Head to head · Exchange market data · October 2026 research run

HTX trading API vs Upbit Open API

Upbit Open API scores 54.7 (C) on agent readiness against HTX trading API's 43.3 (E), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Both do exchange market data.

Best crypto exchange APIs and MCP servers for AI agents · All 210 exchanges comparisons

Which one, for what

HTX trading API E

Best for Spot and USDT-margined derivatives for agents that can hold an HTX key, with no MCP server and no testnet.

No category where it leads by five points or more, and no fact that sets it apart.

Watch for

No official MCP server; the only one in the MCP registry is a third party's read-only ticker server

Upbit Open API C

Best for KRW-market trading for agents acting for a verified Korean account, with first-party SDKs, a CLI and skills but no MCP.

Ahead on

  • Schema & documentation, 66 against 40
  • Security & auth, 59 against 51
  • Maintenance & community, 83 against 57
  • Transparency & trust, 54 against 25

Watch for

No MCP server; the agent route is the CLI through skills, which need a terminal

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.

Transparency & trust Upbit Open API +29

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.

Upbit Open API 54

The editorial half. A closed service whose user and Open API terms could not be fetched under upbit.com's robots.txt, and whose SDK licence page calls the SDK material not open source while the repositories carry Apache-2.0 (8 of 30). The developer centre's privacy policy names Dunamu Inc., gives retention periods and names Zendesk in Japan; the main privacy policy was not read (14 of 30). Notices with effective dates, including the path-format change and the deprecated Remaining-Req min field (12 of 20). Zendesk and Google Analytics named with a location for the developer centre only (8 of 20). 8 + 14 + 12 + 8 = 42.

Schema & documentation Upbit Open API +26

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.

Upbit Open API 66

No OpenAPI found; the reference is a readme.io site with a Markdown twin of every page (5 of 25). llms.txt on docs.upbit.com and a kr/llms.txt index (10). Each reference page states what the endpoint does, its group and its errors, with warnings such as market_offline after maintenance (14 of 20). Typed parameters with enums for order type, side and time in force and required flags (11 of 15). Recipes in Python, Java and Node.js and an error format of error.name and error.message with HTTP statuses (13 of 15). Feature versions in page histories (v1.6.1) and dated notices with effective dates, no single API version (13 of 15). 5 + 10 + 14 + 11 + 13 + 13 = 66.

Maintenance & community Upbit Open API +26

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.

Upbit Open API 83

Read as a closed service. SDK v1.1.0 on 20 October 2026 (30). The CLI 1.0.0 on 1 September, the rate-limit update of 7 October, the SDK on 20 October and the path-format notice for 16 November 2026 (20). open-api@upbit.com answers in turn on weekdays per the support notice, notices carry dates, and the six upbit-official repositories show no open issues (12 of 15). Current official SDKs in Python, TypeScript and Go (15). Apache-2.0 repositories pushed in October 2026; CI not checked (6 of 10). 30 + 20 + 12 + 15 + 6 = 83.

Security & auth Upbit Open API +8

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.

Upbit Open API 59

Keys limited to chosen functions, a mandatory public IPv4 allow-list, a JWT per request with a fresh nonce, keys listed with expiry through the API, and a withdrawal safe-lock on by default (27 of 30). Read-only keys, the default withdrawal lock lifted only in the app, and skills that require a typed CONFIRM before writes (17 of 20). The API returns exchange data and announcements, no third-party content (10 of 15). An API key list endpoint; no per-call log for the operator (5 of 15). No disclosure policy, bug bounty or certification found; security.txt on upbit.com could not be fetched under its robots.txt (0 of 20). 27 + 17 + 10 + 5 + 0 = 59.

Score by category

CategoryWeight this runHTX trading APIUpbit Open APIEdge
Reliability16%203842Upbit Open API +4
Performance10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Schema & documentation13%16.24066Upbit Open API +26
Agent ergonomics13%16.26970Upbit Open API +1
Security & auth14%17.55159Upbit Open API +8
Payments & pricing10%12.51515even
Task success10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Maintenance & community7%8.85783Upbit Open API +26
Transparency & trust7%8.82554Upbit Open API +29
Negative events≤1500
TotalE 43.3/100C 54.7/100

Facts side by side

FactHTX trading APIUpbit Open API
KindHTTP APIHTTP API
VendorHTXDunamu Inc.
Hosted endpointno (local only)no (local only)
Transports
AuthAPI keyAPI key
PricingPay per usePay per use
x402nono
Tools exposed00
Read-only variant documentednono
llms.txtnoyes
Last release2026-10-212026-10-20
Terms last updatedno date givenno document linked
Privacy policy last updatedno document linkedno date given
Customer content may train modelsnot found in the textnot read yet
Terms restrict automated accessnot found in the textnot read yet
Terms restrict benchmarkingnot found in the textnot read yet
Terms or service can change without noticeyesnot read yet
Arbitration or class-action waiveryesnot read yet
Popularity684 stars91 stars

Verdicts

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.

Upbit Open API

Upbit's Open API has a mandatory IP allow-list, scoped keys with a default withdrawal lock, per-group rate limits with 429 and 418 signalling, an order-test endpoint, official SDKs, a CLI and agent skills with a CONFIRM gate. There is no MCP server, sandbox or status page, and the fees and terms sit on a host our crawler may not read.

Before you call either

HTX trading API

  1. 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
  2. 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
  3. 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
  4. There is no testnet; try order logic with the smallest size the market allows
  5. Confirm the person's country is served before trading; the restricted list in the user agreement couldn't be read here

Upbit Open API

  1. Ask the person for a key with only the functions the task needs and your server's public IPv4 address registered; a private or unregistered IP is refused
  2. Sign every request with a fresh JWT (HS512, new nonce, SHA512 query hash) and branch on error.name, not error.message
  3. Run POST /v1/orders/test before a live order; it costs nothing and shares the 8-a-second order-test group
  4. Read Remaining-Req and keep orders under 12 a second per pocket; on 429 wait for the next second and on 418 wait out the stated block
  5. Leave the withdrawal safe-lock on unless the person lifts it in the app, and send paths with single slashes and no trailing slash before 16 November 2026

Questions

Which is better for AI agents, HTX trading API or Upbit Open API?

Upbit Open API scores 54.7 (C) on agent readiness against HTX trading API's 43.3 (E), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories.

Do HTX trading API and Upbit Open API need an API key?

Both need an API key.

Can an agent call HTX trading API and Upbit Open API without installing anything?

No hosted endpoint is listed for HTX trading API. No hosted endpoint is listed for Upbit Open API.

Other comparisons with HTX trading API or Upbit Open API

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