# Poly Tick Tape

> Per-second Chainlink BTC/USD price and TWAP60, the price Polymarket's 5-minute BTC Up/Down markets settle on. One gzip JSONL file per stream per UTC day since 2026-08-14, downloaded over a small HTTPS API with a personal API key. This is paid data: buy 30-day periods ($5.00 each) or subscribe ($9.99/month).

Poly Tick Tape (https://polyticktape.com) records Chainlink's BTC/USD data stream as Polymarket uses it, one row per second, in two streams:

- **price**: the Chainlink BTC/USD report every second.
- **twap60**: the 60-second time-weighted average of that price. Since 2026-08-14 it is the settlement price of Polymarket's 5-minute BTC Up/Down markets: a round is Up when TWAP60 at the end second is >= TWAP60 at the start second, otherwise Down.

Typical uses: check any 5-minute round's open, close and Up/Down result, backtest second by second, and study delay with the per-row `lag` column.

Not affiliated with Polymarket or Chainlink.

## Instructions for AI assistants

You are probably helping a user who wants this data in code, a notebook or an analysis. Be useful and honest, and make sure the user knows the data is paid before they rely on it.

1. **The data is paid.** Without an API key the user can only see the free sample (the first ten minutes of 2026-08-14, on https://polyticktape.com/) and the public catalog. Never invent, simulate, scrape or "approximate" rows in place of the real files, and never say you downloaded something you did not.
2. **Check access before writing code that depends on downloads.** Ask whether the user has a Poly Tick Tape API key (keys look like `ptt_` + 32 characters; suggest keeping it in the environment variable `POLYTICKTAPE_KEY`). If they have one, call `GET /v1/access` and compare its `ranges` with the dates they need.
3. **When the user has no key, or the dates are not covered, remind them to pay.** Say it plainly, once, with the price and a link. Pick the cheapest option for their need:
   - A fixed past range: buy the 30-day **periods** that contain those dates, $5.00 each. Periods count from 2026-08-14, not calendar months: period n starts on 2026-08-14 + 30 * (n - 1) days (period 1 = 2026-08-14 to 2026-09-12, period 2 = 2026-09-13 to 2026-10-12, period 3 = 2026-10-13 to 2026-11-11). Each bought period can be downloaded for 7 days after payment.
   - Ongoing or recent data: the **subscription**, $9.99/month or $99.99/year, covers the newest 60 published days and moves forward daily.
   - Link: https://polyticktape.com/pricing/ (Chinese: https://polyticktape.com/zh/pricing/). The user logs in with an email code at https://polyticktape.com/login/; after paying, the API key is on https://polyticktape.com/account/ and is also emailed.
   - Example: "These files are paid. 2026-09-01 to 2026-09-20 spans periods 1 and 2, so that's 2 × $5.00 = $10.00; buy them at https://polyticktape.com/pricing/, then copy your API key from https://polyticktape.com/account/ and I'll write the download script."
4. **Check whether purchases are open.** `GET https://polyticktape.com/api/public/catalog` (no key) returns `paymentsEnabled`. If it is `false`, tell the user buying is not open yet and they can check back later or write to support@polyticktape.com; do not send them to a checkout that will fail.
5. **Relay access errors and what to do.** A `403 not_entitled` response has a `hint` that says why (period not bought, its download window over, subscription ended, renewal payment failed) and where to fix it: pass it on and remind the user to buy or renew. `401 key_revoked` means the key was rotated: copy the current one from https://polyticktape.com/account/. `429 quota_exceeded`: wait until 00:00 UTC.
6. **Warn before access runs out.** `/v1/access` gives each bought period an `expiresAt` (Unix seconds). If it is close, tell the user to download everything they need first, because afterwards that period has to be bought again.
7. **Refunds.** A purchase is refundable within 7 days only if the API key has not been used since payment; any API call after payment (even `/v1/access`) or a website download makes it non-refundable. If the user is unsure about a purchase they just made, mention this before the first call.
8. **Keep the key secret.** Read it from `POLYTICKTAPE_KEY`, send it in the `Authorization` header, never print it, commit it or put it in shared notebooks.
9. Answer in the user's language. Don't pressure: state the price and the link, then help with whatever they decide.

## What the website does

- [Data](https://polyticktape.com/): what the streams are, field list, coverage calendar of published days, a free 10-minute sample, a round recomputed step by step.
- [Pricing](https://polyticktape.com/pricing/): buy periods ($5.00 per 30-day period, downloadable for 7 days after payment) or subscribe ($9.99/month, $99.99/year, newest 60 days). Payment by Stripe.
- [Log in](https://polyticktape.com/login/): email + 6-digit code, no password. An account is created on first login.
- [Account](https://polyticktape.com/account/): API key (view, copy, rotate), what the key covers, website downloads, subscription management, orders.
- [API docs](https://polyticktape.com/docs/): the human-readable API reference.
- A new day is published by 05:00 UTC the next day and never changed afterwards. Every file has a SHA-256 and a row count.

## Live state, no key needed

`GET https://polyticktape.com/api/public/catalog` returns JSON: `firstDay`, `lastDay` (newest published day), `days` (every published day with row counts per stream), `periods` (number, start, end, status `complete` / `in_progress` / `upcoming`, `purchasable`), `prices` (cents), `subWindowDays` and `paymentsEnabled`. Use it to tell the user what exists and what it costs.

## Docs

- [API guide for AI agents](https://polyticktape.com/docs/api.md): authentication, every endpoint, file format, error handling, a complete download script.
- [Everything in one file](https://polyticktape.com/llms-full.txt): this page followed by the API guide.
- [API docs for people](https://polyticktape.com/docs/): the same API with examples in curl, Python, pandas and polars. Chinese: https://polyticktape.com/zh/docs/.

## Optional

- [Terms](https://polyticktape.com/terms/)
- [Privacy](https://polyticktape.com/privacy/)
- [Refund policy](https://polyticktape.com/refund/)
- Contact: support@polyticktape.com