diff --git a/freqtrade/misc.py b/freqtrade/misc.py
index cb67cbc69..119f6b6ce 100644
--- a/freqtrade/misc.py
+++ b/freqtrade/misc.py
@@ -108,6 +108,14 @@ def build_subcommands(parser: argparse.ArgumentParser) -> None:
         dest='live',
         help='using live data',
     )
+    backtest.add_argument(
+        '-i', '--ticker-interval',
+        help='specify ticker interval in minutes (default: 5)',
+        dest='ticker_interval',
+        default=5,
+        type=int,
+        metavar='INT',
+    )
 
 
 def start_backtesting(args) -> None:
@@ -122,6 +130,7 @@ def start_backtesting(args) -> None:
         'BACKTEST': 'true',
         'BACKTEST_LIVE': 'true' if args.live else '',
         'BACKTEST_CONFIG': args.config,
+        'BACKTEST_TICKER_INTERVAL': str(args.ticker_interval),
     })
     path = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), 'tests', 'test_backtesting.py')
     pytest.main(['-s', path])
diff --git a/freqtrade/tests/test_backtesting.py b/freqtrade/tests/test_backtesting.py
index 1f7144965..46b158815 100644
--- a/freqtrade/tests/test_backtesting.py
+++ b/freqtrade/tests/test_backtesting.py
@@ -91,12 +91,15 @@ def test_backtest(backtest_conf, backdata, mocker):
         with open(conf_path, 'r') as fp:
             config = json.load(fp)
 
+    ticker_interval = int(os.environ.get('BACKTEST_TICKER_INTERVAL') or 5)
+    print('Using ticker_interval: {}'.format(ticker_interval))
+
     livedata = {}
     if os.environ.get('BACKTEST_LIVE'):
         print('Downloading data for all pairs in whitelist ...'.format(conf_path))
         exchange._API = Bittrex({'key': '', 'secret': ''})
         for pair in config['exchange']['pair_whitelist']:
-            livedata[pair] = exchange.get_ticker_history(pair)
+            livedata[pair] = exchange.get_ticker_history(pair, ticker_interval)
 
     config = config or backtest_conf
     data = livedata or backdata