# Bithumb Open API vs MEXC API

> MEXC scores 56.3 (C) to Bithumb Open's 50.6 (D) for exchange market data. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bithumb-vs-mexc
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bithumb-vs-mexc.md (~4,300 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

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.

- Bithumb Open API: grade D, 50.6/100, rank #934 of 1349. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/bithumb.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/bithumb.json
- MEXC API: grade C, 56.3/100, rank #744 of 1349. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/mexc.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/mexc.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

### Bithumb Open API (D)

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

Watch for: No sandbox or testnet; every order uses real funds

### MEXC API (C)

Good 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

### 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

| Category | Weight | Bithumb Open API | MEXC API | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 34 | 43 | MEXC API +9 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 64 | 64 | even |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 67 | 64 | Bithumb Open API +3 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 60 | 65 | MEXC API +5 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 15 | 31 | MEXC API +16 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 69 | 75 | MEXC API +6 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 47 | 58 | MEXC API +11 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **50.6 · D** | **56.3 · C** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Bithumb Open API | MEXC API |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Bithumb Co., Ltd. | MEXC (Comoros) Ltd |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |
| Transports | stdio | stdio |
| Auth | API key | API key |
| Pricing | Pay per use | Pay per use |
| x402 | no | no |
| Tools exposed | 41 | 299 |
| Read-only variant documented | yes | yes |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| Last release | 2026-10-13 | 2026-10-23 |
| Terms last updated | couldn't be read | 2026-10-13 |
| Privacy policy last updated | no document linked | 2026-06-01 |
| Customer content may train models | couldn't be read | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access | couldn't be read | yes |
| 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 | 6 stars | 315 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.


## For agents

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

## Other comparisons with Bithumb Open API or MEXC API

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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