# Bithumb Open API vs OKX API

> OKX scores 64.3 (B) 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-okx
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bithumb-vs-okx.md (~4,900 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

OKX API scores 64.3 (B) on agent readiness against Bithumb Open API's 50.6 (D), and leads in every scored category. 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
- OKX API: grade B, 64.3/100, rank #432 of 1349. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/okx.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/okx.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

### OKX API (B)

Good for: An agent trading spot, perpetuals, futures or options on a person's OKX account from a local machine, with demo trading to test first and grid or DCA bots through the kit.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 65 against 34
- Schema & documentation, 73 against 64
- Agent ergonomics, 77 against 67
- Security & auth, 68 against 60
- Payments & pricing, 20 against 15
- Maintenance & community, 81 against 69
- Transparency & trust, 62 against 47

Also in its favour:
- Free to start without a card

Watch for: The fee table loads by script and the fee FAQ defers to the logged-in view, so maker and taker rates were not read


## Why the edge

### Reliability: OKX API +31

- 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.
- OKX API (65): Read with the hosted lines on the V5 REST API. okx.com/status is OKX's own page with issue descriptions, maintenance notices and deposit and withdrawal status, but no component history or feed (10 of 20). It lists no incident between 5 August and 3 November 2026; its newest entry is from March 2024, and whether every incident reaches the page cannot be told, so read as clean with a doubt (20 of 30). Rate limits per endpoint, per User ID and per sub-account with numbers, and WebSocket limits (15). Error 50011 on a limit, a clOrdId on orders and a cap of 3 amendments in flight, but no Retry-After or backoff guidance found (10 of 15). No SLA (0). Generally available (10). 10 + 20 + 15 + 10 + 0 + 10 = 65.

### Transparency & trust: OKX API +15

- 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.
- OKX API (62): The editorial half. A closed service with terms that name the contracting entities by region and an API Agreement for agents; the kit is MIT (17 of 30). The privacy policy was not read (5 of 30). The changelog dates sunsets and labels breaking changes, such as port 8443 on 31 October and 16 November 2026 (16 of 20). No subprocessor or data-location statement read; the MCP server is local and its npm package runs a postinstall script whose purpose we did not trace (0 of 20). 17 + 5 + 16 + 0 = 38.

### Maintenance & community: OKX API +12

- 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.
- OKX API (81): Read as a closed service with an open-source kit. Changelog entry of 27 October 2026 and kit v1.5.0 on 28 October (30). Changelog entries on 3, 6, 11, 18, 20 and 26 August, 15, 29 and 30 September and 27 October, and kit releases on 20 and 21 August, 1, 7, 14 and 23 September, 19 and 28 October (20). A public changelog, a Telegram community for the kit and GitHub issues whose replies were not read (10 of 15). python-okx is named as the official SDK and the kit is current; the MCP server is not in the official registry (12 of 15). The kit runs CI on push and pull request across Node 18, 20 and 26 with unit tests and coverage (9 of 10). 30 + 20 + 10 + 12 + 9 = 81.

### Agent ergonomics: OKX API +10

- 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.
- OKX API (77): limit parameters on books, candles and history, and in the kit --modules and --read-only narrow 170 tools to the three default modules; no field selection (17 of 25). after, before and limit cursors on history endpoints (18 of 20). Numeric codes with messages, such as 51020 for an invalid quantity, and the kit returns a structured error block with code, message and endpoint (17 of 20). clOrdId on orders, batch endpoints and a cap of 3 amendments in flight; the kit sets readOnlyHint on query tools but destructiveHint false on order tools and has no idempotency key (13 of 20). python-okx, the CLI and a demo profile, with passphrase and HMAC signing on every private call (12 of 15). 17 + 18 + 17 + 13 + 12 = 77.

### Schema & documentation: OKX API +9

- 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.
- OKX API (73): No OpenAPI file was found in the V5 docs; the kit's tool definitions are typed TypeScript with annotations, and the organisation has an undescribed ai-builder-openapi-md repository we did not read (12 of 25). okx.com/llms.txt exists and links the API and Agent Trade Kit pages, though the V5 docs have no Markdown twins (5 of 10). Each endpoint states its rate limit, rule, parameters and notes (15 of 20). Enums for ordType, tdMode and instType with required flags (12 of 15). Request and response examples per endpoint and an error code list with messages (14 of 15). A dated changelog with an upcoming-changes section that labels breaking changes and dates sunsets (15). 12 + 5 + 15 + 12 + 14 + 15 = 73.

### Security & auth: OKX API +8

- 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.
- OKX API (68): Key, secret and passphrase with Read, Trade and Withdraw permissions, up to 20 bound IPs, revocation in the account, and unbound Trade or Withdraw keys that expire after 14 idle days; no OAuth (28 of 30). Read-only keys, sub-account keys, demo trading, the kit's --read-only flag and its startup check that hides order tools when the key cannot trade, and an API Agreement requiring minimum scope; no confirmation step in the kit (18 of 20). The news and smartmoney modules return third-party text and the docs read give no guidance on treating it as untrusted (5 of 15). An account audit log tool in the kit and usage records for unbound keys in the Security Center, no per-call log (9 of 15). No security.txt; SECURITY.md with security@okx.com and GitHub private advisories; certifications and a bounty not read (8 of 20). 28 + 18 + 5 + 9 + 8 = 68.

## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Bithumb Open API | OKX API | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 34 | 65 | OKX API +31 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 64 | 73 | OKX API +9 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 67 | 77 | OKX API +10 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 60 | 68 | OKX API +8 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 15 | 20 | OKX API +5 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 69 | 81 | OKX API +12 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 47 | 62 | OKX API +15 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **50.6 · D** | **64.3 · B** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Bithumb Open API | OKX API |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Bithumb Co., Ltd. | OKX |
| 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 |
| Licence | none | Proprietary hosted service under OKX's Terms of Service (29 October 2026) and API Agreement (28 July 2026). The Agent Trade Kit (MCP server, CLI and skills) is MIT |
| Tools exposed | 41 | 170 |
| Read-only variant documented | yes | yes |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| Last release | 2026-10-13 | 2026-10-28 |
| Terms last updated | couldn't be read | 2026-10-29 |
| Privacy policy last updated | no document linked | couldn't be read |
| 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 | 6 stars | 499 stars, 1.8k npm/wk |

## 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.

**OKX API.** OKX publishes per-endpoint rate limits, Read, Trade and Withdraw key permissions with IP binding, demo trading on the production host, and an MIT MCP server with 170 tools, a read-only flag and a permission check at startup. The fee table and privacy policy were not read, no OpenAPI file was found, and the news tools return third-party text.

## 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

### OKX API

1. Start okx-trade-mcp with --profile demo first, then --read-only on a live key; load only the modules the task needs
2. Use a sub-account key with Read and Trade only, bound to the agent's IP; an unbound Trade key expires after 14 idle days
3. Stay under 60 place-order requests per 2 seconds per instrument and at most 3 amendments in flight per order; 50011 means the limit was hit
4. Send a clOrdId on every order and use the structured error block (code, message, endpoint) to diagnose with read-only tools before retrying
5. Call us.okx.com or eea.okx.com for US, Australian and EEA accounts; openapi.okx.com does not serve those regions

## Questions

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

OKX API scores 64.3 (B) on agent readiness against Bithumb Open API's 50.6 (D), and leads in every scored category.

### Do Bithumb Open API and OKX API need an API key?

Both need an API key.

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

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


## For agents

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

## Other comparisons with Bithumb Open API or OKX API

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