diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 0b279769..7ec8aeb8 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -128,7 +128,11 @@ fred = FREDProvider().fetch_series("GDP", "2020-01-01", "2024-12-31")
 | Massive | US equities, options, futures, forex, crypto |
 | Finnhub | 70+ global exchanges |
 | OANDA | Forex broker data |
-| CryptoCompare | Crypto market data; free account key required |
+| CryptoCompare | Included adapter; not release-qualified for 0.1.0 |
+
+CryptoCompare account registration was unavailable during the 0.1.0 release review, so no live
+contract evidence was obtained. The adapter remains available for evaluation, but CryptoCompare is
+not part of the release-qualified provider set until its contract passes on a release commit.
 
 ## Specialized Modules
 
diff --git a/docs/getting-started/provider-selection.md b/docs/getting-started/provider-selection.md
index 35fc4e01..a62d3e90 100644
--- a/docs/getting-started/provider-selection.md
+++ b/docs/getting-started/provider-selection.md
@@ -2,6 +2,9 @@
 
 Choose the right data provider for your needs with this decision flowchart.
 
+CryptoCompare is included for evaluation but is not release-qualified for 0.1.0. Account
+registration was unavailable during release validation, so no live contract evidence was obtained.
+
 ## Quick Decision Flowchart
 
 ```mermaid
@@ -17,7 +20,7 @@ flowchart TD
 
     %% Crypto Path
     CryptoChoice -->|No API key| CoinGecko[CoinGecko<br/>Public API]
-    CryptoChoice -->|API key is acceptable| CryptoCompare[CryptoCompare<br/>Free/Paid]
+    CryptoChoice -->|API key is acceptable| CryptoCompare[CryptoCompare<br/>Unverified for 0.1.0]
 
     %% US Stocks Path
     USChoice -->|FREE only| USFree{Call volume?}
@@ -64,7 +67,7 @@ flowchart TD
 | Provider | Crypto | US Stocks | Global Stocks | Forex | Futures | API Key | Free Tier | Best For |
 |----------|--------|-----------|---------------|-------|---------|---------|-----------|----------|
 | **CoinGecko** | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | No | Unlimited | Crypto historical |
-| **CryptoCompare** | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | Yes | Good | Crypto real-time |
+| **CryptoCompare** | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | Yes | Unverified | Evaluation only |
 | **Tiingo** | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | Yes | 1000/day | High-quality stocks |
 | **EODHD** | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | Yes | 20 calls/day, one-year history | Global stocks |
 | **Finnhub** | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | Yes | US quotes; OHLC is paid | Quotes and company data |
@@ -83,7 +86,6 @@ flowchart TD
 | **Tiingo** | 1000 calls | 500 symbols | Daily stock updates |
 | **EODHD** | 20 calls | Account limit | Global stock testing |
 | **Twelve Data** | 800 calls | ~24K calls | Multi-asset research |
-| **CryptoCompare** | Varies | Varies | Crypto real-time |
 | **Massive Stocks Basic** | 5 calls/minute | Account limit | US aggregate data |
 
 #### Paid Tiers (Affordable)
diff --git a/docs/providers/cryptocompare.md b/docs/providers/cryptocompare.md
index 36e8b127..5234f2c7 100644
--- a/docs/providers/cryptocompare.md
+++ b/docs/providers/cryptocompare.md
@@ -3,13 +3,15 @@
 **Provider**: `CryptoCompareProvider`
 **Website**: [cryptocompare.com](https://www.cryptocompare.com)
 **API Key**: Required
-**Free Tier**: 250,000 calls/month
+**0.1.0 status**: Included for evaluation; not release-qualified
 
 ---
 
 ## Overview
 
-CryptoCompare provides comprehensive cryptocurrency historical data with good coverage and reasonable free tier.
+CryptoCompare account registration was unavailable during the 0.1.0 release review. The adapter is
+included for evaluation, but it has no successful live contract evidence for this release. Do not
+treat it as a release-qualified provider until a later release records a successful contract run.
 
 **Best For**: Crypto historical data, alternative to Binance
 
@@ -60,8 +62,7 @@ Get your API key at [cryptocompare.com/cryptopian/api-keys](https://www.cryptoco
 
 ## Rate Limits
 
-- Free: 250,000 calls/month
-- Paid: $19.99+/mo for higher limits
+Consult CryptoCompare's current terms before use. Access and limits were not verified for 0.1.0.
 
 ---
 
diff --git a/docs/providers/index.md b/docs/providers/index.md
index 96e409cc..3885a27b 100644
--- a/docs/providers/index.md
+++ b/docs/providers/index.md
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ ML4T Data supports 20+ live and specialized data providers, plus synthetic and t
 | [Finnhub](finnhub.md) | US quotes; premium OHLCV | 60 requests/minute | Thread | Yes |
 | [Binance](binance.md) | Crypto | Unlimited | Native | No |
 | [OKX](okx.md) | Crypto Perpetuals | No geo-limits | Native | No |
-| [CryptoCompare](cryptocompare.md) | Crypto | Good | Native | Required |
+| [CryptoCompare](cryptocompare.md) | Crypto | Unverified for 0.1.0 | Native | Required |
 | [Oanda](oanda.md) | Forex | Demo only | Thread | Yes |
 
 ## Async Support
@@ -83,6 +83,8 @@ provider's capabilities before passing it to `DataManager` or `async_batch_load(
 
 Provider access, coverage, retention, and redistribution terms can differ by account tier. Confirm
 the provider page and the provider's current terms before selecting it for a production dataset.
+CryptoCompare is included for evaluation but is not release-qualified for 0.1.0 because account
+registration was unavailable during release validation and no live contract evidence was obtained.
 
 ## Authentication
 
diff --git a/scripts/verify_provider_contract_runs.py b/scripts/verify_provider_contract_runs.py
index 2e972bdb..6d296b38 100644
--- a/scripts/verify_provider_contract_runs.py
+++ b/scripts/verify_provider_contract_runs.py
@@ -15,10 +15,12 @@
     "tiingo",
     "massive",
     "finnhub",
-    "cryptocompare",
     "databento",
     "oanda",
 )
+UNVERIFIED_CONTRACTS = {
+    "cryptocompare": "account registration unavailable during 0.1.0 release validation",
+}
 RUN_TITLE_PREFIX = "Provider Contract - "
 
 
@@ -89,6 +91,8 @@ def main() -> None:
     )
     for provider in REQUIRED_CONTRACTS:
         print(f"{provider}: {successful[provider]}")
+    for provider, reason in UNVERIFIED_CONTRACTS.items():
+        print(f"{provider}: unverified - {reason}")
 
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
diff --git a/src/ml4t/data/providers/alpaca.py b/src/ml4t/data/providers/alpaca.py
index c939ecc4..e535438d 100644
--- a/src/ml4t/data/providers/alpaca.py
+++ b/src/ml4t/data/providers/alpaca.py
@@ -214,10 +214,12 @@ def __init__(
             AuthenticationError: If either credential is missing.
             DataValidationError: If ``feed`` is not a supported value.
         """
-        self.api_key = api_key or os.getenv("ALPACA_API_KEY") or os.getenv("APCA_API_KEY_ID")
-        self.api_secret = (
+        resolved_api_key = api_key or os.getenv("ALPACA_API_KEY") or os.getenv("APCA_API_KEY_ID")
+        resolved_api_secret = (
             api_secret or os.getenv("ALPACA_API_SECRET") or os.getenv("APCA_API_SECRET_KEY")
         )
+        self.api_key = resolved_api_key.strip() if resolved_api_key else None
+        self.api_secret = resolved_api_secret.strip() if resolved_api_secret else None
         if not self.api_key or not self.api_secret:
             raise AuthenticationError(
                 provider="alpaca",
diff --git a/tests/test_alpaca_provider.py b/tests/test_alpaca_provider.py
index 870fb633..e39dffd8 100644
--- a/tests/test_alpaca_provider.py
+++ b/tests/test_alpaca_provider.py
@@ -79,6 +79,23 @@ def test_init_with_env_keys(self):
             assert provider.api_key == "k"
             assert provider.api_secret == "s"
 
+    def test_credentials_strip_surrounding_whitespace(self):
+        """Copied credentials cannot introduce invalid HTTP header whitespace."""
+        provider = AlpacaDataProvider(api_key="  k\n", api_secret="s\r\n")
+
+        assert provider.api_key == "k"
+        assert provider.api_secret == "s"
+        assert provider._auth_headers == {
+            "APCA-API-KEY-ID": "k",
+            "APCA-API-SECRET-KEY": "s",
+        }
+
+    @pytest.mark.parametrize("credential", ["", " ", "\r\n"])
+    def test_whitespace_only_credentials_raise(self, credential):
+        """Credentials that normalize to empty are rejected locally."""
+        with patch.dict("os.environ", {}, clear=True), pytest.raises(AuthenticationError):
+            AlpacaDataProvider(api_key=credential, api_secret="s")
+
     def test_init_with_apca_env_fallback(self):
         """Alpaca SDK/CLI env names are honored as a fallback."""
         with patch.dict(
diff --git a/tests/test_provider_contract_verification.py b/tests/test_provider_contract_verification.py
index 89fdaec7..78cd88dd 100644
--- a/tests/test_provider_contract_verification.py
+++ b/tests/test_provider_contract_verification.py
@@ -4,7 +4,11 @@
 
 import pytest
 
-from scripts.verify_provider_contract_runs import REQUIRED_CONTRACTS, validate_contract_runs
+from scripts.verify_provider_contract_runs import (
+    REQUIRED_CONTRACTS,
+    UNVERIFIED_CONTRACTS,
+    validate_contract_runs,
+)
 
 
 def _run(provider: str, commit: str, conclusion: str = "success") -> dict[str, str]:
@@ -25,6 +29,11 @@ def test_all_required_contracts_must_pass_for_the_release_commit() -> None:
     assert tuple(successful) == REQUIRED_CONTRACTS
 
 
+def test_unverified_cryptocompare_is_not_release_qualified() -> None:
+    assert set(UNVERIFIED_CONTRACTS) == {"cryptocompare"}
+    assert set(REQUIRED_CONTRACTS).isdisjoint(UNVERIFIED_CONTRACTS)
+
+
 def test_contracts_from_another_commit_do_not_satisfy_release_policy() -> None:
     commit = "a" * 40
     runs = [_run(provider, "b" * 40) for provider in REQUIRED_CONTRACTS]