Head to head · Exchange market data · October 2026 research run
Bitstamp API vs HTX trading API
Bitstamp API scores 50.4 (D) on agent readiness against HTX trading API's 43.3 (E), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. HTX trading API leads on agent ergonomics and maintenance & community. Both do exchange market data.
Best crypto exchange APIs and MCP servers for AI agents · All 210 exchanges comparisons
Which one, for what
Best 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 38
- Schema & documentation, 51 against 40
- Security & auth, 60 against 51
- Payments & pricing, 20 against 15
- Transparency & trust, 53 against 25
Watch for
No official MCP server, SDK, llms.txt or OpenAPI file; the registry's Bitstamp servers are third parties proxying public market data
Best for Spot and USDT-margined derivatives for agents that can hold an HTX key, with no MCP server and no testnet.
Ahead on
- Agent ergonomics, 69 against 58
- Maintenance & community, 57 against 28
Watch for
No official MCP server; the only one in the MCP registry is a third party's read-only ticker server
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.
Maintenance & community HTX trading API +29
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.
HTX trading API 57
Read as a closed service. The readable changelog ends on 24 June 2022, but the official contract SDKs were pushed on 21 October 2026 and the spot SDKs in April and July 2026, so the API surface is still being maintained; judgement call (20 of 30). SDK pushes on 30 July, 23 August and 21 October 2026 are commits, not releases (10 of 20). A Telegram group for API support and a support centre, neither tested; GitHub issues not read (8 of 15). Official SDKs in five languages (15). No CI seen, dependencies not checked (4 of 10). 20 + 10 + 8 + 15 + 4 = 57.
Transparency & trust Bitstamp API +28
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.
HTX trading API 25
The editorial half. A closed service whose user agreement exists but couldn't be read (script-drawn pages), so the licence clarity is unknown rather than unclear (10 of 30). The privacy policy was not read (0 of 30, unchecked). The testnet shutdown and the 2022 changelog entries are dated, with no deprecation policy (5 of 20). No subprocessor or data-location statement read (0 of 20). 10 + 0 + 5 + 0 = 15.
Reliability Bitstamp API +25
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.
HTX trading API 38
Read with the hosted lines. No status page found; status.htx.com does not resolve and nothing on htx.com was readable (0). No readable incident history (5). Rate limits documented per endpoint with numbers, 100 order calls per 2 seconds per UID and so on, with remaining-quota headers (15). No 429 or Retry-After behaviour is documented and the only limit error named is 1006 for conditional orders; a client-order-id unique within 8 hours and an idempotent withdrawal id give safe retries on writes (8 of 15). No SLA found (0). The spot and swap APIs are generally available (10). 0 + 5 + 15 + 8 + 0 + 10 = 38.
Schema & documentation Bitstamp API +11
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.
HTX trading API 40
No OpenAPI or other machine-readable contract found in the docs or the GitHub accounts (0). No llms.txt on htx.com, and the readable reference is a static page (0). Each endpoint states its purpose and parameters, without when-to-use guidance (12 of 20). Parameter tables carry types, required flags and enums for order types and states (10 of 15). Request and response examples throughout and error-code tables with messages (11 of 15). Versions v1 and v2 are mixed in one reference whose last changelog entry is 24 June 2022, while HTX's newer docs on htx.com couldn't be read (7 of 15). 0 + 0 + 12 + 10 + 11 + 7 = 40.
Agent ergonomics HTX trading API +11
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.
HTX trading API 69
Graded on the REST API. Responses can be sized with depth types, size and limit parameters on books, candles and history (15 of 25). Paging by from, size and direct on orders and history (14 of 20). Errors return err-code strings with messages, listed in tables (13 of 20). A client-order-id unique within 8 hours and idempotent withdrawal ids make retries safe, with no idempotency header on other writes (14 of 20). Few required parameters and official SDKs in five languages (13 of 15). 15 + 14 + 13 + 14 + 13 = 69.
Security & auth Bitstamp API +9
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.
HTX trading API 51
HMAC-signed keys with Read, Trade and Withdraw permissions, sub-user keys without Withdraw, up to 20 bound IPs, revocation in the account and a 90-day expiry without IP binding. The AccessKeyId and the HMAC signature travel as query parameters; the secret does not, so no deduction for a secret in the URL (24 of 30). Read-only keys and withdraw-free keys exist; no server-side confirmation for orders or withdrawals (14 of 20). The API returns the exchange's own data, no untrusted content (10). No per-call log or key-use history found for the operator (3 of 15). No security.txt, disclosure policy or certification found on the pages that loaded (0 of 20). 24 + 14 + 10 + 3 + 0 = 51.
Score by category
| Category | Weight this run | Bitstamp API | HTX trading API | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reliability | 16%20 | 63 | 38 | Bitstamp API +25 |
| Performance | 10%pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13%16.2 | 51 | 40 | Bitstamp API +11 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13%16.2 | 58 | 69 | HTX trading API +11 |
| Security & auth | 14%17.5 | 60 | 51 | Bitstamp API +9 |
| Payments & pricing | 10%12.5 | 20 | 15 | Bitstamp API +5 |
| Task success | 10%pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7%8.8 | 28 | 57 | HTX trading API +29 |
| Transparency & trust | 7%8.8 | 53 | 25 | Bitstamp API +28 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | D 50.4/100 | E 43.3/100 |
Facts side by side
| Fact | Bitstamp API | HTX trading API |
|---|---|---|
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Bitstamp Ltd. | HTX |
| 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 | none |
| Tools exposed | none | 0 |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | no | no |
| Last release | 2026-08-28 | 2026-10-21 |
| Terms last updated | couldn't be read | no date given |
| 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 | 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 | none | 684 stars |
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.
HTX trading API
HTX's API has per-endpoint rate limits, read, trade and withdraw key permissions with IP binding, and SDKs in five languages. No official MCP server exists, the testnet is closed, the public reference is still Huobi's with a 2022 changelog, and the fee schedule, terms and restricted countries are on script-drawn pages we couldn't read.
Before you call either
Bitstamp API
- Mint a key with only the endpoint permissions the task needs and an IP allow-list; keep
revoke_all_api_keysin reach as a kill switch - Treat
client_order_idas a label, not a guard. On a timeout (500.016) fetch the order by client id before resending, because duplicates are accepted - Use a fresh 36-character nonce and a timestamp within 150 seconds of server time on every request, or expect API0004 and API0017
- 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
- 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
HTX trading API
- Ask the operator for a key with Read and Trade only and bound to your IP addresses; a key without IP binding expires after 90 days
- Send a fresh client-order-id of up to 64 characters with every order and reuse it only on retry; a repeat within 8 hours answers invalid.client.order.id
- Watch X-HB-RateLimit-Requests-Remain and pace at under 100 order calls per 2 seconds per UID; limits are shared by every key on the account
- There is no testnet; try order logic with the smallest size the market allows
- Confirm the person's country is served before trading; the restricted list in the user agreement couldn't be read here
Questions
Which is better for AI agents, Bitstamp API or HTX trading API?
Bitstamp API scores 50.4 (D) on agent readiness against HTX trading API's 43.3 (E), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. HTX trading API leads on agent ergonomics and maintenance & community.
Do Bitstamp API and HTX trading API need an API key?
Both need an API key.
Can an agent call Bitstamp API and HTX trading API without installing anything?
No hosted endpoint is listed for Bitstamp API. No hosted endpoint is listed for HTX trading API.
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Machine-readable
- This page as Markdown
/compare/bitstamp-vs-htx.md· slim.min.md· JSON.json(or sendAccept: text/markdown) - Each listing in full
/api/v1/tools/bitstamp.json·/api/v1/tools/htx.json - From a terminal
anchor compare bitstamp htx(the CLI) - Over MCP
compare_tools {"a": "bitstamp", "b": "htx"}at/mcp, no key