# Bitstamp API vs Coinbase MCP server (Coinbase for Agents) (slim)

> Coinbase scores 59.6 (C) to Bitstamp's 50.4 (D) for exchange market data. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitstamp-vs-coinbase-mcp.md (~6,050 tokens) · this version ~3,430 tokens · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitstamp-vs-coinbase-mcp.json · canonical https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitstamp-vs-coinbase-mcp
- Index: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt · API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json · MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp · Updated: 2026-11-04
- Licence: CC BY 4.0, credit Anchor Terminal and link this page (https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data)

Coinbase MCP server (Coinbase for Agents) scores 59.6 (C) on agent readiness against Bitstamp API's 50.4 (D), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Bitstamp API leads on reliability. Both do exchange market data.

- Bitstamp API: D 50.4, rank #948 of 1349 · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/bitstamp.min.md
- Coinbase MCP server (Coinbase for Agents): C 59.6, rank #618 of 1349 · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/coinbase-mcp.min.md
- Bitstamp API, good for An agent that needs a long-running regulated spot venue in the EU, UK and US with a sandbox and per-endpoint key permissions, and can do its own signing. Ahead on Reliability, 63 against 55.
- Coinbase MCP server (Coinbase for Agents), good for An agent acting in a person's own Coinbase account, trading spot crypto, US futures and eligible US stocks and paying for market research by x402. Ahead on Schema & documentation, 65 against 51; Agent ergonomics, 66 against 58; Security & auth, 70 against 60; Payments & pricing, 40 against 20; Maintenance & community, 53 against 28; Transparency & trust, 62 against 53. Also A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install; Runs on your own machine.

| Category | Bitstamp API | Coinbase MCP server (Coinbase for Agents) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability (16%) | 63 | 55 |
| Performance (10%) | pending | pending |
| Schema & documentation (13%) | 51 | 65 |
| Agent ergonomics (13%) | 58 | 66 |
| Security & auth (14%) | 60 | 70 |
| Payments & pricing (10%) | 20 | 40 |
| Task success (10%) | pending | pending |
| Maintenance & community (7%) | 28 | 53 |
| Transparency & trust (7%) | 53 | 62 |

| Fact (where they differ) | Bitstamp API | Coinbase MCP server (Coinbase for Agents) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | MCP server |
| Vendor | Bitstamp Ltd. | Coinbase, Inc. |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | `https://agents.coinbase.com/mcp` |
| Transports |  | Streamable HTTP, stdio |
| Auth | API key | OAuth |
| Pricing | Pay per use | Free |
| x402 | no | payer tooling only |
| Licence | Proprietary hosted API under Bitstamp's terms of use, which our reader couldn't load | Proprietary hosted service under Coinbase's account terms, which we couldn't read. The companion CLI, @coinbase/coinbase-cli, is MIT-licensed on npm with no public repository |
| Tools exposed | none | 29 |
| llms.txt | no | yes |
| Last release | 2026-08-28 | 2026-09-30 |
| Privacy policy last updated | couldn't be read | 2026-05-27 |
| Popularity | none | 509 npm/wk |
| Agent reviews | none | 2.5/5 (4) |

Why the edge:
- Maintenance & community, Coinbase MCP server (Coinbase for Agents) +25: Bitstamp API 28 (Read as a closed service. The last dated API change is 28 August 2026, 67 days before the check (20). Only one dated entry in the last 90 days, after 1 July and 12 June (0). No public repository or issue tracker, support pages did not load and support.bitstamp.net did not resolve; a changelog exists (8 of 25). No official SDKs and no MCP registry presence of Bitstamp's own (0). No package to assess (0). 20 + 0 + 8 + 0 + 0 = 28.); Coinbase MCP server (Coinbase for Agents) 53 (Read as a closed hosted service. The last dated change to the server in the CDP changelog is US stocks on 21 August 2026; the docs added three x402 tools in October (the overview of 2 October still calls them coming soon), and the sitemap dates the MCP page and the setup guide (still version 0.2.3) to 2 November 2026, with no changelog entry. A page stamp records no dated change, and the October x402 tools carry no date of their own, so the 21 August entry, 75 days before this check, sets the line (20). Changelog entries for futures (17 August) and stocks (21 August) both name the MCP server, and the CLI built from the same agent spec shipped six versions from 14 August to 30 September (20). A public changelog, a CDP Discord for integration help and a one-way feedback tool limited to six notes a day, none tested (10 of 25). Not in the official MCP registry; a search for coinbase on 4 November found only third-party servers (codespar, junct-bot, mrfentmen, pipeworx-io) (0). The CLI has no runtime dependencies but runs a postinstall script and has no public repository or CI (3 of 10). 20+20+10+0+3 = 53.)
- Payments & pricing, Coinbase MCP server (Coinbase for Agents) +20: Bitstamp API 20 (No machine payment protocol (0). The fee schedule page loaded empty, the API's fee endpoints need a key, and no rate could be read, so fees are scored as not published (0, unchecked). The API is free, public endpoints need no key and the sandbox needs no money (20). A person must sign up in a browser with identity checks and mint the key (0). 0 + 0 + 20 + 0 = 20.); Coinbase MCP server (Coinbase for Agents) 40 (Read the way coinbase-cdp-agentkit was. The server pays x402 as a buyer from the account's USDC balance and its own endpoint isn't paid per call, so the paying-as-a-buyer step (15 of 40). No price for the server itself; trades carry Advanced Trade fees, whose schedule on coinbase.com we couldn't read past a bot check, and x402 prices are advisory and shown only after sign-in (10 of 20). Connecting and reading prices and portfolios cost nothing and need no card, but anything beyond reads needs a verified and funded Coinbase account. Judgement call (15 of 20). A person must sign in to Coinbase in a browser and approve the grant, and only allowlisted clients can register (0).)
- Schema & documentation, Coinbase MCP server (Coinbase for Agents) +14: Bitstamp API 51 (No OpenAPI or other machine-readable contract was found on the API page or elsewhere (0). No llms.txt or Markdown docs (0). The single documentation page describes each endpoint's purpose and parameters, with notes such as the 10-second cache on open orders and the Travel Rule fields, but not when to use one endpoint over another (14 of 20). Parameters are typed with enumerations (margin mode CROSS or ISOLATED, margin multiplier 1 to 25, order types) and required fields marked (11 of 15). Signing examples in Python, Java and C++, and error families with numbered codes and explanations (13 of 15). Version v2 in the path and header, a dated changelog from 7 April 2023 to 28 August 2026, and a 410.001 code for deprecated endpoints, with no stated notice period (13 of 15). 0 + 0 + 14 + 11 + 13 + 13 = 51.); Coinbase MCP server (Coinbase for Agents) 65 (No public tool manifest. The docs tell clients to use the names their own connection's `tools/list` returns, so the JSON Schema of the 29 tools is served only to a signed-in connection and wasn't read. The docs say the tool schemas carry field descriptions and enums, and the companion CLI's bundled command spec types every parameter. Judgement call (10 of 25). llms.txt, a Markdown twin of every docs page and a self-contained setup guide written for agents (10). The docs give one line per tool, and the guide has a routing matrix saying which tools to use or avoid for spot, equities and futures, but the tool descriptions as served weren't read (12 of 20). Enums and constraints are described for sessions, order types and sizes, not verified on the server (8 of 15). Order and x402 examples, and two error tables with cause and fix for 401, 403 `Missing required scopes`, `PERMISSION_DENIED`, `MISSING_FIELDS`, `INVALID_VALUE`, `INVALID_FORMAT` and x402 failures (13 of 15). Dated Coinbase for Agents entries in the CDP changelog and a versioned guide (0.2.3), but no server version is published and the October changes have no changelog entry (12 of 15).)
- Security & auth, Coinbase MCP server (Coinbase for Agents) +10: Bitstamp API 60 (Revocable HMAC-SHA256 keys with per-endpoint permissions, an IP allow-list, single-use nonces, a timestamp window, sub-account scoping and a one-call kill switch for every key; no key expiry found (24 of 30). Permissions are chosen per endpoint and withdrawals can need Travel Rule address verification, but whether a withdrawal address allow-list exists sits in the unread account settings and no confirmation step is documented for API withdrawals (14 of 20). The API returns exchange data, not third-party text (10). No per-key audit log found; the account's transaction history is the record (4 of 15). security.txt names HackerOne's Robinhood programme but expired on 12 July 2026; no certification page was readable (8 of 20). 24 + 14 + 10 + 4 + 8 = 60.); Coinbase MCP server (Coinbase for Agents) 70 (Coinbase OAuth with authorisation code and PKCE S256, `resource` on every request, DCR and CIMD limited to allowlisted clients, ten `mcp:*` scopes, a consent screen where the person picks portfolios, and revocation under Account > Security > Connections (30). A read-only grant and a funded separate portfolio limit what an agent can touch, and transfers move funds only between the person's portfolios. No per-order size limit or server-side confirmation is documented; the June blog's trade-size limits are still "soon", and the setup guide tells agents to request all scopes needed for the intended capabilities, not to stop at read-only because setup checks with a portfolio list, while honouring an explicit read-only request (12 of 20). x402 fetch returns third-party data from a curated catalogue only, and the 13 October changelog removes Bazaar resources whose metadata carries prompt-injection risk; no guidance on treating returned data as untrusted was found beyond citing only values the source returns (8 of 15). Orders, transfers and payments appear in the Coinbase account and connections are listed in account settings, but no per-call log for MCP was found (8 of 15). HackerOne bug bounty named in coinbase.com's security.txt, which expired on 1 June 2024; no security.txt on agents.coinbase.com; certifications not read because coinbase.com answered a bot check (12 of 20).)
- Transparency & trust, Coinbase MCP server (Coinbase for Agents) +9: Bitstamp API 53 (The editorial half. A closed service whose terms of use loaded empty for our reader, so the licence and clauses are unknown (8 of 30). The privacy policy loaded empty, so retention and data handling are unchecked (0 of 30). A 410.001 code marks deprecated endpoints and the changelog records replacements such as `trading-pairs-info` by `markets`, with no notice period stated (8 of 20). Subprocessors and data locations are in the unread privacy policy (0). 8 + 0 + 8 + 0 = 16.); Coinbase MCP server (Coinbase for Agents) 62 (The editorial half. A closed hosted service. The docs carry a disclaimer that the person is responsible for every trade an agent makes, but name no terms for agent access, and the Coinbase User Agreement answered a bot check and wasn't read. The CLI is MIT on npm (10 of 30). Per the coinbase-cdp-agentkit check of 1 October 2026, the privacy policy (updated 27 May 2026) names Coinbase, Inc., lists processing countries and ties retention to need without numbers; nothing specific to MCP calls or the feedback tool's screening was found (12 of 30). No deprecation policy or notice period for the server or its tools (0). Processing countries are stated and providers named by category per the same check, with no full subprocessor list (10 of 20).)
- Reliability, Bitstamp API +8: Bitstamp API 63 (Read with the hosted lines on the HTTP API v2 at www.bitstamp.net/api/v2/. status.bitstamp.net is a Statuspage site with component history (20). Its feed for 5 August to 3 November 2026 has 17 entries, among them withdrawals failing on 14 networks for about 3 hours on 21 August, database maintenance with login failures and intermittent trading interruptions for about 1 hour 44 minutes on 23 September, a 39-minute halt of all markets on 5 August, and delistings and single-asset suspensions. One major (10). Rate limits with numbers, 400 a second and 10,000 per 10 minutes (15). Limit errors are named (400.002, 400.067, 400.068) but there is no Retry-After or backoff guidance, duplicate client order ids are allowed, and the only retry guidance is to check the order after a 500.016 timeout (8 of 15). No SLA found (0). Generally available (10). 20 + 10 + 15 + 8 + 0 + 10 = 63.); Coinbase MCP server (Coinbase for Agents) 55 (Graded with the hosted lines, on the remote server at agents.coinbase.com. status.coinbase.com is a Statuspage site with Advanced Trade, API, US Derivatives and Developer Platform components and 90 days of history, but no component for the agents MCP server, so it shows the trading back end and not the server agents call. Judgement call (10 of 20). Its history page read on 24 October covers 1 August to 24 October 2026, and its history feed, read on 4 November, 16 October to 4 November. Together they cover the window from 6 August. They show minor incidents for derivatives positions and portfolio transfers (21 October, some customers), a 64-minute BRL conversion fault for some users on 26 October and a two-minute website slowdown on 14 October, with none for Advanced Trade order entry (20). The setup guide says it specifies no numeric request quota for the remote server and that Advanced Trade limits are not the MCP limit (0). It says to honour Retry-After on 429 or back off with jitter, orders take a `client_order_id` that returns the existing order on retry, and x402 payments take an `idempotency_key` (15). No SLA found (0). Nothing labels the remote server beta or preview (10). 10+20+0+15+0+10 = 55.)