Head to head · Exchange market data · October 2026 research run
Bitfinex API vs Bithumb Open API
Bitfinex API scores 58.4 (C) on agent readiness against Bithumb Open API's 50.6 (D), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Bithumb Open API leads on schema & documentation, agent ergonomics and maintenance & community. Both do exchange market data.
Best crypto exchange APIs and MCP servers for AI agents · All 210 exchanges comparisons
Which one, for what
Best for An agent trading spot, margin or derivatives, or lending on the funding market, with scoped keys, official clients and paper trading.
Ahead on
- Reliability, 85 against 34
- Payments & pricing, 40 against 15
Watch for
No official MCP server, OpenAPI file or AsyncAPI file; the registry's Bitfinex servers are third parties proxying public market data
Best for KRW-market trading for agents acting for a verified Korean account, with a vendor-built MCP server, CLI and skills.
Ahead on
- Schema & documentation, 64 against 48
- Agent ergonomics, 67 against 61
- Maintenance & community, 69 against 41
Also in its favour
- Runs on your own machine
Watch for
No sandbox or testnet; every order uses real funds
Why the edge
Each category where one leads by five points or more, with the reason behind each side's score from its assessment. The numbers are in the table below; this is what they stand for.
Reliability Bitfinex API +51
Bitfinex API 85
Read with the hosted lines on the v2 API at api.bitfinex.com. bitfinex.statuspage.io is a Statuspage site with history back to May 2021 (20). Its feed has no entry between 25 March 2026 and 3 November 2026, so the last 90 days are clean on the record; the feed logs platform-wide outages only (a 14-hour maintenance in March 2026, a 3-hour outage in August 2025), so smaller incidents may go unrecorded. Judgement call (30). Rate limits with numbers, 10 to 90 a minute per IP and the WebSocket connection limits (15). ERR_RATE_LIMIT and the 60-second block are documented, with no Retry-After; orders take a cid but no idempotency key or retry guidance was found (10 of 15). No SLA found (0). Generally available (10). 20 + 30 + 15 + 10 + 0 + 10 = 85.
Bithumb Open API 34
Read with the hosted lines. No status page found on apidocs.bithumb.com or in llms.txt; wallet-status and notices endpoints stand in (0). No readable incident history, though two notices record a public WebSocket interruption and a brief service break (5). Rate limits documented per category with numbers, updated 27 October 2026 (15). A breach is described only as a temporary restriction, with no status code, header or Retry-After, and no client order id or idempotency key is documented; 422 order_not_ready and 500 server_error say to retry later (4 of 15). No SLA found (0). The API is generally available; the MCP server and CLI are at 0.8.5 (10). 0 + 5 + 15 + 4 + 0 + 10 = 34.
Maintenance & community Bithumb Open API +28
Bitfinex API 41
Read as a closed service with open clients. The last dated change we could read is bitfinex-api-node 9.1.0 on 18 July 2026, 108 days before the check; the docs changelog stops in October 2024 (10). Not three dated releases in the last 90 days (0). The bitfinexcom organisation pushes often (bfx-report on 3 November 2026) and the clients have issue trackers, but support articles answered 403 and no reply times were read (10 of 25). Official clients current in four languages, Node 9.1.0 of July 2026 and Python 4.0.0 of October 2025; not in the MCP registry (15). The Node client has a dependency history of security fixes (its last GitHub release notes name two) and no CI was read (6 of 10). 10 + 0 + 10 + 15 + 6 = 41.
Bithumb Open API 69
Read as a closed service. Rate limits updated 27 October 2026 and the ticker cap effective 13 October 2026 (30). Batch orders 20 August, Private v1 retired 30 September, the ticker cap 13 October and the limits page 27 October 2026 (20). A phone support line, dated notices and a GitHub repository with no open issues and one commit; replies not observed (9 of 15). The MCP server is not in the official MCP registry and there is no SDK; the CLI and MCP packages are current (5 of 15). The MCP package depends only on @modelcontextprotocol/sdk ^1.26 on Node 18, with no public source or CI (5 of 10). 30 + 20 + 9 + 5 + 5 = 69.
Payments & pricing Bitfinex API +25
Bitfinex API 40
No machine payment protocol (0). The fees page is public without login (20), though it shows zero maker and taker with no tiers or date. The API is free, public endpoints need no account, and paper trading needs no money (20). A person must sign up in a browser with identity checks and mint the key (0). 0 + 20 + 20 + 0 = 40.
Bithumb Open API 15
No machine payment protocol (0). The fee page timed out on every attempt, so no price is recorded (0 of 20, unchecked). Public market data needs no key, card or account; trading needs a verified Korean account. Judgement call (15 of 20). A person must sign up, pass identity checks and issue keys in the browser (0). 0 + 0 + 15 + 0 = 15.
Schema & documentation Bithumb Open API +16
Bitfinex API 48
No OpenAPI or AsyncAPI file was found on docs.bitfinex.com, in llms.txt or in the client repositories (0). llms.txt and a .md twin of every docs page (10). Each reference page states the endpoint's purpose and fields, and the introduction says when to use api-pub against api, but nothing says when not to use an endpoint (14 of 20). Responses are positional arrays described in field tables, inputs are typed in prose with some enumerations (wallet names, order types) and required fields marked; the withdrawal CODE field is work in progress (7 of 15). Signed-request recipes in five languages, but authenticated errors are documented as 400 with an empty object and there is no error reference (9 of 15). Version v2 in the path and a dated changelog, whose last entry is October 2024 and whose v1 deprecation has no date (8 of 15). 0 + 10 + 14 + 7 + 9 + 8 = 48.
Bithumb Open API 64
No OpenAPI found; the reference is a readme.io site with Markdown twins, and the MCP tool schemas weren't read since the server's source isn't published (5 of 25). llms.txt on apidocs.bithumb.com (10). Reference pages state purpose and the skills say when to use each module and when not to (15 of 20). Typed parameters with enums for side, order type and time in force (10 of 15). Examples in several languages and an error-code page with names, statuses and meanings (12 of 15). Versions per endpoint (v1, v2, v2.1.5) and notices with effective dates (12 of 15). 5 + 10 + 15 + 10 + 12 + 12 = 64.
Agent ergonomics Bithumb Open API +6
Bitfinex API 61
Graded on the REST API. Limits on trades, candles and book depth, and pub:list config endpoints keep responses small, but positional arrays make every field a lookup (14 of 25). start, end, limit and sort on history endpoints and per-symbol variants (16 of 20). ERR_RATE_LIMIT is actionable; authenticated 400s return {} and withdrawal status strings may change, so an agent cannot branch on causes (8 of 20). A client id on orders, order multi-op and cancel-multiple, but no idempotency key and no retry contract (8 of 20). Few required parameters and official clients in Node, Python, Go and Ruby (15). 14 + 16 + 8 + 8 + 15 = 61.
Bithumb Open API 67
Graded on the REST API with the MCP server. 41 tools in all, selectable by module, so 15 for 11 to 30 or more and 8 added back for the module switch (23 of 25). Candle counts, order paging and a 200-market cap on the ticker (13 of 20). Stable error.name values with retry guidance for order_not_ready and server_error (14 of 20). No client order id or idempotency key documented; the CLI's per-profile read-only flag, the MCP --read-only flag and the skills' read-only gate help, and readOnlyHint annotations weren't checked (9 of 20). Few required parameters, but no official SDK beyond the CLI and a CCXT guide (8 of 15). 23 + 13 + 14 + 9 + 8 = 67.
Score by category
| Category | Weight this run | Bitfinex API | Bithumb Open API | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reliability | 16%20 | 85 | 34 | Bitfinex API +51 |
| Performance | 10%pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13%16.2 | 48 | 64 | Bithumb Open API +16 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13%16.2 | 61 | 67 | Bithumb Open API +6 |
| Security & auth | 14%17.5 | 62 | 60 | Bitfinex API +2 |
| Payments & pricing | 10%12.5 | 40 | 15 | Bitfinex API +25 |
| Task success | 10%pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7%8.8 | 41 | 69 | Bithumb Open API +28 |
| Transparency & trust | 7%8.8 | 49 | 47 | Bitfinex API +2 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | C 58.4/100 | D 50.6/100 |
Facts side by side
| Fact | Bitfinex API | Bithumb Open API |
|---|---|---|
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | iFinex Inc. | Bithumb Co., Ltd. |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |
| Transports | stdio | |
| Auth | API key | API key |
| Pricing | Pay per use | Pay per use |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Proprietary hosted API under Bitfinex's API Terms of Service, which our reader couldn't load. The official client libraries (Node, Python, Go, Ruby) are MIT or Apache-2.0 | none |
| Tools exposed | none | 41 |
| Read-only variant documented | no | yes |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| Last release | 2026-07-18 | 2026-10-13 |
| Terms last updated | couldn't be read | couldn't be read |
| Privacy policy last updated | couldn't be read | no document linked |
| Customer content may train models | couldn't be read | couldn't be read |
| Terms restrict automated access | couldn't be read | couldn't be read |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | couldn't be read | couldn't be read |
| Terms or service can change without notice | couldn't be read | couldn't be read |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | couldn't be read | couldn't be read |
| Popularity | 480 stars | 6 stars |
Verdicts
Bitfinex API
Bitfinex gives an agent scoped keys with a separate withdraw permission, paper-trading sub-accounts on the production API, llms.txt and official clients in four languages. There is no official MCP server, responses are positional arrays with empty error bodies, rate limits run 10 to 90 a minute per IP, and the terms, API terms and privacy statement could not be read.
Bithumb Open API
Bithumb runs an official local MCP server with 41 tools, module selection and a read-only flag, beside a CLI with per-profile read-only gating and six agent skills, over an API with scoped one-year keys and a mandatory IP list. There is no sandbox, no status page, no documented 429 behaviour, and the fees and terms couldn't be read.
Before you call either
Bitfinex API
- Mint a key with read on the scopes the task needs and write only on
orders; never grantwithdrawto a trading key, and bind the key to known IPs - Use one key per client process, since each key keeps its own strictly increasing nonce and a reused nonce is rejected
- Rehearse on a paper-trading sub-account with the TEST symbols before touching real balances; the sub-account cannot be converted later
- Plan requests against the per-endpoint limit of 10 to 90 a minute per IP;
ERR_RATE_LIMITblocks the IP for 60 seconds with no Retry-After - Map each response by position from the docs' field tables and set a
cidon orders, because responses are arrays and a 400 carries no reason
Bithumb Open API
- Ask for a key with asset and order inquiry plus order placement only, never withdrawals, with your IP registered; keys expire after one year and a wrong IP answers 401 NotAllowIP
- Start the server with
--modules market,account,trade --read-onlyfor analysis and drop--read-onlyonly when the person asks to trade; deposit and withdraw modules stay off - Prefer the
bithumbCLI for writes, as the skills do, and checkbithumb config show --jsonfor a read-only profile before any order - Keep the ticker's markets parameter at 200 or fewer, batch orders at 30 and cancels at 30 per request, and stay under 140 private calls a second per category
- Retry 422 order_not_ready and 500 server_error after a pause; there is no sandbox, so start with the smallest order the market allows
Questions
Which is better for AI agents, Bitfinex API or Bithumb Open API?
Bitfinex API scores 58.4 (C) on agent readiness against Bithumb Open API's 50.6 (D), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Bithumb Open API leads on schema & documentation, agent ergonomics and maintenance & community.
Do Bitfinex API and Bithumb Open API need an API key?
Both need an API key.
Can an agent call Bitfinex API and Bithumb Open API without installing anything?
No hosted endpoint is listed for Bitfinex API. Bithumb Open API runs on your own machine, with no hosted endpoint listed.
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Machine-readable
- This page as Markdown
/compare/bitfinex-vs-bithumb.md· slim.min.md· JSON.json(or sendAccept: text/markdown) - Each listing in full
/api/v1/tools/bitfinex.json·/api/v1/tools/bithumb.json - From a terminal
anchor compare bitfinex bithumb(the CLI) - Over MCP
compare_tools {"a": "bitfinex", "b": "bithumb"}at/mcp, no key