tells you the numbers are real today. It doesn't stop someone from deleting a losing month, re-importing a cleaner history, or starting over on a fresh account after a blowup. Because Alphaproof hash-chains every trade and commits the chain to Bitcoin on a schedule, none of that can happen without breaking a proof that anyone can check. That's the difference between "verified" and "tamper-evident."
Most Alphaproof trades are broker-imported — that's the strongest source. The point isn't broker API vs no broker API. It's that the broker import is the input, and the hash chain + Bitcoin anchor is what makes the resulting record permanent and independently checkable.