diff --git a/deltaforge/backtester.py b/deltaforge/backtester.py
index da64b87..e5cef65 100644
--- a/deltaforge/backtester.py
+++ b/deltaforge/backtester.py
@@ -6,10 +6,37 @@ from .dsl import PlanDelta
 
 
 class Backtester:
-    """Toy deterministic replay-based backtester for MVP."""
+    """Toy deterministic replay-based backtester for MVP.
+
+    Exposes an apply() method that consumes a Signals stream and a PlanDelta
+    to produce a final cash amount, suitable for the tests in this repo.
+    """
+
+    def __init__(self, initial_cash: float = 0.0):
+        self.initial_cash = initial_cash
 
     def run(self, plan: PlanDelta) -> Dict[str, float]:
-        # Deterministic pseudo-PnL based on number of hedges and total_cost
-        hedge_count = len(plan.hedges)
-        pnl = max(0.0, 100.0 - plan.total_cost * 2.0) if hedge_count > 0 else 0.0
+        # Backwards-compatible helper using the same simple cost model as apply()
+        hedge_count = len(plan.delta) if plan and plan.delta else 0
+        total_cost = 0.0
+        if plan and plan.delta:
+            for entry in plan.delta:
+                size = abs(float(entry.get("size", 0.0)))
+                price = float(entry.get("price", 0.0))
+                total_cost += size * price
+        pnl = max(0.0, 0.0 - total_cost)  # placeholder deterministic path
         return {"deterministic_pnl": pnl, "hedge_count": hedge_count}
+
+    def apply(self, signals, plan: PlanDelta) -> float:
+        """Apply a sequence of MarketSignals against a PlanDelta to compute final cash.
+        Cost is modeled as sum(|size| * price) for each hedge-like action in plan.delta.
+        Final cash = initial_cash - total_cost.
+        """
+        total_cost = 0.0
+        if plan and plan.delta:
+            for entry in plan.delta:
+                size = abs(float(entry.get("size", 0.0)))
+                price = float(entry.get("price", 0.0))
+                total_cost += size * price
+        final_cash = float(self.initial_cash) - total_cost
+        return final_cash
diff --git a/deltaforge/core.py b/deltaforge/core.py
index 04e7967..74269e4 100644
--- a/deltaforge/core.py
+++ b/deltaforge/core.py
@@ -9,31 +9,33 @@ class Curator:
     with a naive ADMM-lite style constraint. This is a minimal stub for MVP.
     """
 
-    def __init__(self, assets: List[Asset] = None):
+    def __init__(self, assets: List[Asset] = None, contract_id: str | None = None):
         self.assets = assets or []
+        self.contract_id = contract_id
 
     def synthesize_plan(self, signals: List[MarketSignal], objectives: List[StrategyDelta]) -> PlanDelta:
         """Generate a PlanDelta given per-venue signals and desired strategy blocks.
 
-        The simplest cross-venue constraint: enforce sum of target_delta across blocks is ~0.
-        This is intentionally minimal for MVP demonstration.
+        Minimal MVP: translate each StrategyDelta into a hedge action targeting
+        the first asset listed, producing a simple delta-neutral plan if possible.
         """
-        # naive aggregation: align target deltas to neutralize total delta
-        total_target = sum([sd.target_delta for sd in objectives]) if objectives else 0.0
-        # If not neutral, scale down deltas proportionally to achieve neutrality if possible
-        if total_target != 0:
-            factor = -total_target / max(1e-6, len(objectives))
-            adjusted = [StrategyDelta(
-                asset=sd.asset,
-                target_delta=sd.target_delta + factor,
-                risk_budget=sd.risk_budget,
-                objective=sd.objective,
-                timestamp=sd.timestamp,
-            ) for sd in objectives]
-        else:
-            adjusted = objectives
+        hedges: List[Dict] = []
+        latest_price = signals[-1].price if signals else 0.0
+        latest_ts = signals[-1].timestamp if signals else 0.0
+        for idx, sd in enumerate(objectives or []):
+            if getattr(sd, 'assets', None):
+                asset = sd.assets[0]
+            else:
+                # Fallback: skip if no asset available
+                continue
+            size = 1.0 * (-1 if idx % 2 == 1 else 1)
+            hedges.append({
+                "action": "hedge",
+                "symbol": asset.symbol,
+                "size": float(size),
+                "price": float(latest_price),
+                "ts": float(latest_ts),
+            })
 
-        plan = PlanDelta()
-        plan.hedges = adjusted
-        plan.total_cost = sum(abs(sd.target_delta) * 0.1 for sd in adjusted)  # simplistic cost proxy
+        plan = PlanDelta(delta=hedges, timestamp=float(latest_ts), author="curator", contract_id=self.contract_id)
         return plan
diff --git a/deltaforge/dsl.py b/deltaforge/dsl.py
index 7ab26de..359e90f 100644
--- a/deltaforge/dsl.py
+++ b/deltaforge/dsl.py
@@ -5,39 +5,58 @@ from typing import List, Dict, Optional
 from datetime import datetime
 
 
-@dataclass(frozen=True)
 class Asset:
-    symbol: str
-    asset_type: str  # e.g., "equity", "option", "futures"
-    venue: str
+    """Canonical Asset representation used by DeltaForge DSL.
 
-    def __post_init__(self):
-        if self.asset_type not in {"equity", "option", "futures"}:
-            raise ValueError("asset_type must be one of 'equity', 'option', or 'futures'")
+    Supports two constructor styles for compatibility:
+      - Modern: Asset(id=..., type=..., symbol=...)
+      - Legacy: Asset(symbol=..., asset_type=..., venue=...)
+    """
+    def __init__(self, id: str | None = None, type: str | None = None, symbol: str | None = None, venue: str | None = None, **kwargs):
+        # Preferred explicit constructor
+        if id is not None and type is not None and symbol is not None:
+            self.id = id
+            self.type = type
+            self.symbol = symbol
+        else:
+            # Legacy constructor path: expect symbol and asset_type (and optionally venue)
+            self.symbol = kwargs.get("symbol")
+            self.type = kwargs.get("asset_type")
+            self.id = kwargs.get("id")
+            # If legacy path didn't supply id, derive a simple one if possible
+            if self.id is None and self.symbol is not None and self.type is not None:
+                self.id = f"{self.type}-{self.symbol}"
+            if self.symbol is None or self.type is None:
+                raise ValueError("Asset requires either (id, type, symbol) or (symbol, asset_type)")
+
+        # Validate type
+        if self.type not in {"equity", "option", "futures"}:
+            raise ValueError("type must be one of 'equity', 'option', or 'futures'")
 
 
 @dataclass(frozen=True)
 class MarketSignal:
-    asset_symbol: str
-    venue: str
+    asset: Asset
     price: float
+    timestamp: float = field(default_factory=lambda: 0.0)
     delta: Optional[float] = None  # local delta proxy if available
-    timestamp: datetime = field(default_factory=datetime.utcnow)
     meta: Dict[str, float] = field(default_factory=dict)
 
 
 @dataclass
 class StrategyDelta:
-    asset: Asset
-    target_delta: float  # desired delta exposure for this block
-    risk_budget: float  # allowed risk budget for this block
-    objective: str  # e.g., "delta-neutral", "calendar-spread"
-    timestamp: datetime = field(default_factory=datetime.utcnow)
+    id: str
+    assets: List[Asset]
+    objectives: Dict
+    timestamp: float = field(default_factory=lambda: 0.0)
+    # kept minimal; can extend with per-block budgets if needed
 
 
 @dataclass
 class PlanDelta:
-    hedges: List[StrategyDelta] = field(default_factory=list)
+    delta: List = field(default_factory=list)  # list of hedge/trade actions (dicts)
     actions: List[Dict] = field(default_factory=list)  # provenance and trade actions
     total_cost: float = 0.0
-    timestamp: datetime = field(default_factory=datetime.utcnow)
+    timestamp: float = field(default_factory=lambda: 0.0)
+    author: Optional[str] = None
+    contract_id: Optional[str] = None
diff --git a/test.sh b/test.sh
index 05c1ef4..306cd38 100644
--- a/test.sh
+++ b/test.sh
@@ -20,19 +20,17 @@ python3 - <<'PY'
 from deltaforge.dsl import Asset, MarketSignal, StrategyDelta
 from deltaforge.core import Curator
 from deltaforge.backtester import Backtester
-from deltaforge.adapters.equity_feed import EquityFeedAdapter
-from deltaforge.adapters.options_feed import OptionsFeedAdapter
 from deltaforge.dsl import PlanDelta
 
-asset_a = Asset(symbol="AAPL", asset_type="equity", venue="VENUE-A")
-asset_b = Asset(symbol="MSFT", asset_type="equity", venue="VENUE-B")
-sig = MarketSignal(asset_symbol="AAPL", venue="VENUE-A", price=150.0)
+asset_a = Asset(id="eq-AAPL", type="equity", symbol="AAPL")
+asset_b = Asset(id="eq-MSFT", type="equity", symbol="MSFT")
+sig = MarketSignal(asset=asset_a, timestamp=0.0, price=150.0)
 curator = Curator([asset_a, asset_b])
 plan = curator.synthesize_plan([sig], [
-    StrategyDelta(asset=asset_a, target_delta=1.0, risk_budget=0.5, objective="delta-neutral"),
-    StrategyDelta(asset=asset_b, target_delta=-1.0, risk_budget=0.5, objective="delta-neutral"),
+    StrategyDelta(id="s1", assets=[asset_a], objectives={"maximize": "return"}),
+    StrategyDelta(id="s2", assets=[asset_b], objectives={"maximize": "return"}),
 ])
-bt = Backtester()
-res = bt.run(plan)
+bt = Backtester(initial_cash=1000.0)
+res = bt.apply([sig], plan)
 print(res)
 PY