# Hyperliquid vs Kraken API

> Kraken scores 71 (BB) to Hyperliquid's 50 (D) for exchange derivatives. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hyperliquid-vs-kraken
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hyperliquid-vs-kraken.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

Kraken API scores 71 (BB) on agent readiness against Hyperliquid's 50 (D), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Hyperliquid leads on payments & pricing. Both do exchange derivatives.

- Hyperliquid: grade D, 50/100, rank #966 of 1349. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/hyperliquid.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/hyperliquid.json
- Kraken API: grade BB, 71/100, rank #159 of 1349. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/kraken.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/kraken.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

### Hyperliquid (D)

Good for: An agent trading perpetuals or spot on chain from its own wallet with no account, or acting for a master account through an approved API wallet.

Ahead on:
- Payments & pricing, 55 against 40

Watch for: No official MCP server; the 23 registry entries are all third parties, several selling data by x402

### Kraken API (BB)

Good for: An agent that trades spot, xStocks, forex or futures on a person's Kraken account from a local machine, with paper trading to test first and an approval gate on live orders.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 67 against 40
- Schema & documentation, 80 against 42
- Agent ergonomics, 79 against 70
- Security & auth, 80 against 64
- Maintenance & community, 81 against 39
- Transparency & trust, 65 against 26

Also in its favour:
- Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better
- Runs on your own machine
- Free to start without a card

Watch for: No self-service spot sandbox; the spot UAT environment is on request through an account manager, and paper trading lives in the CLI


## Why the edge

### Maintenance & community: Kraken API +42

- Hyperliquid (39): Read as a closed hosted service with open SDKs. The API has no dated changelog, so the last dated change is the Python SDK's 0.24.0 on 4 June 2026, 152 days before this check; the node repository was pushed on 10 August 2026 and the docs describe newer actions (HIP-4 outcome markets, borrow and lend) without dates. Judgement call (10 of 30). No three dated releases in 90 days (0). Support through Discord and the docs' FAQ, 112 open issues on the SDK whose replies couldn't be read (8 of 25). Official Python and Rust SDKs, the Rust one last pushed 21 October 2025; no MCP registry entry (15). CI on Python 3.9 and 3.13 with Poetry, Dependabot badge, a lock file (6 of 10). Total 39.
- Kraken API (81): Read as a closed service with an open-source client. Changelog entry of 27 October 2026 and kraken-cli v0.5.1 on 29 October (30). Fourteen changelog entries since 19 August 2026 and CLI tags on 6 and 7 August and 28 and 29 October (20). A public changelog, api@kraken.com, a status page and a CLI repository merging pull requests at the end of October; issue replies not read (11 of 15). An official Rust SDK pushed in October 2026 and a Go module from January; the MCP server is not in the official registry (12 of 15). The CLI has release and secure SDLC workflows, deny.toml and a pinned toolchain; the SDK's CI not read (8 of 10). 30 + 20 + 11 + 12 + 8 = 81.

### Transparency & trust: Kraken API +39

- Hyperliquid (26): The editorial half. The SDKs are MIT and the node repository Apache-2.0 with a Dockerfile around a binary; the API servers and front end are closed and the terms were unreadable (12 of 30). No privacy policy read and nothing in the docs on data handling (0 of 30). Deprecated actions are marked in the docs without dates or a policy (8 of 20). No subprocessors or data locations (0 of 20). Total 20.
- Kraken API (65): The editorial half. A closed service with clear terms naming regional Payward entities under California law; the CLI is MIT (15 of 30). The privacy notice was not read (5 of 30). The changelog dates deprecations and the terms carry a last-updated date (16 of 20). No subprocessor or data-location statement read (0 of 20). 15 + 5 + 16 + 0 = 36.

### Schema & documentation: Kraken API +38

- Hyperliquid (42): No OpenAPI or other machine-readable contract; request and response shapes are tables and JSON examples in the docs (0 of 25). llms.txt and a Markdown twin of every page by appending .md (10). Each info type and exchange action has a short description of what it does, and the signing page lists common mistakes, but little says when to use one call over another (12 of 20). Fields are one-letter keys (`a`, `b`, `p`, `s`, `r`, `t`, `c`) with numbers as strings, enums such as `tif` Alo, Ioc or Gtc, and required fields marked in tables (9 of 15). An example for every call and a list of order and cancel error strings, with no HTTP error table (11 of 15). No API version, no changelog and no dated release notes; deprecated actions such as `userDexAbstraction` are marked in place (0 of 15). Total 42.
- Kraken API (80): No OpenAPI file was found for the REST API in the docs read; the CLI's agents/tool-catalog.json gives JSON Schema inputs for all 188 commands and the 152 MCP tools (15 of 25). The docs serve Markdown twins such as quickstart.md and the CLI ships llms.txt, AGENTS.md and CONTEXT.md (10). Endpoint pages and guides on order lifecycle, errors and rate limits say what each call does, with less on when not to use one (15 of 20). Enums for order types, time in force and flags, and enums and required fields in the tool catalogue (12 of 15). Python, Node.js and cURL examples, an errors guide and the CLI's error-catalog.json with retry guidance (13 of 15). A changelog of 120 dated entries with deprecations dated (15). 15 + 10 + 15 + 12 + 13 + 15 = 80.

### Reliability: Kraken API +27

- Hyperliquid (40): Read with the hosted lines on the REST API at api.hyperliquid.xyz, the surface an agent calls; the chain behind it is noted under details. No status page found in the docs, on hyperliquid.xyz or at status.hyperliquid.xyz, which did not resolve (0). No readable history (5). Rate limits documented with numbers per IP, per address and per WebSocket connection (15). When limited, an address gets one request every 10 seconds; no 429 shape or Retry-After is documented, but `cloid`, per-signer nonces, `expiresAfter` and `noop` make retries safe (10 of 15). No SLA (0). Mainnet is generally available (10). 0 + 5 + 15 + 10 + 0 + 10 = 40.
- Kraken API (67): Read with the hosted lines on the spot API. status.kraken.com is a Statuspage site with REST, WebSocket and FIX components (20). The incidents feed read covers 4 September to 3 November 2026. On 30 October spot and derivatives clients could not connect or submit orders across web, mobile, REST, WebSocket and FIX for 59 minutes 39 seconds, rated minor by Kraken; on 28 October some FIX clients were rejected on reconnection for 1 hour 59 minutes while other interfaces worked; the futures engine was degraded for 3 minutes on 13 October. A whole-exchange order outage 21 seconds short of an hour is read as one major (10 of 30). Numeric limits per key by tier and per pair for the matching engine (15). EAPI:Rate limit exceeded and EService:Throttled with a retry timestamp, a client order id and a validate flag on orders, but no Retry-After header (12 of 15). No SLA (0). Generally available (10). 20 + 10 + 15 + 12 + 0 + 10 = 67.

### Security & auth: Kraken API +16

- Hyperliquid (64): No shared secrets. Actions are signed by the wallet key or by an API wallet the master approves with a name and optional expiry; API wallets can only sign, withdrawals and external sends are user-signed, and approving a new wallet deregisters the old. No IP allow-list or address allow-list (24 of 30). An API wallet is a trading-only credential and info needs no key, but nothing limits order size or marks an action as needing approval (10 of 20). The API returns no untrusted content (10). Fills, historical orders, `userRole` and nonces are queryable per account; no per-wallet action log (8 of 15). A bug bounty run by the Hyper Foundation with rewards up to under 1 million USDC, a Zellic audit of the bridge contract, a SECURITY.md on the SDK; no security.txt (403), no SOC 2 (12 of 20). Total 64.
- Kraken API (80): Keys with nine named permissions, optional expiry, IP restriction and nonce window, plus an OAuth sign-in from the CLI (authorisation code with PKCE, public client) that mints a no-withdrawal key expiring within 90 days or a read-only key (30). Read-only and no-withdrawal keys, position limits and pair allowlists in account settings, and MCP approval prompts for 33 dangerous tools (18 of 20). The API returns no untrusted content; the CLI docs warn that the feedback tool uploads a local file without approval (10). Keys and their permissions are listed in settings and ledgers record activity, but no per-call log for the operator was found (6 of 15). A valid security.txt, a bug bounty policy page, SECURITY.md and a secure SDLC workflow in the CLI; certifications not read (16 of 20). 30 + 18 + 10 + 6 + 16 = 80.

### Payments & pricing: Hyperliquid +15

- Hyperliquid (55): No machine payment protocol (0). Fees published per tier without login (20). No card anywhere; public info endpoints are free and the testnet faucet gives 1,000 mock USDC, though only to an address that has deposited on mainnet (15 of 20). No signup; an agent with a funded EVM wallet deposits USDC on a bridged chain and trades, subject to the unread terms (20). Total 55.
- Kraken API (40): No machine payment protocol (0). Maker and taker fees by tier published without login (20). Public market data, paper trading and the futures demo need no account or card (20). A person signs up, verifies and mints a key or approves the OAuth sign-in (0). 0 + 20 + 20 + 0 = 40.

## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Hyperliquid | Kraken API | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 40 | 67 | Kraken API +27 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 42 | 80 | Kraken API +38 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 70 | 79 | Kraken API +9 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 64 | 80 | Kraken API +16 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 55 | 40 | Hyperliquid +15 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 39 | 81 | Kraken API +42 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 26 | 65 | Kraken API +39 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **50 · D** | **71 · BB** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Hyperliquid | Kraken API |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Hyperliquid Labs | Payward, Inc. |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |
| Transports |  | stdio |
| Auth | OAuth or key | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Pay per use | Pay per use |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | The exchange runs on the Hyperliquid chain (HyperCore), whose node is distributed as a binary under an Apache-2.0 repository; the Python and Rust SDKs are MIT. The API servers and front end are closed | Proprietary hosted service under Kraken's Global Terms of Service (30 October 2026). kraken-cli, which carries the kraken-mcp server, is MIT |
| Tools exposed | 0 | 152 |
| Read-only variant documented | no | yes |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| Last release | 2026-06-04 | 2026-10-29 |
| Terms last updated | couldn't be read | 2026-10-30 |
| Privacy policy last updated | no document linked | 2026-10-21 |
| 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 | yes |
| Terms or service can change without notice | couldn't be read | yes |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | couldn't be read | yes |
| Popularity | 1.9k stars, 167k PyPI/wk | 795 stars |

## Verdicts

**Hyperliquid.** Hyperliquid's API needs no signup or key, an approved API wallet can trade but not withdraw, fees and rate limits are published with numbers, and a testnet mirrors mainnet. There is no official MCP server, OpenAPI file, status page, changelog or readable terms, and signing uses two schemes the docs say to leave to an SDK.

**Kraken API.** Kraken pairs a documented REST, WebSocket and FIX API with the open-source kraken-cli, whose kraken-mcp server gates 33 dangerous tools behind approval and signs in by OAuth with a no-withdrawal key. Spot has no self-service sandbox, no OpenAPI file was found, and a 59-minute connectivity outage hit every interface on 30 October 2026.

## Before you call either

### Hyperliquid

1. Generate a fresh API wallet, approve it with `approveAgent` with a name and expiry, sign with it, and query with the master address, never the agent address
2. Use the Python SDK's `sign_l1_action` and `sign_user_signed_action`; mixing the two, field order in msgpack or an uppercase address gives "User or API Wallet ... does not exist"
3. Set a `cloid` on every order and read the per-order `statuses` array; one batch-level error rejects the whole batch
4. Budget address limits by volume (one action per 1 USDC traded after 10,000); batch orders to lower IP weight, and use WebSocket for data
5. Arm `scheduleCancel` before unattended trading so open orders are cancelled if the agent stops

### Kraken API

1. Start kraken-mcp with -s market,paper,feedback or the default services; add trade only with a least-privilege key, and never pass --allow-dangerous on an agent that reads untrusted input
2. Ask the person to run kraken auth login in their own terminal; it needs a browser and saves a no-withdrawal key that expires in 90 days at most
3. Send a fresh --cl-ord-id on each order and run it with --validate first; after a network error look the order up before sending it again
4. Keep the nonce strictly increasing per key and stay under the tier's counter, since EAPI:Rate limit exceeded has no Retry-After header
5. Test strategies in a paper workspace, which fills at live prices with no account, before a live workspace

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Hyperliquid or Kraken API?

Kraken API scores 71 (BB) on agent readiness against Hyperliquid's 50 (D), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Hyperliquid leads on payments & pricing.

### Do Hyperliquid and Kraken API need an API key?

Both take an API key or an OAuth sign-in.

### Can an agent call Hyperliquid and Kraken API without installing anything?

No hosted endpoint is listed for Hyperliquid. Kraken API runs on your own machine, with no hosted endpoint listed.


## For agents

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

## Other comparisons with Hyperliquid or Kraken API

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