# Bitfinex API vs HTX trading API

> Bitfinex scores 58.4 (C) to HTX trading's 43.3 (E) for exchange market data. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitfinex-vs-htx
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitfinex-vs-htx.md (~4,800 tokens)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (the key docs and every listing in one file, at most 16 MB, about 4 million tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (the whole catalogue as tools, no key)
- DNS: dig +short TXT <slug>.grade.anchorterminal.com (the grade as a DNS TXT record, for a sandbox with no HTTP where names still resolve; also top., best.<category>. and <a>.vs.<b>. under the zone, and the same under grade.letme.dev)
- Licence: CC BY 4.0, credit Anchor Terminal and link this page (https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data)
- Updated: 2026-11-04

Bitfinex API scores 58.4 (C) on agent readiness against HTX trading API's 43.3 (E), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. HTX trading API leads on agent ergonomics and maintenance & community. Both do exchange market data.

- Bitfinex API: grade C, 58.4/100, rank #675 of 1349. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/bitfinex.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/bitfinex.json
- HTX trading API: grade E, 43.3/100, rank #1156 of 1349. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/htx.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/htx.json
- Best crypto exchange APIs and MCP servers for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/crypto-exchanges/index.md
- All 210 exchanges comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/crypto-exchanges/index.md

## Which one, for what

### Bitfinex API (C)

Good 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 38
- Schema & documentation, 48 against 40
- Security & auth, 62 against 51
- Payments & pricing, 40 against 15
- Transparency & trust, 49 against 25

Watch for: No official MCP server, OpenAPI file or AsyncAPI file; the registry's Bitfinex servers are third parties proxying public market data

### HTX trading API (E)

Good for: Spot and USDT-margined derivatives for agents that can hold an HTX key, with no MCP server and no testnet.

Ahead on:
- Agent ergonomics, 69 against 61
- Maintenance & community, 57 against 41

Watch for: No official MCP server; the only one in the MCP registry is a third party's read-only ticker server


## Why the edge

### Reliability: Bitfinex API +47

- 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.
- HTX trading API (38): Read with the hosted lines. No status page found; status.htx.com does not resolve and nothing on htx.com was readable (0). No readable incident history (5). Rate limits documented per endpoint with numbers, 100 order calls per 2 seconds per UID and so on, with remaining-quota headers (15). No 429 or Retry-After behaviour is documented and the only limit error named is 1006 for conditional orders; a client-order-id unique within 8 hours and an idempotent withdrawal id give safe retries on writes (8 of 15). No SLA found (0). The spot and swap APIs are generally available (10). 0 + 5 + 15 + 8 + 0 + 10 = 38.

### 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.
- HTX trading API (15): No machine payment protocol (0). The fee schedule at htx.com/fee is drawn by script and answered no text, so no price is recorded first-hand (0 of 20, unchecked). Public market data needs no key, card or account; trading needs a verified and funded account. Judgement call (15 of 20). A person must sign up in a browser and pass identity checks (0). 0 + 0 + 15 + 0 = 15.

### Transparency & trust: Bitfinex API +24

- Bitfinex API (49): The editorial half. A closed service whose Exchange Terms and API Terms of Service loaded only navigation, so the licence terms are unknown; the clients are MIT and Apache-2.0 (8 of 30). The privacy statement loaded only navigation, so retention and data handling are unchecked (0 of 30). The docs say v1 will be deprecated "at some point in the future" with no date, and the Python client's 4.0.0 removed endpoints with a release note (5 of 20). Subprocessors and data locations are in the unread privacy statement (0). 8 + 0 + 5 + 0 = 13.
- HTX trading API (25): The editorial half. A closed service whose user agreement exists but couldn't be read (script-drawn pages), so the licence clarity is unknown rather than unclear (10 of 30). The privacy policy was not read (0 of 30, unchecked). The testnet shutdown and the 2022 changelog entries are dated, with no deprecation policy (5 of 20). No subprocessor or data-location statement read (0 of 20). 10 + 0 + 5 + 0 = 15.

### Maintenance & community: HTX trading API +16

- 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.
- HTX trading API (57): Read as a closed service. The readable changelog ends on 24 June 2022, but the official contract SDKs were pushed on 21 October 2026 and the spot SDKs in April and July 2026, so the API surface is still being maintained; judgement call (20 of 30). SDK pushes on 30 July, 23 August and 21 October 2026 are commits, not releases (10 of 20). A Telegram group for API support and a support centre, neither tested; GitHub issues not read (8 of 15). Official SDKs in five languages (15). No CI seen, dependencies not checked (4 of 10). 20 + 10 + 8 + 15 + 4 = 57.

### Security & auth: Bitfinex API +11

- Bitfinex API (62): Revocable keys with per-scope read and write flags, a permissions endpoint, 2FA and email confirmation at creation, strictly increasing nonces, and IP binding to 20 addresses per the support article's search text (the article answered 403); no key expiry (24 of 30). `withdraw` and `ui_withdraw` are separate scopes and read-only keys are possible, but the support text says keys from email-and-password accounts start with every permission enabled and no confirmation step is documented for API withdrawals (14 of 20). The API returns exchange data, not third-party text (10). Login history and an account changelog (audit) endpoint are documented (10 of 15). No security.txt, no readable disclosure policy and no certification page readable (4 of 20). 24 + 14 + 10 + 10 + 4 = 62.
- HTX trading API (51): HMAC-signed keys with Read, Trade and Withdraw permissions, sub-user keys without Withdraw, up to 20 bound IPs, revocation in the account and a 90-day expiry without IP binding. The AccessKeyId and the HMAC signature travel as query parameters; the secret does not, so no deduction for a secret in the URL (24 of 30). Read-only keys and withdraw-free keys exist; no server-side confirmation for orders or withdrawals (14 of 20). The API returns the exchange's own data, no untrusted content (10). No per-call log or key-use history found for the operator (3 of 15). No security.txt, disclosure policy or certification found on the pages that loaded (0 of 20). 24 + 14 + 10 + 3 + 0 = 51.

### Schema & documentation: Bitfinex API +8

- 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.
- HTX trading API (40): No OpenAPI or other machine-readable contract found in the docs or the GitHub accounts (0). No llms.txt on htx.com, and the readable reference is a static page (0). Each endpoint states its purpose and parameters, without when-to-use guidance (12 of 20). Parameter tables carry types, required flags and enums for order types and states (10 of 15). Request and response examples throughout and error-code tables with messages (11 of 15). Versions v1 and v2 are mixed in one reference whose last changelog entry is 24 June 2022, while HTX's newer docs on htx.com couldn't be read (7 of 15). 0 + 0 + 12 + 10 + 11 + 7 = 40.

## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Bitfinex API | HTX trading API | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 85 | 38 | Bitfinex API +47 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 48 | 40 | Bitfinex API +8 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 61 | 69 | HTX trading API +8 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 62 | 51 | Bitfinex API +11 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 40 | 15 | Bitfinex API +25 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 41 | 57 | HTX trading API +16 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 49 | 25 | Bitfinex API +24 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **58.4 · C** | **43.3 · E** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Bitfinex API | HTX trading API |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | iFinex Inc. | HTX |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |
| Transports |  |  |
| 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 | 0 |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | no |
| Last release | 2026-07-18 | 2026-10-21 |
| Terms last updated | couldn't be read | no date given |
| Privacy policy last updated | couldn't be read | no document linked |
| Customer content may train models | couldn't be read | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access | couldn't be read | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | couldn't be read | not found in the text |
| Terms or service can change without notice | couldn't be read | yes |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | couldn't be read | yes |
| Popularity | 480 stars | 684 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.

**HTX trading API.** HTX's API has per-endpoint rate limits, read, trade and withdraw key permissions with IP binding, and SDKs in five languages. No official MCP server exists, the testnet is closed, the public reference is still Huobi's with a 2022 changelog, and the fee schedule, terms and restricted countries are on script-drawn pages we couldn't read.

## Before you call either

### Bitfinex API

1. Mint a key with read on the scopes the task needs and write only on `orders`; never grant `withdraw` to a trading key, and bind the key to known IPs
2. Use one key per client process, since each key keeps its own strictly increasing nonce and a reused nonce is rejected
3. Rehearse on a paper-trading sub-account with the TEST symbols before touching real balances; the sub-account cannot be converted later
4. Plan requests against the per-endpoint limit of 10 to 90 a minute per IP; `ERR_RATE_LIMIT` blocks the IP for 60 seconds with no Retry-After
5. Map each response by position from the docs' field tables and set a `cid` on orders, because responses are arrays and a 400 carries no reason

### HTX trading API

1. Ask the operator for a key with Read and Trade only and bound to your IP addresses; a key without IP binding expires after 90 days
2. Send a fresh client-order-id of up to 64 characters with every order and reuse it only on retry; a repeat within 8 hours answers invalid.client.order.id
3. Watch X-HB-RateLimit-Requests-Remain and pace at under 100 order calls per 2 seconds per UID; limits are shared by every key on the account
4. There is no testnet; try order logic with the smallest size the market allows
5. Confirm the person's country is served before trading; the restricted list in the user agreement couldn't be read here

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Bitfinex API or HTX trading API?

Bitfinex API scores 58.4 (C) on agent readiness against HTX trading API's 43.3 (E), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. HTX trading API leads on agent ergonomics and maintenance & community.

### Do Bitfinex API and HTX trading API need an API key?

Both need an API key.

### Can an agent call Bitfinex API and HTX trading API without installing anything?

No hosted endpoint is listed for Bitfinex API. No hosted endpoint is listed for HTX trading API.


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitfinex-vs-htx.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitfinex-vs-htx.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "bitfinex", "b": "htx"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare bitfinex htx`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/bitfinex.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/htx.json

## Other comparisons with Bitfinex API or HTX trading API

- [Bitfinex API vs Bitget](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitfinex-vs-bitget.md)
- [Bitfinex API vs Bithumb Open API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitfinex-vs-bithumb.md)
- [Bitfinex API vs Bitstamp API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitfinex-vs-bitstamp.md)
- [Bitfinex API vs Bybit](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitfinex-vs-bybit.md)
- [Bitfinex API vs Coinbase Advanced Trade API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitfinex-vs-coinbase-advanced-trade.md)
- [Bitfinex API vs Coinbase MCP server (Coinbase for Agents)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitfinex-vs-coinbase-mcp.md)
- [Bitfinex API vs Crypto.com Exchange API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitfinex-vs-crypto-com-exchange.md)
- [Bitfinex API vs Deribit](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitfinex-vs-deribit.md)
- [Bitfinex API vs dYdX](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitfinex-vs-dydx.md)
- [Bitfinex API vs Gate](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitfinex-vs-gate-io.md)
- [Bitfinex API vs Gemini Exchange API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitfinex-vs-gemini-exchange.md)
- [Bitfinex API vs Hyperliquid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitfinex-vs-hyperliquid.md)
- [Bitfinex API vs Kraken API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitfinex-vs-kraken.md)
- [Bitfinex API vs KuCoin](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitfinex-vs-kucoin.md)
- [Bitfinex API vs MEXC API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitfinex-vs-mexc.md)
- [Bitfinex API vs OKX API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitfinex-vs-okx.md)
- [Bitfinex API vs Uniswap Trading API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitfinex-vs-uniswap.md)
- [Bitfinex API vs Upbit Open API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitfinex-vs-upbit.md)
- [Bitget vs HTX trading API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitget-vs-htx.md)
- [Bithumb Open API vs HTX trading API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bithumb-vs-htx.md)
- [Bitstamp API vs HTX trading API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitstamp-vs-htx.md)
- [Bybit vs HTX trading API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bybit-vs-htx.md)
- [Crypto.com Exchange API vs HTX trading API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/crypto-com-exchange-vs-htx.md)
- [Gate vs HTX trading API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gate-io-vs-htx.md)
- [Gemini Exchange API vs HTX trading API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-exchange-vs-htx.md)
- [HTX trading API vs Hyperliquid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/htx-vs-hyperliquid.md)
- [HTX trading API vs Kraken API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/htx-vs-kraken.md)
- [HTX trading API vs KuCoin](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/htx-vs-kucoin.md)
- [HTX trading API vs MEXC API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/htx-vs-mexc.md)
- [HTX trading API vs OKX API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/htx-vs-okx.md)
- [HTX trading API vs Uniswap Trading API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/htx-vs-uniswap.md)
- [HTX trading API vs Upbit Open API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/htx-vs-upbit.md)
- [Binance API vs Bitfinex API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/binance-vs-bitfinex.md)
- [Binance API vs HTX trading API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/binance-vs-htx.md)
- [Coinbase Advanced Trade API vs HTX trading API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/coinbase-advanced-trade-vs-htx.md)
- [Coinbase MCP server (Coinbase for Agents) vs HTX trading API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/coinbase-mcp-vs-htx.md)
- [Deribit vs HTX trading API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deribit-vs-htx.md)
- [dYdX vs HTX trading API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/dydx-vs-htx.md)

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Query this catalogue directly over MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (Streamable HTTP, no key). How: https://www.anchorterminal.com/agents/#mcp