Kraken API: How to Generate API Keys and Secure Your Account

The Kraken API is a powerful tool that allows you to integrate your trading activities on the Kraken platform directly into your own applications or algorithms. As one of the foremost cryptocurrency exchanges in the market, Kraken is known for its low fees, wide range of supported coins, and advanced trading features. By leveraging the API, you can automate your trading strategies, manage your account, and access market data with ease.

To get started, you’ll need to create an account on Kraken and sign in. Once you’ve logged in, you can generate API keys which serve as the authentication for your API calls. Kraken’s API supports both public and private endpoints, with private endpoints requiring your unique API keys for accessing account-specific information and functionalities such as placing orders, managing open orders, and checking account balances.

Whether you’re a seasoned trader or a newcomer to the world of cryptocurrency, by utilizing the Kraken API, you’ll be able to create a seamless and efficient trading experience tailored to your individual needs. With this powerful tool at your disposal, you can take your crypto trading to the next level and stay ahead of the market.

Kraken Account Creation

Creating an account on Kraken is the first step to access the Kraken API. To create an account, simply go to the Kraken website and click on the “Create Account” button. You will need to provide some basic information like your email, desired username, and a strong password.

After submitting the registration form, you will receive a confirmation email with a link to verify your account. Click the link to confirm your email address, allowing you to access your new Kraken account.

Once your account is created, take a few minutes to secure it by enabling two-factor authentication (2FA). This added layer of security ensures that even if your password is compromised, your account remains protected. To enable 2FA, go to your account settings and follow the step-by-step instructions.

Now that your Kraken account is set up, you may be eligible for a sign up bonus. This bonus helps boost your cryptocurrency portfolio by giving you $10 in BTC. Keep in mind that conditions may apply, so please read the terms carefully.

With your account in place, you can start connecting it with the Kraken API. The API enables integration with third-party services such as trading bots, mobile apps, and portfolio management services. You will need to create an API key with the appropriate permissions to access your account’s private endpoints. To do this, navigate to your account settings, then click “API,” and follow the instructions for creating a new API key.

Remember, while Kraken account creation and API usage are free, trading on the platform will incur fees. These fees vary depending on assets, platforms, and monthly trading volume. Make sure to review the fee schedules to understand the costs involved in using Kraken for your trading activities.

By following these steps, you are now ready to make the most out of your Kraken account and the powerful features it offers, including the Kraken API.

Signing In and Security

When using the Kraken API, your security is of the utmost importance. To get started, you need to sign in to your Kraken account. If you haven’t already, create an account by clicking on the “Create Account” button in the upper right corner of the Kraken website.

Once you have an account, you can obtain the API key necessary for accessing private endpoints. The API key serves to authenticate API access to your Kraken account. For enhanced security, consider adding two-factor authentication (2FA) to your API key. This can be done via the Security page on your Kraken account and can utilize either a static password or Google Authenticator.

Keep in mind that the Kraken API does not expose sensitive information, such as your username/password, two-factor authentication details, account owner’s name, or contact information. The primary purpose of the API is to provide essential information for managing your account and conducting trades, without risking the exposure of your personal identification data.

To ensure you’re working with the correct API for your needs, Kraken offers both REST and WebSocket options. Make an informed decision based on the features and functionalities of each type of API.

In summary, signing in and ensuring the security of your Kraken API is a vital part of managing your account and using their services effectively. By taking the proper precautions and utilizing the available security features, you can confidently interact with the platform while safeguarding your personal information.

Overview of Kraken API

Kraken API allows you to automate your trading and data management on Kraken, one of the leading online cryptocurrency exchange platforms. They offer trading for over 50 coins and tokens, supporting spot, futures, margin, Fiat, and OTC trading. As you dive into the world of automated trading, you will be able to harness their deep liquidity and low-latency endpoints for a reliable and highly responsive experience.

The Kraken API is divided into two main categories:

1. Public API
   The Public API provides access to publicly available market data without requiring authentication. You can use these endpoints to retrieve:

   • Real-time ticker information

   • Asset pairs and trading pairs metadata

   • Order book depth

   • Recent trades

   • OHLC (Open/High/Low/Close) data

   • Server time and system status

   This is useful for building charts, market analysis dashboards, or integrating live price feeds into external applications.

2. Private API
   The Private API allows authenticated access to your Kraken account, enabling you to perform actions such as:

   • Account balance checks

   • Placing, editing, or canceling orders

   • Retrieving trade and order history

   • Accessing funding and deposit status

   • Initiating withdrawals (with IP whitelist and 2FA enabled)

   Private API usage requires an API key and secret, which you generate within your Kraken account dashboard. Proper authentication and secure handling of your credentials are critical, especially for high-frequency or automated strategies.

The Kraken API supports both RESTful and WebSocket interfaces. REST is typically used for account operations and historical data, while WebSockets are ideal for low-latency, real-time updates such as live trade feeds or order book changes.

To make the best use of Kraken API, you need to familiarize yourself with their documentation. Here, you will find comprehensive, easy-to-understand guides on how to use the API, including code examples and best practices to follow.

Remember that handling APIs requires a good understanding of coding and programming principles as the API allows you to interact with the Kraken platform through code. JavaScript and Python are two popular programming languages to work with, and there are libraries available for both, easing the process of implementing the API functionalities.

As you explore the capabilities of Kraken API, you will also find several features to enhance your trading tactics, such as integrated staking for programmatically staking and unstaking multiple crypto assets. Moreover, the platform’s vast liquidity allows you to capture arbitrage opportunities across different markets.

In summary, the Kraken API enables you to implement complex trading strategies, react quickly to market fluctuations, and manage your crypto assets with a high level of customization. By utilizing this powerful tool, you can take your trading experience to new heights, ensuring improved performance and streamlined operations in line with your personal trading goals.

Understanding Endpoints

In the Kraken API, endpoints are categorized into two types: public and private. Public endpoints provide market data and exchange status, while private endpoints are used for trading, funding, and accessing user data. To leverage these endpoints, it is essential to understand their function and how to interact with them.

Public Endpoints: These are accessible to everyone and do not require authentication. They offer you historical and live market data for all of Kraken’s markets. Some examples include Ticker, Trades, and Order Book. Public endpoints are useful when you want to retrieve market data and incorporate it into your strategy or application.

Private Endpoints: These endpoints require authentication via API keys, granting access to trading functions, funding, and user-specific data. To correctly make an API request, you must sign the request headers using your API key and secret. Examples of private endpoints in Kraken API include AddOrder, CancelOrder, and QueryOrders.

When interacting with Kraken API endpoints, it’s essential to consider their status. The API status indicates the availability and performance of the endpoints. Monitoring the status helps you ensure seamless integration with Kraken’s platform and helps prevent unexpected errors or issues.

Make the most of Kraken API endpoints, consider the following tips:

• Monitor the System Status Endpoint:
  Kraken provides a dedicated status endpoint and public status page. Before executing any automated trades or scripts, check the system status to confirm that trading and funding functionalities are operational. This can prevent failures due to scheduled maintenance or temporary outages.

• Respect Rate Limits:
  Kraken imposes rate limits to prevent abuse and ensure fair use across users. Exceeding these limits can result in temporary bans or degraded performance. Always follow the documented rate limits and implement backoff/retry logic in your code.

• Use API Keys Securely:
  Never hardcode your API keys in your scripts. Use environment variables or secure vaults to store credentials, and set key permissions narrowly (e.g., only enable trading if needed). Also, enable IP whitelisting and 2FA on your Kraken account for added security.

• Utilize WebSockets for Real-Time Data:
  For latency-sensitive operations like market making or arbitrage, use Kraken’s WebSocket API. It provides real-time data with lower latency compared to REST, including live trades, spreads, and order book updates.

• Handle Errors Gracefully:
  Ensure your application handles error codes and messages returned by the API (e.g., EAPI:Invalid nonce, EService:Unavailable). Incorporate retries, logging, and alerting mechanisms so that issues can be quickly identified and resolved.

• Use Pagination for Historical Data:
  When retrieving account history or trades, use pagination parameters like ofs (offset) to fetch results in batches. This helps you manage memory and avoid timeouts, especially for high-volume accounts.

• Keep API Libraries Updated:
  If you’re using third-party Kraken API wrappers or SDKs, make sure they’re actively maintained and updated to reflect the latest changes to Kraken’s API. Outdated libraries may miss new features or fail to comply with updated endpoints.

Remember, the Kraken API is a powerful tool that allows you to interact programmatically with the cryptocurrency exchange platform. By understanding the public and private endpoints and their use cases, you can effectively enhance your trading strategies and integration with Kraken’s platform.

API Rate Limits

Kraken’s API rate limits are divided into three categories: public, private, and trading. These limits are implemented to protect the API against malicious usage and to maintain the integrity of market data.

1. In the public category, which includes market data, the rate limits are as follows:

• Public REST Endpoints:
  Up to 20 requests per second.

• WebSocket Public Feeds:
  No strict message rate limit, but connection and subscription limits apply—max 100 subscriptions per connection, and recommended no more than 1 connection per second.

These endpoints cover data like ticker prices, asset pairs, order books, and recent trades.

2. For private rate limits, related to account management, the tier-based limits are:

• REST Private Endpoints (e.g., balance checks, funding history):

  • Default Tier (Tier 0-2): 15 calls per 3 seconds (i.e., 5 calls/sec)

  • Higher Tiers (e.g., Tier 3+): Can increase based on account level and API key permissions.

• Nonce Handling:
  Each request must use a unique incrementing nonce value; repeated or invalid nonces result in EAPI:Invalid nonce errors.

These limits help ensure that sensitive operations are not spammed or manipulated.

3. Lastly, the trading rate limits, which concern placing and canceling orders, are as follows:

• Order Placement/Cancelation (Private Endpoints):

  • 15 calls per 3 seconds (shared with other private endpoints).

  • High-Frequency Trading accounts (institutional): May be eligible for increased thresholds upon request.

• WebSocket Private Feeds (real-time order status):

  • Recommended max: 20 messages/sec (including heartbeats, subscriptions, and actions).

  • Burst protection in place to avoid API abuse.

Proper use of WebSockets for trading can improve speed and reduce load compared to repeated REST requests.

Additionally, you can cancel up to 80 canceled orders every 200 seconds per instrument pair.

Remember that API rate limits protect both you and Kraken’s market data. Keeping these limits in mind will help ensure a smooth trading experience on the platform.

Trading with Kraken API

The Kraken API allows you to automate and streamline your crypto trading experience. With this powerful tool, you can quickly build and automate API-based crypto trading strategies, capitalize on arbitrage opportunities, and access deep liquidity to improve trade execution. Kraken offers both public and private API endpoints, catering to different trading needs.

To get started, you’ll need to familiarize yourself with the Kraken REST API documentation, which provides comprehensive information on the public and private endpoints. Publicly accessible endpoints include market data and exchange status, while private authenticated endpoints cover trading, funding, and user data.

For those interested in creating custom trading algorithms, the Kraken API offers a variety of useful features, such as:

1. Real-Time Market Data Access:
   Use public endpoints to fetch ticker prices, order book depth, recent trades, and OHLC (candlestick) data. This is essential for generating signals, tracking volatility, and analyzing market trends.

2. Automated Order Execution:
   Place, cancel, and modify buy/sell orders programmatically using private trading endpoints. The API supports limit, market, stop-loss, and take-profit orders, allowing for dynamic trade execution based on your algorithm’s logic.

3. Account and Portfolio Management:
   Retrieve balances, open orders, trade history, and position sizes. This allows your algorithm to monitor risk exposure, manage positions across multiple assets, and rebalance as needed.

4. Margin and Futures Trading Support:
   Access to margin trading tools and Kraken Futures enables more advanced strategies, such as arbitrage, hedging, and leveraged positions, depending on your account tier and jurisdiction.

5. Secure Authentication and Permissions:
   API keys can be customized with specific permissions (e.g., read-only, trading-enabled) and secured with IP whitelisting and nonce validation, ensuring safe execution of your algorithmic strategies.

6. Customizable Rate Limiting Strategies:
   Algorithms can be optimized by respecting Kraken’s rate limits and incorporating error-handling and retry logic to avoid service interruptions or bans.

7. WebSocket Integration for Low-Latency Trading:
   Use the WebSocket API for real-time updates on trades, spreads, and order books. This is critical for latency-sensitive strategies such as scalping or market making.

To give an idea of trading with the Kraken API, here’s a brief overview of some of the essential components involved in the process:

Keep in mind that utilizing the full potential of the Kraken API may require a proficient understanding of programming languages such as Python. Nevertheless, with a variety of resources, blog posts, and tutorials available, you can quickly learn and develop effective trading strategies using the Kraken API.

Understanding Assets and Markets

When using the Kraken API to access cryptocurrency data and perform trading operations, it’s essential to understand the concept of assets and markets. In this section, you’ll learn about assets, markets, and how they relate to each other.

Assets refer to the cryptocurrencies or fiat currencies available for trading on the Kraken platform. Common examples of assets are Bitcoin (represented as XBT), Ethereum (represented as ETH), and the US Dollar (represented as USD). Kraken API represents these assets with standardized codes like XXBT, XETH, and ZUSD respectively.

Markets (also known as trading pairs) represent the combinations of different assets that you can trade against each other on Kraken. A market has a base asset and a quote asset. For example, the XBTUSD market involves trading Bitcoin (XBT) against the US Dollar (USD). In Kraken API language, this market would be written as XXBTZUSD.

Here is a table that explains these representations:

Asset and Market Representation on Kraken API

Market (Trading Pair) Representation

Quick Tips:

• ‘X’ or ‘Z’ Prefixes: Often used to distinguish asset types or to meet legacy formatting conventions in the API.

• Base Asset: The asset you are buying or selling.

• Quote Asset: The currency used to value the base asset (e.g., in XXBTZUSD, you’re valuing Bitcoin in USD).

Knowing the asset and market codes is crucial when making API requests. For instance, if you want to check the trading volume of XBTUSD market with a fee rate of 0.1%, you’ll need to use these codes in your request.

To obtain a list of all available assets and markets on Kraken, you can use the API Assets and AssetPairs endpoints. For example, calling the REST Assets endpoint (https://api.kraken.com/0/public/Assets) returns a response containing all the assets, and calling the AssetPairs endpoint returns the available markets.

Remember to always refer to the official Kraken API documentation for the most up-to-date information about assets, markets, and their codes.

Connecting to Kraken API

To connect to the Kraken API, you need first to create an API key. Sign in to your Kraken account, open the account menu, and follow the steps to configure your API key.

The Kraken platform provides two types of APIs: REST API and WebSocket API. Each type has its own purpose and functionality.

REST API: The Kraken REST API allows you to access and interact with various features of the Kraken platform, such as account management, trading, and funding. You can use the REST API to view account balances, retrieve trading history, place and cancel orders, and more. The REST API documentation can be found in our Websocket API PDF here.

WebSocket API: The WebSocket API is ideal for real-time data streaming and trading. This API is more efficient and faster compared to REST API for receiving updates on market data, such as order book, trades, and ticker updates. WebSocket API documentation can be found here.

To use the Kraken API, you need to have a basic understanding of the HTTP requests, JSON handling, and WebSocket connections. Many programming languages such as Python, JavaScript, and Ruby have libraries available to facilitate connecting to and working with the Kraken API.

Remember to always follow the best practices when using the Kraken API, such as handling errors, using exponential backoff mechanisms, and adhering to the API rate limits.

By connecting to the Kraken API, you can harness the power of automated trading, integrate with third-party services, and build custom applications that leverage the extensive features of the Kraken platform.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I get an API key from Kraken?

To get an API key from Kraken, follow these steps:

1. Log in to your Kraken account

   • Go to: https://www.kraken.com/

   • Use your credentials and complete any 2FA prompts.

2. Navigate to the API Management page

   • Click on your profile icon (top-right corner).

   • Select “Security” and then click on “API” from the submenu.

3. Create a new API key

   • Click “Add key” or “Generate New Key”.

   • You’ll be presented with a configuration form.

4. Configure your API key settings

   • Give your key a label (e.g., “TradingBot”, “PortfolioTracker”).

   • Permissions:

     • Tick only the permissions you need. Common ones include:

       • Query Funds – to check balances

       • Query Open Orders & Trades – to view your trading history

       • Add Order – to place trades (for bots)

       • Do not enable Withdraw Funds unless absolutely necessary

   • (Optional) Set an IP whitelist for added security.

5. Generate your key

   • Click “Generate Key”.

   • Kraken will now display your:

     • API Key

     • API Secret

   Important: You will only see the secret once, so make sure to copy and store it securely (e.g., password manager or encrypted file).

6. Secure your credentials

   • Never share your API key or secret.

   • Do not hardcode keys into public scripts or cloud-hosted environments without encryption.

What is Kraken WebSocket API?

Kraken WebSocket API is a real-time streaming service that allows you to access market data, account data, and trading endpoints. It provides a more efficient way to access live data compared to REST API. The WebSocket API can be found at these URLs:

• Public WebSocket Feed:
  wss://ws.kraken.com

• Private (Authenticated) WebSocket Feed:
  wss://ws-auth.kraken.com

How can I use Kraken API with Python?

To use Kraken API with Python, you can use libraries such as ccxt or krakenex. To get started, install the chosen library using pip, then import it into your Python script. Create an instance of the Kraken API class, passing your API key and private key as parameters. You can then use the library’s methods to interact with the Kraken API for any desired functionality.

Where can I find Kraken API documentation?

The Kraken API documentation can be found on the Kraken website, under the “API” section of the site. This comprehensive guide covers all aspects of the REST API as well as WebSocket API, including usage instructions, endpoints, authentication, rate limits, and examples.

How do I check Kraken API status?

To check the Kraken API status, you can visit Kraken’s platform status page (https://status.kraken.com) or use the SystemStatus endpoint with either the REST or WebSocket API. The SystemStatus endpoint will provide you with information about the current status, such as online or offline, and any ongoing maintenance or incidents.

What are the supported trading pairs in Kraken API?

Kraken API supports a wide range of cryptocurrency trading pairs. To obtain a list of supported trading pairs, use the AssetPairs endpoint in the REST API or the subscription message with type set to “ticker” in the WebSocket API. The response will include the trading pairs and their respective symbols, which can be used for trading or obtaining market data.

Stephen Matthew

Founder at CryptoAffiliate.io – admin@cryptoaffiliate.io – Web

Steven has a solid Cryptocurrency background, having worked with multiple Crypto startups as CMO. He knows the ins and outs of promoting both physical products and SaaS and is now providing valuable insights when testing different Crypto services.