Founded in 2017, KuCoin has emerged as one of the most popular cryptocurrency exchanges in the world within just half a decade of its operations. But if you are new to the exchange or have never used crypto trading bots and associated applications before, you may be wondering how to get the KuCoin API key.
To be fair, performing the KuCoin API key setup is not an impossible challenge. In fact, it is one of the easiest processes to execute without the knowledge of coding or programming. But it does call for you to keep a few tips in mind to effortlessly generate your API keys, while also ensuring your financial safety at all times.
To assist you through this process, here’s a lowdown on setting up your KuCoin API key.
How to Get KuCoin API Key?
In order to get your own API key from KuCoin, you need to hold your own account at the exchange. It is because generating API keys for individual accounts is only possible for registered users. You can think of this as the requirement to have a registered account at an email platform before you can receive an email in your inbox.
Check the Third-Party App’s Reputation
After you have registered your account at KuCoin, you can move forward with account-specific options and create your very own API key within a few steps. While doing so, you need to make sure that you are dealing with reputable third-party software.
By checking the third-party application’s authority, transparency, and user reviews, you can lower the risk of sharing access to your digital assets with a potentially fraudulent entity. This protects the funds that you keep in the exchange account, while also enhancing your chances of earning tangible profits through the solution’s help in the long run.
Don’t Choose an App That Asks for Withdrawal Access
Before you perform your KuCoin API key setup, you should also make sure that your chosen app is not asking for withdrawal access through your API key. This access allows the respective third-party app to transfer funds out of your exchange account and to any account or wallet of its choosing.
Since this could put your whole exchange account and all of your funds within it at risk, it is a highly imperative detail to note down while learning how to get the KuCoin API key. The best approach is to stay away from any app that asks for you to share withdrawal access through API keys.
Enable 2FA Before Your API Key Setup
If you have been using your exchange account for a while, you must be aware of two-factor authentication (2FA) or multi-factor authentication (MFA). Simply put, these authentication methods require you to verify your identity through multiple means such as your email and phone. This could happen at each login to the exchange or every sensitive request that you submit.
When you are going through your KuCoin API key setup, you are also required to perform a 2FA check through Google Authenticator. If you don’t have 2FA enabled, you will have to go through the setup. That is why, in order to save time, you can perform the setup beforehand and then simply verify your identity during the API key setup phase.
How to Set Up KuCoin API Keys
Learning the setup for KuCoin keys is quite a comfortable process. You just need to follow a set of instructions. If you don’t deviate from them, you can be confident that you would complete the requirements without any errors.
You can keep the following information in mind to breeze through learning how to get the KuCoin API key.
Initiate Through an Account Login
While you move forward with the setup for your KuCoin API key, it is imperative to keep in mind that the process has to be completed through the official KuCoin website. The option is also not available to just about anyone who visits the KuCoin website. It is because API key generation is a specific feature that is only available to account holders at KuCoin.
As a result, you not only need to visit KuCoin’s website to generate your API key but also have to log in by using your email and password. This gives you access to features and details that are exclusive to your account and allow the system to generate an API key that works for you.
Click on Your Account Avatar
Once you are logged-in, you can see an account avatar at the top-right section of the screen. The avatar is located right next to the globe icon and remains quite easy to spot. After you click on it, you get access to a dropdown menu that gives an overview of your account, as well as options regarding trading fees and account security.
In order to proceed further with the KuCoin API key setup, you can click on the API Management option. This text is located just above the Sub-Account and Logout links on the menu. You simply have to click on the option in order to move forward to the next step.
Choose Which API to Create
The KuCoin exchange gives you the ability to create APIs for multiple types of trading. You need to select which type of API key you want to create. This decision depends upon the kind of trading activities that you want to execute over the KuCoin market.
You can choose between two categories of trading, namely spot, and futures. Choosing the API option takes you directly to the Spot API Management page. But you can select the Futures API Management right below the page heading. Regardless of the type of option that you select, the rest of the steps essentially remain the same.
Click on Create API
Whichever API you choose, you can find a Create API button at the right side of the API Management page. After you click on it, you can move on to the next step of the process while staying on the KuCoin website. Until this step, the process is as simple as clicking a button on each page.
But after you click on Create API, you will be led to another page where you can do the KuCoin API key setup. The setup options here will require an additional level of attention. However, they are still pretty easy to get through and don’t require you to move mountains.
Set Up the Required Fields
The Create API page itself is a combination of different data entry fields that are each important in their own regard. This makes it essential for you to go through all of them and learn how to get KuCoin API key through these fields. This way, you can know the implications these fields would have with your API key’s creation as well as its overall function in the future.
API Name
This field asks for you to give a nickname to your API key. As a result, the specific API key becomes easily identifiable if you create more than one key in the future.
API Passphrase
This is similar to having a password for an email account. You will need to remember this passphrase so you can enter it with your third-party software. The application will then use this passphrase to connect to KuCoin. You can use up to 32 characters while creating the passphrase.
If you forget the passphrase before you are able to set it up with your third-party bot or app, it will create issues with your API keys. Keeping this in mind, make it a point to create a passphrase that is hard to guess for others, but easy to remember for you.
API Restrictions
This section comprises a few options that you can choose through a checkbox. This is one of the most crucial parts of learning how to deal with API keys. If you choose an option that puts your security at risk, you may also expose your finances to bad actors.
This includes the following options.
- General. This is basically a read-only permission level, which means that any third-party app with this access can simply read your account balances, transactions, and other data without being able to execute any transactions. This type of API access is generally suitable for portfolio tracker apps. But it renders third-party trading bots unusable.
- Trade. This is a step up from the read-only permission type and allows your third-party application to perform trades on the KuCoin platform using your funds. This particular access level is ideal for trading bots as well as nearly all types of third-party applications. All credible bot solutions will ask you to check this box during your API key setup for KuCoin exchange.
- Transfer. This particular permission level is also known as ‘withdrawal’ in layman’s terms as well as in the broader cryptocurrency community. If you check this box, you will allow the connected third-party app to withdraw funds from your KuCoin exchange account to any account or wallet of its choosing. Due to this reason, you should always leave this box unchecked.
IP Restriction
This section restricts your API key access to applications that are connecting through specific IP addresses. While this adds another level of security to the mix, it is not necessary or practical for third-party applications to be restricted by this requirement. Due to this reason, you may choose No on this option and click Next.
Verify Your Identity
The next step is verifying your identity. If you had set up 2FA at the beginning of the process, you can easily move forward with entering all of the details that are required for this section.
This includes the following information:
- Trading Password. This is the 6-digit password that you use on KuCoin for withdrawals, trading, and API key setup.
- Email Verification Code. You need to click Send Code for this to work. Once you receive the email, you can enter the corresponding code into this field.
- 2FA Code. You can get this code through your Google Authenticator app.
You Need to Check Your Email
After you enter the required data, you will receive another email from KuCoin with a clickable button to activate your API. Once you Click Activate API, you will be led to the page where your API is created by KuCoin.
This means that you will need swift access to your email both for the verification as well as confirmation for API key generation. Ideally, you should use the same web browser to configure the API and open the email, so you could easily switch while also copying and pasting required the data between KuCoin, your email, and the third-party application.
You Have Your API Key
You will receive an API key as well as a Secret Key. It is important that you do not share these keys publicly and directly enter them into your third-party platform’s interface yourself. You will also need to enter the passphrase that you chose while creating the API key. This completes your KuCoin API key setup for your chosen application.
The process is as simple as it sounds, which means that you can easily complete it with a few minutes of your time.
Create Different API Keys to Use Across Various Applications
You can create multiple API keys at KuCoin and use them across a variety of reputable applications, including trading bots. This provides you with the flexibility to keep your account protected while also making the most out of the advancements in connectivity.
You just need to make sure that you are connecting your KuCoin account with trustworthy applications and platforms. This lowers your risk of losing your funds to incidents such as financial and data theft. By keeping an eye on platform reviews and associated community sentiment about applications, you can steer clear of avoidable issues.