> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://uncoded.ch/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Exchanges — Overview and Selection

> unCoded supports 17 hand-tuned production exchanges plus 64 in validation. Here's how to pick yours, what each is good for, and what to avoid.

<Info>
  **unCoded supports 17 hand-tuned, production-ready exchanges out of the box, plus 64 additional profiles in validation status.** Each hand-tuned profile is individually calibrated for the venue's signing scheme, symbol naming, lot/tick precision, error codes, and rate-limit envelope. You pick which venue (or venues) to trade on; unCoded handles the per-venue mechanics transparently.
</Info>

## Why exchange choice matters

The exchange you trade on determines:

* **Which symbols you can trade.** Not every venue lists every coin. Binance's universe is the broadest; specialist venues have narrower coverage.
* **Your fees.** Maker/taker rates vary venue-to-venue, and tier-based discounts (e.g., Binance's BNB rebate) affect realized P\&L meaningfully.
* **Your jurisdictional compliance.** US residents must use US-regulated venues (Coinbase, Binance.US, Kraken). EU residents using crypto-trading bots benefit from MiCA-compliant venues (Bybit EU, Bitvavo).
* **Your liquidity.** Deeper books mean tighter spreads and less slippage, especially on the long-tail symbols.
* **Your security posture.** Different venues have different histories of incidents, different KYC depths, different fund-protection setups.

For most operators, the answer is "start on Binance, add a second venue when you outgrow it." But the right answer depends on your jurisdiction, your symbol coverage needs, and your risk tolerance.

## Quick recommendation by operator profile

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Most operators (global, no special constraints)" icon="globe">
    **Start with Binance.** Deepest liquidity, broadest symbol set, the venue against which the pre-built modes have been tuned the most. Once comfortable, add a second venue (often Bybit) for diversification.
  </Card>

  <Card title="US residents" icon="flag-usa">
    **Start with Coinbase Advanced** (recommended) or Binance.US. Both are properly regulated for US residents. Coinbase has stronger compliance posture; Binance.US has broader symbol coverage.
  </Card>

  <Card title="EU residents wanting MiCA compliance" icon="circle-euro">
    **Start with Bybit EU or Bitvavo.** Both are MiCA-compliant variants regulated for EU residents. Bitvavo offers EUR-quoted markets natively.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Operators wanting symbol coverage beyond majors" icon="boxes-stacked">
    **Add KuCoin, MEXC, or Gate.io** as a second venue. They list more long-tail coins than Binance. Use them as a complement to a major venue, not as a sole venue.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Long-history-preferred operators" icon="landmark">
    **Kraken or Bitfinex.** Both have been operating for over a decade with reliable track records. Liquidity is solid; symbol coverage narrower than Binance.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Specialty market-making" icon="scale-balanced">
    **Binance for FDUSD pairs.** Modes 1001 and 1002 (MarketMaker / MarketMakerMinimal) only work on Binance's `FDUSD` quoted markets, which have a maker-rebate structure.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## The 17 hand-tuned production-ready venues

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Global majors (8 venues)" icon="globe">
    The largest, deepest-liquidity global crypto exchanges. Most operators run on at least one of these.

    * **Binance** — the largest crypto exchange globally. Deepest liquidity, broadest symbol coverage, lowest realistic fees with `BNB` discount. The reference venue against which most modes are tuned. **Recommended starter for most operators.** [Detailed setup guide →](/exchanges/binance)
    * **Bybit** — strong global liquidity, EU-compliant variant available. Often paired with Binance as a second venue. [Detailed setup guide →](/exchanges/bybit)
    * **OKX** — deep order book, broad symbol coverage. Uses dash-separated symbol naming (`BTC-USDT` vs Binance's `BTCUSDT`). [Detailed setup guide →](/exchanges/okx)
    * **KuCoin** — diverse altcoin coverage; useful for symbols Binance doesn't list. Good complement to a major venue.
    * **MEXC** — wide altcoin coverage at the speculative end of the market; lower liquidity than the top tier. Use with smaller per-trade sizing.
    * **Gate.io** — broad listing, good fee structure. Solid second-venue choice.
    * **HTX (Huobi)** — long-established Asian venue. Liquidity strong on majors.
    * **BingX** — newer entrant, growing liquidity. Increasingly competitive on fees.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="US-regulated (2 venues)" icon="building-columns">
    Required for US residents. Both are properly regulated under US securities and money-transmission frameworks.

    * **Binance.US** — restricted symbol set vs global Binance, US-resident accounts only. Different account from global Binance — you cannot use one for the other. [Reference →](/exchanges/other-venues#binance-us)
    * **Coinbase Advanced** — strong regulatory standing, fee structure favours larger volumes, US-resident-friendly. The recommended venue for US residents. [Detailed setup guide →](/exchanges/coinbase)
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="EU-regulated (2 venues)" icon="circle-euro">
    MiCA-compliant variants for EU residents who want regulatory clarity in their jurisdiction.

    * **Bybit EU** — MiCA-compliant variant of Bybit. Same trading mechanics, EU-regulatory wrapper. Use this if you're an EU resident operating a Bybit account.
    * **Bitvavo** — Netherlands-based, EUR-quoted markets natively. Strong EU compliance posture. The recommended EU starter for operators wanting EUR quotes throughout. [Reference →](/exchanges/other-venues#bitvavo)
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Long-established (4 venues)" icon="landmark">
    Long-running exchanges with track records measured in many years. Liquidity solid on majors; coverage narrower than the global tier-1 venues.

    * **Kraken** — one of the oldest crypto exchanges (since 2011). Strong reputation, stricter KYC, conservative listing policy. Highly trusted by long-time operators. [Detailed setup guide →](/exchanges/kraken)
    * **Bitfinex** — long history, sophisticated API, broader product set (margin, lending) that unCoded does not use. Spot trading is solid.
    * **Poloniex** — long-established US-origin venue.
    * **BitMart** — global venue with broad listings. Note: requires an `API_UID` field in addition to key/secret.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Specialty (1 venue)" icon="star">
    * **Crypto.com Exchange** — paired with the Crypto.com app ecosystem; specific symbol set. Useful if you're already in the Crypto.com ecosystem.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

<Tip>
  **The honest take for new operators**: don't agonize over exchange selection. Pick Binance (or Coinbase if US-based). Run for a month. Once you have intuition for how the bot behaves, then add a second venue if it makes sense for you.

  Choosing between, say, Bybit and OKX as a starter is a difference that won't matter for most operators in the first month. The decisions that matter — capital sizing, mode selection, kill-switch discipline — are far more impactful than which top-tier exchange you pick.
</Tip>

## The 64 venues in validation

unCoded's exchange-abstraction layer supports 81 total exchange profiles. The 64 not in the hand-tuned set are in **validation status** — they connect, they place orders, but they haven't completed the full hand-tuning pass that production-ready venues have.

<Warning>
  **Validation-status venues should be approached with care.** They work, but:

  * Edge-case error codes may not be handled gracefully.
  * Symbol-naming edge cases may surface.
  * Rate-limit envelopes may need operator tuning.
  * Less battle-tested than the production-ready venues.

  **For 95% of operators, the production-ready 17 are sufficient.** Use validation-status venues only if you have a specific need (e.g., a regional exchange that lists a symbol unavailable on the majors).

  If you go with a validation-status venue: start with very small capital, watch the logs closely for the first weeks, and expect to occasionally surface an edge case to support.
</Warning>

## Multi-exchange operation patterns

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="One venue (the starter)" icon="puzzle-piece">
    The default. One TradingBot, one set of API keys, one venue. Almost every new operator runs this for the first 1–3 months.

    Pros: simplest mental model, fewest credentials to manage, fastest setup.

    Cons: no diversification. If your venue has an outage, you have no fallback.

    **When to outgrow**: you've proved the bot to yourself with `$15,000–$25,000` on Binance for 1+ month. Now you want to add a second venue for symbol coverage or jurisdictional reasons.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Two venues (the standard scale-up)" icon="puzzle-piece">
    Two TradingBot containers, each with its own API key, each pointing at the same shared database. Typical pairings:

    * **Binance + Bybit** — most common. Diversification across two large global venues.
    * **Binance + Kraken** — diversification with a long-established venue.
    * **Binance + Bitvavo** — for EU operators wanting EUR-quoted exposure.
    * **Coinbase + Kraken** — for US operators wanting two regulated US-friendly venues.

    Capital pattern: split based on symbol availability and venue trust. Common starting allocation: 70% primary venue, 30% second venue.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Sub-account isolation on one venue" icon="layer-group">
    Some operators want strategy isolation without going to a different venue. Binance and Bybit support sub-accounts: separate API keys, separate balances, separate fee tiers, but one master account for compliance.

    Two TradingBot containers, both pointing at Binance, each with sub-account API keys: Container A trades aggressive strategies in Sub-Account 1; Container B trades conservative strategies in Sub-Account 2. Each sub-account has its own balance — no balance-sharing surprises.

    Pros: clean strategy isolation. Per-strategy P\&L is clear. One venue, one compliance footprint.

    Cons: requires the venue to support sub-accounts (most majors do). Adds operator complexity.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Three or more venues (the advanced operator)" icon="diagram-project">
    For operators with substantial capital (`$50,000+`) and a deliberate symbol-coverage strategy. Run a TradingBot per venue, allocate capital based on which symbols each venue lists best.

    Pros: maximum diversification, broadest symbol coverage, jurisdictional flexibility.

    Cons: substantial operator overhead. Multiple key rotations to manage. Multiple reconciliation surfaces. Multi-venue tax reporting.

    Most operators do not need this. Start simpler; scale up only when you're consistently bumping into single-venue limitations.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Per-exchange comparison at a glance

| Venue                   | Liquidity        | Symbol coverage   | Default fee (taker)            | Notes                         |
| ----------------------- | ---------------- | ----------------- | ------------------------------ | ----------------------------- |
| **Binance**             | Deepest globally | Broadest          | `0.10%` (`0.075%` with BNB)    | Recommended starter.          |
| **Bybit**               | Strong           | Broad             | `0.10%`                        | EU variant available.         |
| **OKX**                 | Strong           | Broad             | `0.10%`                        | Dash-separated symbols.       |
| **KuCoin**              | Solid            | Very broad        | `0.10%`                        | Long-tail altcoin coverage.   |
| **Coinbase Advanced**   | US-strong        | US-curated        | `0.40%–0.60%` (small accounts) | Recommended for US operators. |
| **Kraken**              | Solid            | Curated           | `0.16%–0.26%`                  | Conservative listings.        |
| **Bitvavo**             | EU-strong        | EU-curated        | `0.25%`                        | EUR-quoted natively.          |
| **MEXC**                | Variable         | Speculative-broad | `0.20%`                        | Lower-liquidity altcoins.     |
| **Bitfinex**            | Solid            | Curated           | `0.20%`                        | Long history.                 |
| **Gate.io**             | Solid            | Broad             | `0.20%`                        | Good second-venue choice.     |
| **HTX (Huobi)**         | Solid            | Asian-broad       | `0.20%`                        | Long-established.             |
| **BingX**               | Growing          | Broad             | `0.10%`                        | Newer entrant.                |
| **Binance.US**          | Solid            | US-curated        | `0.10%`                        | US-resident only.             |
| **Crypto.com Exchange** | Solid            | Curated           | `0.075%–0.40%`                 | App ecosystem.                |
| **Bybit EU**            | Same as Bybit    | Same as Bybit     | `0.10%`                        | MiCA-compliant.               |
| **Poloniex**            | Solid            | Curated           | `0.20%`                        | Long-established.             |
| **BitMart**             | Solid            | Broad             | `0.25%`                        | Requires `API_UID`.           |

<Tip>
  **Fees compound**. The difference between `0.075%` (Binance + BNB) and `0.40%` (Coinbase small-account) is `5x` per trade. Over a year of trading, that fee delta is the difference between meaningful profit and meaningful drag.

  For most operators, fees should be a **secondary** consideration after jurisdictional fit and liquidity. Don't pick a venue that's wrong for you just to save fees.
</Tip>

## What you give to the TradingBot

For every venue, the TradingBot needs:

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="API key + secret (always)" icon="key">
    Generated on the venue's API-management page. The key is the public identifier; the secret is the cryptographic signing key.

    **Always save the secret immediately at creation.** Most venues show it once and never again. Use a password manager.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Passphrase (OKX, BitMart only)" icon="lock">
    OKX requires a passphrase set at API key creation time. BitMart requires a similar `API_UID` field.

    These are not your account password — they're an API-key-specific extra credential.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="IP allowlist (strongly recommended)" icon="shield">
    Most venues let you restrict an API key to specific source IPs. Set this to your VPS's static IP. With this, even a leaked key cannot be used from any other machine.

    See the [API Key Security](/exchanges/api-key-security) guide for details.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Permission scoping (universal)" icon="filter">
    Every venue's API key creation form has a permissions section. The universal rule:

    * ✅ **Read** (always)
    * ✅ **Spot trading** (always)
    * ❌ **Withdrawals** (NEVER ENABLE)
    * ❌ **Margin / Futures** (only if your mode requires it)
    * ❌ **Internal transfers** (almost never needed)

    See [API Key Security](/exchanges/api-key-security) for the full breakdown.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## What's next

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="API Key Security" icon="shield" href="/exchanges/api-key-security">
    The universal principles — what to enable, what to never enable, IP allowlisting, rotation cadence.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Binance Setup" icon="building-columns" href="/exchanges/binance">
    The recommended starter venue, end-to-end setup walkthrough.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Bybit Setup" icon="building-columns" href="/exchanges/bybit">
    The standard second-venue choice.
  </Card>

  <Card title="OKX Setup" icon="building-columns" href="/exchanges/okx">
    Including the OKX-specific passphrase requirement.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Kraken Setup" icon="building-columns" href="/exchanges/kraken">
    The long-established trusted venue.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Coinbase Setup" icon="building-columns" href="/exchanges/coinbase">
    Recommended for US operators.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Other venues" icon="ellipsis" href="/exchanges/other-venues">
    Condensed reference for the remaining production-ready venues.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Quickstart" icon="forward" href="/quickstart">
    Full operator setup including exchange configuration.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>