Head to head · Exchange market data · October 2026 research run

Bithumb Open API vs MEXC API

MEXC API scores 56.3 (C) on agent readiness against Bithumb Open API's 50.6 (D), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Both do exchange market data.

Best crypto exchange APIs and MCP servers for AI agents · All 210 exchanges comparisons

Which one, for what

Bithumb Open API D

Best for KRW-market trading for agents acting for a verified Korean account, with a vendor-built MCP server, CLI and skills.

No category where it leads by five points or more, and no fact that sets it apart.

Watch for

No sandbox or testnet; every order uses real funds

MEXC API C

Best for Spot and futures for agents in served countries that want a vendor-built MCP server with read-only and confirmation modes.

Ahead on

  • Reliability, 43 against 34
  • Security & auth, 65 against 60
  • Payments & pricing, 31 against 15
  • Maintenance & community, 75 against 69
  • Transparency & trust, 58 against 47

Watch for

No sandbox or testnet; only an order-validation endpoint

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.

Payments & pricing MEXC API +16

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.

MEXC API 31

No machine payment protocol (0). Fees published without login on MEXC's own fee guide (20 October 2026) and a 2024 announcement, with a separate API futures schedule; the fee page itself is drawn by script (16 of 20). Public market data needs no key or card; trading needs a verified and funded account. Judgement call (15 of 20). A person must sign up in a browser, and futures need identity verification (0). 0 + 16 + 15 + 0 = 31.

Transparency & trust MEXC API +11

Bithumb Open API 47

The editorial half. A closed service whose terms couldn't be read (timeouts and a title-only page); the kit is MIT with a disclaimer naming Bithumb Co., Ltd. (10 of 30). No privacy policy read (0 of 30, unchecked). Dated retirement of WebSocket Private v1 and effective dates on breaking notices (14 of 20). No subprocessor or data-location statement read (0 of 20). 10 + 0 + 14 + 0 = 24.

MEXC API 58

The editorial half. A closed service with a dated user agreement naming MEXC (Comoros) Ltd; the CLI is UNLICENSED on npm (15 of 30). The privacy policy names no entity, states no retention periods and relies on standard contractual clauses for transfers (10 of 30). The changelog flags endpoints as "will be discontinued soon" without dates and the futures log records removals (8 of 20). Third parties are named by category only, with no subprocessor list or data locations (5 of 20). 15 + 10 + 8 + 5 = 38.

Reliability MEXC API +9

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.

MEXC API 43

Read with the hosted lines. No status page found; status.mexc.com does not resolve and llms.txt points to a maintenance-updates feed (0). No readable incident history (5). Rate limits documented with numbers, 300 weight per 10 seconds per IP, 500 per UID, 12 order requests a second per UID, 100 WebSocket messages a second (15). 429 and 418 carry Retry-After with ban lengths stated, a 5xx is to be treated as unknown rather than failed, an order-test endpoint exists, and newClientOrderId is optional with no idempotency promise (13 of 15). No SLA found (0). Spot and futures are generally available, futures order placement having reopened on 31 March 2026 after being closed since July 2022 (10). 0 + 5 + 15 + 13 + 0 + 10 = 43.

Maintenance & community MEXC API +6

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.

MEXC API 75

Read as a closed service. Last dated change 23 October 2026 in both the spot and futures logs (30). Spot entries on 14 August, 24 August, 11 September and 23 October 2026, futures on 1 September, 11 September, 19 October and 23 October (20). An API support Telegram group, a ticket form and dated changelogs; GitHub issues not read (10 of 15). The official SDK repository was last pushed in February 2024 while the CLI is current (10 of 15). The CLI ships platform binaries with no dependencies and no public repository or CI; the SDK is stale (5 of 10). 30 + 20 + 10 + 10 + 5 = 75.

Security & auth MEXC API +5

Bithumb Open API 60

Keys scoped to chosen permissions, mandatory registered IPs, one-year expiry, a JWT per request and a key-list endpoint with expiry (26 of 30). Read-only keys, --read-only on the MCP server, per-profile read_only on the CLI, a second factor on KRW deposits and withdrawals, and skills that refuse to switch profiles to bypass read-only; nothing server-side confirms an order (16 of 20). The API returns exchange data and the disclaimer warns about prompt injection through third-party plugins (11 of 15). A local audit log for CLI and MCP calls and a key-list endpoint; no server-side per-call log (7 of 15). security.txt timed out and no disclosure policy, bug bounty or certification was found (0 of 20, security.txt unchecked). 26 + 16 + 11 + 7 + 0 = 60.

MEXC API 65

Granular permissions (account read, trade, withdraw, transfer), per-pair restriction, up to 10 linked IPs, 90-day expiry without an IP, renewal and revocation in the account, 30 keys per account (26 of 30). A read-only MCP mode that hides write tools, a confirmation step before orders and transfers in the CLI and MCP, and --yes that agents are told not to add; nothing server-side confirms an API order (17 of 20). The API returns exchange data, and the CLI security page warns that agents may be led by web pages or files into unwanted actions (12 of 15). CLI confirmations are logged and reported to MEXC with no operator access described; an apiKeyInfo endpoint shows key settings (6 of 15). No security.txt, disclosure policy or bug bounty found; a proof-of-reserves page exists (4 of 20). 26 + 17 + 12 + 6 + 4 = 65.

Score by category

CategoryWeight this runBithumb Open APIMEXC APIEdge
Reliability16%203443MEXC API +9
Performance10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Schema & documentation13%16.26464even
Agent ergonomics13%16.26764Bithumb Open API +3
Security & auth14%17.56065MEXC API +5
Payments & pricing10%12.51531MEXC API +16
Task success10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Maintenance & community7%8.86975MEXC API +6
Transparency & trust7%8.84758MEXC API +11
Negative events≤1500
TotalD 50.6/100C 56.3/100

Facts side by side

FactBithumb Open APIMEXC API
KindHTTP APIHTTP API
VendorBithumb Co., Ltd.MEXC (Comoros) Ltd
Hosted endpointno (local only)no (local only)
Transportsstdiostdio
AuthAPI keyAPI key
PricingPay per usePay per use
x402nono
Tools exposed41299
Read-only variant documentedyesyes
llms.txtyesyes
Last release2026-10-132026-10-23
Terms last updatedcouldn't be read2026-10-13
Privacy policy last updatedno document linked2026-06-01
Customer content may train modelscouldn't be readnot found in the text
Terms restrict automated accesscouldn't be readyes
Terms restrict benchmarkingcouldn't be readnot found in the text
Terms or service can change without noticecouldn't be readyes
Arbitration or class-action waivercouldn't be readyes
Popularity6 stars315 stars

Verdicts

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.

MEXC API

MEXC publishes granular key permissions, per-pair key limits, weighted rate limits with Retry-After and a dated changelog, and its official CLI runs a read-only-capable MCP server with confirmation before any fund movement. There is no sandbox or status page, API futures orders pay a higher fee schedule, and the user agreement excludes the US, UK, EU members and others.

Before you call either

Bithumb Open API

  1. 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
  2. Start the server with --modules market,account,trade --read-only for analysis and drop --read-only only when the person asks to trade; deposit and withdraw modules stay off
  3. Prefer the bithumb CLI for writes, as the skills do, and check bithumb config show --json for a read-only profile before any order
  4. 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
  5. 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

MEXC API

  1. Use a key limited to SPOT_ACCOUNT_READ and SPOT_DEAL_WRITE, the pairs you trade and your IP addresses; keys without a linked IP expire after 90 days
  2. Start the MCP server as mexc mcp spot --read-only unless the task trades, and never pass --yes; orders and transfers wait for the person's confirmation
  3. Call POST /api/v3/order/test before a live order, since there is no sandbox
  4. On 429 or 418 wait for Retry-After; order placement and cancellation share 12 requests a second per UID, and repeated breaches ban the IP for up to 3 days
  5. Treat a 5xx on an order as unknown, not failed, and query the order before retrying; set newClientOrderId so the order can be found

Questions

Which is better for AI agents, Bithumb Open API or MEXC API?

MEXC API scores 56.3 (C) on agent readiness against Bithumb Open API's 50.6 (D), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories.

Do Bithumb Open API and MEXC API need an API key?

Both need an API key.

Can an agent call Bithumb Open API and MEXC API without installing anything?

Bithumb Open API runs on your own machine, with no hosted endpoint listed. MEXC API runs on your own machine, with no hosted endpoint listed.

Other comparisons with Bithumb Open API or MEXC API

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