diff --git a/kustomize/overlays/staging/fake-ingestor.mjs b/kustomize/overlays/staging/fake-ingestor.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..50c4b9e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/kustomize/overlays/staging/fake-ingestor.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,407 @@
+import fs from 'node:fs';
+
+function sleep(ms) {
+  return new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, ms));
+}
+
+function envString(name, fallback) {
+  const v = process.env[name];
+  if (v == null) return fallback;
+  const s = String(v).trim();
+  return s ? s : fallback;
+}
+
+function envNumber(name, fallback) {
+  const v = process.env[name];
+  if (v == null) return fallback;
+  const n = Number(v);
+  return Number.isFinite(n) ? n : fallback;
+}
+
+function envInt(name, fallback, { min, max } = {}) {
+  const v = process.env[name];
+  if (v == null) return fallback;
+  const n = Number.parseInt(String(v), 10);
+  if (!Number.isInteger(n)) return fallback;
+  const nn = Math.max(min ?? n, Math.min(max ?? n, n));
+  return nn;
+}
+
+function readJson(filePath) {
+  try {
+    const raw = fs.readFileSync(filePath, 'utf8');
+    return JSON.parse(raw);
+  } catch {
+    return undefined;
+  }
+}
+
+function readTokenFromFile(filePath) {
+  const json = readJson(filePath);
+  const raw = json?.token || json?.jwt || json?.authToken;
+  const tok = typeof raw === 'string' ? raw.trim() : '';
+  return tok ? tok : undefined;
+}
+
+function urlWithPath(baseUrl, path) {
+  const u = new URL(baseUrl);
+  const basePath = u.pathname && u.pathname !== '/' ? u.pathname.replace(/\/$/, '') : '';
+  u.pathname = `${basePath}${path}`;
+  return u;
+}
+
+async function httpJson(url, options) {
+  const res = await fetch(url, options);
+  const text = await res.text();
+  let json;
+  try {
+    json = JSON.parse(text);
+  } catch {
+    json = undefined;
+  }
+  return { ok: res.ok, status: res.status, json, text };
+}
+
+function mean(values) {
+  if (!values.length) return 0;
+  return values.reduce((a, b) => a + b, 0) / values.length;
+}
+
+function stddev(values) {
+  if (!values.length) return 0;
+  const m = mean(values);
+  const v = values.reduce((acc, x) => acc + (x - m) * (x - m), 0) / values.length;
+  return Math.sqrt(v);
+}
+
+function quantile(values, q) {
+  if (!values.length) return 0;
+  const sorted = values.slice().sort((a, b) => a - b);
+  const pos = (sorted.length - 1) * q;
+  const base = Math.floor(pos);
+  const rest = pos - base;
+  if (sorted[base + 1] == null) return sorted[base];
+  return sorted[base] + rest * (sorted[base + 1] - sorted[base]);
+}
+
+function randn() {
+  // Box–Muller
+  let u = 0;
+  let v = 0;
+  while (u === 0) u = Math.random();
+  while (v === 0) v = Math.random();
+  return Math.sqrt(-2 * Math.log(u)) * Math.cos(2 * Math.PI * v);
+}
+
+function clamp(v, min, max) {
+  if (v < min) return min;
+  if (v > max) return max;
+  return v;
+}
+
+function parsePriceFromTick(t) {
+  const mp = t?.mark_price ?? t?.markPrice;
+  const op = t?.oracle_price ?? t?.oraclePrice ?? t?.price;
+  const v = mp != null ? Number(mp) : Number(op);
+  return Number.isFinite(v) && v > 0 ? v : null;
+}
+
+function computeLogReturns(prices) {
+  const out = [];
+  for (let i = 1; i < prices.length; i++) {
+    const a = prices[i - 1];
+    const b = prices[i];
+    if (!(a > 0) || !(b > 0)) continue;
+    const r = Math.log(b / a);
+    if (Number.isFinite(r)) out.push(r);
+  }
+  return out;
+}
+
+class BlockSampler {
+  #values;
+  #minBlock;
+  #maxBlock;
+  #idx = 0;
+  #remaining = 0;
+
+  constructor(values, { minBlock, maxBlock }) {
+    this.#values = values.slice();
+    this.#minBlock = Math.max(1, minBlock);
+    this.#maxBlock = Math.max(this.#minBlock, maxBlock);
+    this.#startNewBlock();
+  }
+
+  #startNewBlock() {
+    const n = this.#values.length;
+    if (n <= 1) {
+      this.#idx = 0;
+      this.#remaining = 1;
+      return;
+    }
+
+    const start = Math.floor(Math.random() * n);
+    const span = this.#maxBlock - this.#minBlock + 1;
+    const len = this.#minBlock + Math.floor(Math.random() * span);
+
+    this.#idx = start;
+    this.#remaining = Math.min(len, n);
+  }
+
+  next() {
+    const n = this.#values.length;
+    if (n === 0) return 0;
+
+    if (this.#remaining <= 0) this.#startNewBlock();
+    const v = this.#values[this.#idx];
+
+    this.#idx = (this.#idx + 1) % n;
+    this.#remaining -= 1;
+
+    return Number.isFinite(v) ? v : 0;
+  }
+}
+
+async function fetchSeedTicks({ apiBase, readToken, symbol, source, limit }) {
+  const u = urlWithPath(apiBase, '/v1/ticks');
+  u.searchParams.set('symbol', symbol);
+  u.searchParams.set('limit', String(limit));
+  if (source) u.searchParams.set('source', source);
+
+  const res = await httpJson(u.toString(), {
+    method: 'GET',
+    headers: {
+      authorization: `Bearer ${readToken}`,
+    },
+  });
+
+  if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`seed_ticks_http_${res.status}: ${res.text}`);
+  if (!res.json?.ok) throw new Error(`seed_ticks_error: ${res.json?.error || res.text}`);
+
+  const ticks = Array.isArray(res.json?.ticks) ? res.json.ticks : [];
+  return ticks;
+}
+
+async function ingestTick({ apiBase, writeToken, tick }) {
+  const u = urlWithPath(apiBase, '/v1/ingest/tick');
+  const res = await httpJson(u.toString(), {
+    method: 'POST',
+    headers: {
+      'content-type': 'application/json',
+      authorization: `Bearer ${writeToken}`,
+    },
+    body: JSON.stringify(tick),
+  });
+
+  if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`ingest_http_${res.status}: ${res.text}`);
+  if (!res.json?.ok) throw new Error(`ingest_error: ${res.json?.error || res.text}`);
+  return res.json?.id || null;
+}
+
+function formatNumeric(value) {
+  if (!Number.isFinite(value)) return '0';
+  // Avoid scientific notation for small values while keeping reasonable precision.
+  const abs = Math.abs(value);
+  if (abs === 0) return '0';
+  if (abs >= 1) return value.toFixed(8).replace(/\.?0+$/, '');
+  if (abs >= 0.01) return value.toFixed(10).replace(/\.?0+$/, '');
+  if (abs >= 0.0001) return value.toFixed(12).replace(/\.?0+$/, '');
+  return value.toFixed(16).replace(/\.?0+$/, '');
+}
+
+async function main() {
+  const apiBase = envString('INGEST_API_URL', 'http://trade-api:8787');
+  const symbol = envString('MARKET_NAME', envString('SYMBOL', 'PUMP-PERP'));
+  const source = envString('SOURCE', 'drift_oracle');
+  const intervalMs = envInt('INTERVAL_MS', 1000, { min: 50, max: 60_000 });
+
+  const readTokenFile = envString('FAKE_READ_TOKEN_FILE', envString('READ_TOKEN_FILE', '/tokens/read.json'));
+  const writeTokenFile = envString('FAKE_WRITE_TOKEN_FILE', envString('WRITE_TOKEN_FILE', '/app/tokens/alg.json'));
+
+  const seedLimit = envInt('FAKE_SEED_LIMIT', 5000, { min: 50, max: 5000 });
+  const seedSourceRaw = process.env.FAKE_SEED_SOURCE;
+  const seedSource = seedSourceRaw == null ? source : String(seedSourceRaw).trim();
+
+  const minBlock = envInt('FAKE_BLOCK_MIN', 30, { min: 1, max: 5000 });
+  const maxBlock = envInt('FAKE_BLOCK_MAX', 240, { min: 1, max: 5000 });
+
+  const volScale = envNumber('FAKE_VOL_SCALE', 1);
+  const noiseScale = envNumber('FAKE_NOISE_SCALE', 0.15);
+  const meanReversion = envNumber('FAKE_MEAN_REVERSION', 0.001);
+  const markNoiseBps = envNumber('FAKE_MARK_NOISE_BPS', 2);
+  const logEvery = envInt('FAKE_LOG_EVERY', 30, { min: 1, max: 10_000 });
+
+  const marketIndexEnv = process.env.MARKET_INDEX;
+  const marketIndexFallback = Number.isInteger(Number(marketIndexEnv)) ? Number(marketIndexEnv) : 0;
+  const startPriceEnv = envNumber('FAKE_START_PRICE', 0);
+
+  const readToken = readTokenFromFile(readTokenFile);
+  const writeToken = readTokenFromFile(writeTokenFile);
+  if (!writeToken) throw new Error(`Missing write token (expected JSON token at ${writeTokenFile})`);
+
+  let seedTicks = [];
+  let seedPrices = [];
+  let marketIndex = marketIndexFallback;
+  let seedFromTs = null;
+  let seedToTs = null;
+
+  if (!readToken) {
+    console.warn(`[fake-ingestor] No read token at ${readTokenFile}; running without seed data.`);
+  } else {
+    seedTicks = await fetchSeedTicks({
+      apiBase,
+      readToken,
+      symbol,
+      source: seedSource ? seedSource : undefined,
+      limit: seedLimit,
+    });
+
+    seedFromTs = seedTicks.length ? String(seedTicks[0]?.ts || '') : null;
+    seedToTs = seedTicks.length ? String(seedTicks[seedTicks.length - 1]?.ts || '') : null;
+
+    for (const t of seedTicks) {
+      const p = parsePriceFromTick(t);
+      if (p != null) seedPrices.push(p);
+    }
+
+    const lastTick = seedTicks.length ? seedTicks[seedTicks.length - 1] : null;
+    const mi = lastTick?.market_index ?? lastTick?.marketIndex;
+    if (Number.isInteger(Number(mi))) marketIndex = Number(mi);
+  }
+
+  if (!seedPrices.length && startPriceEnv > 0) {
+    seedPrices = [startPriceEnv];
+  }
+  if (!seedPrices.length) {
+    throw new Error(
+      'No seed prices available. Provide FAKE_START_PRICE (and optionally MARKET_INDEX) or mount a read token to seed from /v1/ticks.'
+    );
+  }
+
+  const returnsRaw = computeLogReturns(seedPrices);
+  const mu = mean(returnsRaw);
+  const sigma = stddev(returnsRaw);
+  const center = envString('FAKE_CENTER_RETURNS', '1') !== '0';
+  const returns = returnsRaw.length
+    ? center
+      ? returnsRaw.map((r) => r - mu)
+      : returnsRaw
+    : [];
+
+  const sampler = new BlockSampler(returns.length ? returns : [0], { minBlock, maxBlock });
+
+  const p05 = quantile(seedPrices, 0.05);
+  const p50 = quantile(seedPrices, 0.5);
+  const p95 = quantile(seedPrices, 0.95);
+  const clampMin = p05 > 0 ? p05 * 0.8 : Math.min(...seedPrices) * 0.8;
+  const clampMax = p95 > 0 ? p95 * 1.2 : Math.max(...seedPrices) * 1.2;
+
+  let logPrice = Math.log(seedPrices[seedPrices.length - 1]);
+  const targetLog = Math.log(p50 > 0 ? p50 : seedPrices[seedPrices.length - 1]);
+
+  console.log(
+    JSON.stringify(
+      {
+        service: 'trade-fake-ingestor',
+        apiBase,
+        symbol,
+        source,
+        intervalMs,
+        marketIndex,
+        seed: {
+          ok: Boolean(seedTicks.length),
+          limit: seedLimit,
+          source: seedSource || null,
+          ticks: seedTicks.length,
+          prices: seedPrices.length,
+          fromTs: seedFromTs,
+          toTs: seedToTs,
+        },
+        model: {
+          type: 'block-bootstrap-returns',
+          centerReturns: center,
+          mu,
+          sigma,
+          volScale,
+          noiseScale,
+          meanReversion,
+          block: { minBlock, maxBlock },
+          clamp: { min: clampMin, max: clampMax },
+        },
+      },
+      null,
+      2
+    )
+  );
+
+  let stopping = false;
+  process.on('SIGINT', () => {
+    stopping = true;
+  });
+  process.on('SIGTERM', () => {
+    stopping = true;
+  });
+
+  let tickCount = 0;
+  let nextAt = Date.now();
+
+  while (!stopping) {
+    const now = Date.now();
+    if (now < nextAt) await sleep(nextAt - now);
+    nextAt += intervalMs;
+
+    const r = sampler.next();
+    const noise = (Number.isFinite(sigma) ? sigma : 0) * noiseScale * randn();
+    const revert = Number.isFinite(meanReversion) ? meanReversion * (targetLog - logPrice) : 0;
+    const step = (Number.isFinite(r) ? r : 0) * volScale + noise + revert;
+
+    logPrice += step;
+    let oraclePrice = Math.exp(logPrice);
+    if (Number.isFinite(clampMin) && Number.isFinite(clampMax) && clampMax > clampMin) {
+      oraclePrice = clamp(oraclePrice, clampMin, clampMax);
+      logPrice = Math.log(oraclePrice);
+    }
+
+    const markNoise = (markNoiseBps / 10_000) * randn();
+    const markPrice = oraclePrice * (1 + markNoise);
+
+    const ts = new Date().toISOString();
+    const tick = {
+      ts,
+      market_index: marketIndex,
+      symbol,
+      oracle_price: formatNumeric(oraclePrice),
+      mark_price: formatNumeric(markPrice),
+      source,
+      raw: {
+        fake: true,
+        model: 'block-bootstrap-returns',
+        seeded: seedTicks.length
+          ? { symbol, source: seedSource || null, limit: seedLimit, fromTs: seedFromTs, toTs: seedToTs }
+          : { symbol, source: null, limit: 0, fromTs: null, toTs: null },
+      },
+    };
+
+    try {
+      await ingestTick({ apiBase, writeToken, tick });
+      tickCount += 1;
+      if (tickCount % logEvery === 0) {
+        console.log(
+          `[fake-ingestor] ok ticks=${tickCount} ts=${ts} px=${tick.oracle_price} mark=${tick.mark_price} clamp=[${formatNumeric(
+            clampMin
+          )},${formatNumeric(clampMax)}]`
+        );
+      }
+    } catch (err) {
+      console.warn(`[fake-ingestor] ingest failed: ${String(err?.message || err)}`);
+      await sleep(Math.min(5000, Math.max(250, intervalMs)));
+    }
+  }
+
+  console.log('[fake-ingestor] stopped');
+}
+
+main().catch((err) => {
+  console.error(String(err?.stack || err));
+  process.exitCode = 1;
+});
diff --git a/kustomize/overlays/staging/ingestor-fake-patch.yaml b/kustomize/overlays/staging/ingestor-fake-patch.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ab8006e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/kustomize/overlays/staging/ingestor-fake-patch.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+apiVersion: apps/v1
+kind: Deployment
+metadata:
+  name: trade-ingestor
+spec:
+  template:
+    spec:
+      containers:
+        - name: ingestor
+          env:
+            - name: FAKE_READ_TOKEN_FILE
+              value: "/tokens/read.json"
+            - name: FAKE_WRITE_TOKEN_FILE
+              value: "/app/tokens/alg.json"
+            - name: FAKE_SEED_LIMIT
+              value: "5000"
+          command: ["node"]
+          args: ["/opt/fake/fake-ingestor.mjs"]
+          volumeMounts:
+            - name: fake-script
+              mountPath: /opt/fake
+              readOnly: true
+            - name: read-tokens
+              mountPath: /tokens
+              readOnly: true
+      volumes:
+        - name: fake-script
+          configMap:
+            name: trade-fake-ingestor-script
+        - name: read-tokens
+          secret:
+            secretName: trade-frontend-tokens
diff --git a/kustomize/overlays/staging/kustomization.yaml b/kustomize/overlays/staging/kustomization.yaml
index b08b73f..5c59c58 100644
--- a/kustomize/overlays/staging/kustomization.yaml
+++ b/kustomize/overlays/staging/kustomization.yaml
@@ -12,6 +12,15 @@ resources:
 patchesStrategicMerge:
   - hasura-patch.yaml
   - frontend-auth-patch.yaml
+  - ingestor-fake-patch.yaml
+
+configMapGenerator:
+  - name: trade-fake-ingestor-script
+    files:
+      - fake-ingestor.mjs
+
+generatorOptions:
+  disableNameSuffixHash: true
 
 commonLabels:
   env: staging