Broker Rules Now Follow the Asset Class

If a setting that was available yesterday is gone from your strategy subscription today, the most likely explanation is not a platform change. It is that the system now knows the broker you are connected to does not support that option for the specific asset class your strategy trades. Broker rules for shorting, order types, time in force, and advanced order classes are no longer applied at the broker level. They are applied at the broker-and-asset-class level, which is a meaningful distinction.

A single broker connection can cover stocks, crypto, and options. The rules for each of those products differ, sometimes dramatically. What a broker permits for equities may be completely unavailable for crypto at the same broker. Treating a broker as one uniform ruleset produces gaps: a setting that is valid for stocks silently becomes invalid when the strategy trades crypto, and the trader only discovers the problem when an order fails at execution time.

This article explains what changed, which specific rules are affected for Alpaca and tastytrade, and what to do when a setting you expected to see is no longer there.

One Broker, Several Rulebooks

Why asset class changes everything

The concept of a "broker rule" becomes ambiguous the moment a broker supports more than one product type. Alpaca supports stocks, crypto, and options. tastytrade supports stocks, futures, crypto, options, and index options. Each of those asset classes comes with its own set of permitted order types, time-in-force values, and position restrictions. Treating the broker as a single ruleset means picking one set of rules and applying it everywhere, which inevitably produces either over-permissive settings (showing options that will fail for some asset classes) or under-permissive settings (hiding options that are valid for some asset classes).

Shorting as a concrete example

Alpaca allows short positions for stocks but not crypto. tastytrade allows short positions for stocks, futures, options, and index options, but not crypto. A shorting toggle that is meaningful on a stock strategy has no valid meaning on a crypto strategy at either broker. Surfacing that toggle for crypto would let a trader configure a direction the broker will reject the moment an order is submitted. The fix is to check shorting permission against the asset class the strategy actually trades, not against the broker as a whole.

Order types split by product

Alpaca supports market, limit, stop, stop-limit, and trailing stop for stocks, but only market, limit, and stop-limit for crypto. Options at Alpaca accept market, limit, stop, and stop-limit, but not trailing stop. tastytrade supports market, limit, stop, and stop-limit for stocks and futures, but only market and limit for crypto. The trailing stop gap at tastytrade is total: no asset class at tastytrade supports trailing stop orders. A setting that is valid and useful for a stock strategy at Alpaca produces an immediate rejection for a crypto or options strategy at the same broker.

Time in Force Splits the Same Way

Stocks versus crypto at Alpaca

Alpaca stock orders accept day, GTC, OPG, CLS, IOC, and FOK as time-in-force values. Alpaca crypto orders accept only GTC and IOC. Showing a day or OPG option to someone configuring a crypto strategy at Alpaca produces a setting that cannot execute. Options at Alpaca are more restricted still: only day is supported. The gap between asset classes at a single broker is wide enough that a shared time-in-force list cannot serve all three products correctly.

Crypto time in force at tastytrade

tastytrade crypto orders accept only GTC and IOC. tastytrade stock and futures orders accept day and GTC. The pattern is consistent: across both Alpaca and tastytrade, crypto time-in-force options are a strict subset of what those same brokers offer for stocks. That consistency makes asset-class-aware enforcement necessary at the platform level rather than something a trader is expected to memorize per broker.

Advanced Orders Also Follow the Class

Bracket and OCO support gaps

Alpaca supports bracket, OCO, and OTO order classes for stocks, but only simple orders for crypto and options. tastytrade supports bracket and OCO for stocks, futures, options, and index options, but only simple orders for crypto. The reason advanced order classes cannot work for crypto at either broker is structural: both bracket orders and OCO orders require a stop-order exit leg. Because neither Alpaca nor tastytrade supports stop orders for crypto, the exit legs required by those advanced order classes cannot be created, which makes the order classes themselves unsupportable for crypto.

Trailing stop availability

Alpaca supports trailing stop for stocks with a trail range of $0.10 to $25, but not for crypto or options. The tastytrade connection does not accept trailing stop for any asset class. Displaying a trailing stop option for a crypto or options strategy at either broker would surface a setting that produces a rejection, not a filled order.

Why a Broker Rejection Is the Worst Learning Moment

The failure happens at trade time

When an unsupported order type or time-in-force value reaches a broker, the rejection arrives as a live order failure, not a configuration warning. A trader may not see that rejection until reviewing logs after the fact, by which point the intended trade has not executed. Silent fallback behavior compounds the problem: when an unsupported field is ignored rather than rejected outright, the order that fills may not match the strategy's intent. Both failure modes, a hard rejection and a silent fallback, produce an outcome the trader did not expect and may not catch quickly.

Setup-time validation prevents this

Removing or disabling unsupported choices during strategy subscription setup means the invalid configuration never reaches the broker. A missing option in the UI during setup is a signal that the broker does not support that setting for the asset class the strategy trades. Catching the mismatch at configuration time gives a trader the chance to choose a supported alternative before any capital is at risk.

TradersPost now validates shorting permission, order type, time in force, and advanced order class support against the specific asset class a strategy trades, removing or rejecting unsupported choices during setup rather than letting them reach the broker. If a webhook payload sends an order type or time-in-force value not supported for the asset class, it falls back to the default configured in the strategy subscription settings.

What Gets Checked During Setup

Shorting permission

Whether a broker permits short positions is checked against the asset class, not the broker as a whole. Crypto strategies at Alpaca and tastytrade cannot be configured to take short positions because both brokers prohibit net short crypto positions. Stock and futures strategies at those same brokers can still be configured to short, because the restriction is product-specific, not account-wide.

Order type and time in force

Only order types the broker supports for the specific asset class appear as selectable options during setup. Only time-in-force values valid for that asset class at that broker are presented. If a webhook payload sends an orderType or timeInForce value not supported for the asset class, it falls back to the default configured in the strategy subscription settings. This fallback keeps an order moving rather than failing silently, but the fallback order may not match the strategy's original intent, which is why confirming the defaults in the subscription settings matters.

Advanced order class support

Bracket and OCO order classes are only available when the broker supports them for the asset class the strategy trades. Because a bracket order requires a stop-order exit leg, brokers that do not support stop orders for an asset class also cannot support bracket orders for that class. This check prevents a trader from configuring a take-profit and stop-loss bracket on a crypto strategy at a broker where the exit legs would be rejected at the time the position is opened.

A Missing Setting Means the Broker Said No

Feature removal versus broker limitation

When a setting that was previously visible disappears, it is because the system now knows the broker does not support that option for the asset class in use. The setting was not removed from the platform. It was removed from the choices available for a specific broker-and-asset-class combination. Switching to a different broker that supports the feature for that asset class will restore the option.

What to do when a setting is gone

Check the broker's own documentation for the asset class to confirm whether the feature is supported. If the feature is essential to the strategy, evaluate brokers that list support for it on the relevant asset class before connecting. If the feature is not strictly required, select from the supported alternatives shown during setup and adjust the strategy accordingly. The TradersPost broker comparison pages reflect the same per-asset-class rules enforced during setup, so researching brokers there before connecting one avoids the need to reconfigure after discovering a gap.

Comparison Pages Reflect the Same Rules

Broker recommendations now match enforcement

Public broker comparison and recommendation pages are updated to reflect the same asset-class-specific rules that are enforced at strategy subscription setup. A broker listed as supporting bracket orders for stocks will not show that capability for crypto if the broker does not support it for crypto. This alignment means a trader researching brokers sees the same constraints they will encounter when configuring a strategy.

Using the comparison page to choose a broker

When selecting a broker for a specific asset class, filter by the order types and advanced order classes the strategy requires. Trailing stop availability, bracket order support, and shorting permission can all differ between brokers for the same asset class. Confirming these details before connecting a broker prevents the need to reconfigure a strategy after discovering a gap at setup time. For crypto in particular, the consistent pattern across brokers is that stop orders, trailing stops, bracket orders, OCO orders, and short positions are unavailable, which shapes the order types and exit mechanics a crypto strategy can realistically use.

Bottom Line

Key takeaways

• Broker rules for shorting, order types, time in force, and advanced order classes are applied per asset class, not per broker as a whole.
• Unsupported options are removed or rejected during strategy subscription setup, not at the moment of trade execution.
• A missing setting almost always means our connection cannot send that option for the asset class the strategy trades, not that the platform removed a feature.
• Crypto strategies at Alpaca and tastytrade cannot use stop orders, trailing stops, bracket orders, OCO orders, or short positions because the brokers prohibit these for crypto.
• Public broker comparison pages now reflect the same per-asset-class rules enforced during setup, so what you see during research matches what you encounter when connecting a broker to a strategy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why did a setting disappear from my strategy subscription?

The setting was removed from the available choices because the broker does not support it for the asset class your strategy trades. The feature may still exist for other broker-and-asset-class combinations. It is not visible here because it would produce a broker rejection. Switching to a broker that supports the feature for your asset class will restore it as an option.

Can I short crypto at Alpaca or tastytrade?

No. Both Alpaca and tastytrade prohibit net short positions in crypto. The short side option is not available for crypto strategies connected to either of those brokers, regardless of account type or margin status.

Why can't I use a bracket order on a crypto strategy?

Bracket orders require a stop-loss exit leg, and neither Alpaca nor tastytrade supports stop orders for crypto. Because the required exit order type is unavailable, bracket orders are not supported for crypto at those brokers. Simple orders are the only order class available for crypto at Alpaca and tastytrade.

What happens if my webhook sends an unsupported order type?

If the orderType value sent in the webhook payload is not supported by the broker for that asset class, it falls back to the default order type configured in the strategy subscription settings. This fallback applies to timeInForce values as well. Reviewing your strategy subscription settings to confirm supported defaults for your broker and asset class reduces the chance of an unintended fallback executing at the wrong price or with the wrong duration.

Do options and stocks at the same broker have the same order type support?

Not necessarily. At Alpaca, stocks support trailing stop orders but options do not. Options on the Alpaca connection also do not accept bracket or OCO order classes. At tastytrade, stocks and options both support market, limit, stop, and stop-limit, so the order type gap there is smaller, but advanced order classes behave the same way as for stocks. Always check the asset-class-specific rules for your broker before configuring a strategy, rather than assuming that support for a feature on one product means it is available on another.