# Bitstamp API vs Deribit

> Deribit scores 59 (C) to Bitstamp's 50.4 (D) for exchange market data. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitstamp-vs-deribit
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitstamp-vs-deribit.md (~4,950 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

Deribit scores 59 (C) on agent readiness against Bitstamp API's 50.4 (D), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Bitstamp API leads on reliability and transparency & trust. Both do exchange market data.

- Bitstamp API: grade D, 50.4/100, rank #942 of 1349. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/bitstamp.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/bitstamp.json
- Deribit: grade C, 59/100, rank #646 of 1349. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/deribit.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/deribit.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

### Bitstamp API (D)

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 45
- Transparency & trust, 53 against 46

Watch for: No official MCP server, SDK, llms.txt or OpenAPI file; the registry's Bitstamp servers are third parties proxying public market data

### Deribit (C)

Good for: An agent trading crypto options, dated futures and perpetuals for an institutional or retail Deribit account, and anyone migrated from Coinbase International Exchange.

Ahead on:
- Schema & documentation, 88 against 51
- Agent ergonomics, 74 against 58
- Payments & pricing, 25 against 20
- Maintenance & community, 65 against 28

Watch for: No official MCP server, and the GitHub organisation has no public repositories, so no official SDK in any language


## Why the edge

### Schema & documentation: Deribit +37

- 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.
- Deribit (88): OpenAPI 3.0.0 for the whole JSON-RPC surface (Deribit API 2.1.1, about 1.4 million characters) plus AsyncAPI files for the WebSocket side (25). llms.txt with production and upcoming indexes, and a Markdown twin of every page (10). Each operation has a description such as "Places a buy order for an instrument." with parameter notes, and the articles say when to use WebSocket subscriptions over polling, but the reference seldom says when not to use a method (13 of 20). Parameters are typed with enums (order `type` has eight values, `time_in_force` four) and required flags, with `amount` or `contracts` as a documented either-or (13 of 15). Every reference page carries an example request and response, and the errors page lists about 159 codes with retry guidance, though most operations document only a 200 response and the smaller error tables disagree with the full one on two codes (12 of 15). A versioned path (/api/v2), a production and an upcoming docs branch, and a dated changelog of 64 entries since 21 January 2020 (15). Total 88.

### Maintenance & community: Deribit +37

- 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.
- Deribit (65): Read as a closed service. The JSON-RPC changelog's latest production entry is 13 October 2026 and an entry dated 5 November 2026 describes the next release; Deribit's posts of 14 October and 2 November 2026 change fees (30). Entries of 18 August, 15 September and 13 October 2026, three in 90 days (20). A public changelog and a support site; whether support answers wasn't tested and the support site refused our reader (10 of 15). No official SDK and no MCP registry entry (0). The OpenAPI and AsyncAPI files are maintained with the docs (5 of 10). Total 65.

### Reliability: Bitstamp API +18

- 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.
- Deribit (45): Read with the hosted lines on the JSON-RPC API. status.deribit.com did not resolve for our reader on 3 November 2026 and Coinbase's status page showed no Deribit component, so no status page is scored, with the unchecked line below (0). No readable history (5). Rate limits are documented with numbers, 50,000 credits per sub-account refilled at 10,000 a second, and matching-engine tiers of 5 to 30 requests a second by 7-day volume (15). Error 10028 ends the session and the errors page says to back off exponentially; 10040 means retry; the 6 May 2026 release added a `nonce` for idempotent orders (15). No SLA found (0). The API is generally available; only Starbase is limited to selected clients (10). 0 + 5 + 15 + 15 + 0 + 10 = 45.

### Agent ergonomics: Deribit +16

- Bitstamp API (58): Graded on the REST API. Order book grouping and transaction time windows size responses, but there is no field selection and no MCP surface (15 of 25). Offset, limit, since and sort on transaction history, `until_id` windows on order-data replay (14 of 20). `response_code` and `response_explanation` name the failure, such as 400.009 insufficient balance, 403.004 trading blocked and 500.025 insufficient liquidity (16 of 20). No idempotency, since `client_order_id` duplicates are allowed since November 2023 and the docs say only to check the order id after a timeout; the kill switch limits damage (8 of 20). Few required parameters, but no official SDK in any language (5 of 15). 15 + 14 + 16 + 8 + 5 = 58.
- Deribit (74): An API, read for response sizing. `public/get_order_book` takes `depth`, `get_instruments` filters by currency and kind, and history methods take `count` and `offset`, though `get_instruments` returns every instrument for a currency and costs 10,000 credits (18 of 25). Count and offset pagination, time ranges on trade and transaction logs, and WebSocket channels with interval and depth options (16 of 20). Numeric error codes with short names, a `wait` value on some errors, and sample code that branches on them (18 of 20). A `nonce` on orders since May 2026 returns the existing order on retry, a `label` lets an agent find its own orders, and 10040 marks the calls safe to retry; no MCP annotations apply (16 of 20). Few required parameters and sensible defaults (limit and good_til_cancelled), but no official SDK in any language, so every caller signs and frames JSON-RPC itself (6 of 15). Total 74.

### Transparency & trust: Bitstamp API +7

- 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.
- Deribit (46): The editorial half. A closed service whose terms (Deribit FZE membership terms and DRB Panama Inc. terms) sit on a support site that answered 403, with the entity confirmed on VARA's register (12 of 30). The privacy policy was not read, and nothing in the docs states retention (0 of 30). The changelog marks deprecations and the upcoming docs branch previews the next release, but removals such as `public/get_index` on 25 November 2025 carry no notice period (10 of 20). No subprocessor or data-location statement found (0 of 20). Total 22.

### Payments & pricing: Deribit +5

- 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.
- Deribit (25): No machine payment protocol (0). The fee schedule is on support.deribit.com, which answered 403; Deribit's own posts give VIP4 to VIP7 taker fees and the 0 bps linear options maker fee, so partial prices are public but the lowest tier is unchecked (5 of 20). Public market data needs no key and the test environment is free, with no card anywhere (20). A person signs up in a browser with identity checks before any key exists (0). Total 25.

## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Bitstamp API | Deribit | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 63 | 45 | Bitstamp API +18 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 51 | 88 | Deribit +37 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 58 | 74 | Deribit +16 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 60 | 62 | Deribit +2 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 20 | 25 | Deribit +5 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 28 | 65 | Deribit +37 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 53 | 46 | Bitstamp API +7 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **50.4 · D** | **59 · C** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Bitstamp API | Deribit |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Bitstamp Ltd. | Deribit FZE |
| 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 Bitstamp's terms of use, which our reader couldn't load | Proprietary hosted exchange. The API is documented under the Deribit docs with an OpenAPI 3.0 file; no official client library is published |
| Tools exposed | none | 0 |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | no | yes |
| Last release | 2026-08-28 | 2026-10-13 |
| Terms last updated | couldn't be read | 2026-08-13 |
| 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 | yes |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | couldn't be read | not found in the text |
| Terms or service can change without notice | couldn't be read | not found in the text |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | couldn't be read | not found in the text |

## Verdicts

**Bitstamp API.** Bitstamp documents its v2 API on one static page with numeric rate limits, per-endpoint key permissions, an IP allow-list, a kill switch and a sandbox. There is no official MCP server, duplicate client order ids are allowed, and the fee schedule, terms, privacy policy and country list render by script and could not be read.

**Deribit.** Deribit's JSON-RPC API has scoped keys with IP and expiry limits, asymmetric signing, an OpenAPI file, numeric rate limits and a 64-entry changelog. There is no official MCP server or client library, the fee schedule, terms and privacy policy sit on a support site that refused our reader, and the status page did not resolve.

## Before you call either

### Bitstamp API

1. Mint a key with only the endpoint permissions the task needs and an IP allow-list; keep `revoke_all_api_keys` in reach as a kill switch
2. Treat `client_order_id` as a label, not a guard. On a timeout (500.016) fetch the order by client id before resending, because duplicates are accepted
3. Use a fresh 36-character nonce and a timestamp within 150 seconds of server time on every request, or expect API0004 and API0017
4. Stay under 400 requests a second and 10,000 per 10 minutes; 400.002 and 400.067 mean back off, and open-orders answers are cached for 10 seconds
5. Start on sandbox.bitstamp.net with the same paths, and read the fee schedule in a browser before quoting costs, since it is unreadable to a plain fetch

### Deribit

1. Create the key with `trade:read_write` and `wallet:none`, an `ip:` limit and an `expires` value; keep `account:read` unless the task edits subaccounts
2. Authenticate with `client_signature` or an Ed25519 key over WebSocket rather than `client_credentials` over HTTP, which puts the secret in the URL
3. Watch the `limits` field of `private/get_account_summary` and back off on error 10028; a session that runs out of credits is closed and must reconnect
4. Send a `nonce` with orders so a retry after a timeout does not place a second order, and treat `order_not_found` on cancel as a possible fill
5. Develop against https://test.deribit.com/api/v2 first; production and test need separate accounts and keys

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Bitstamp API or Deribit?

Deribit scores 59 (C) on agent readiness against Bitstamp API's 50.4 (D), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Bitstamp API leads on reliability and transparency & trust.

### Do Bitstamp API and Deribit need an API key?

Both need an API key.

### Can an agent call Bitstamp API and Deribit without installing anything?

No hosted endpoint is listed for Bitstamp API. No hosted endpoint is listed for Deribit.


## For agents

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

## Other comparisons with Bitstamp API or Deribit

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- [Deribit vs Hyperliquid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deribit-vs-hyperliquid.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