Skip to main content

Introduction to Prime APIs

Coinbase Prime APIs include a REST API, the FIX API protocol 4.2, and a Websocket market data feed.

  • The Prime REST API lets institutional traders place orders and get historical order data.

  • The Prime FIX API is the main API for institutional clients to execute high-volume orders.

  • The Prime Websocket Feed provides real-time market data updates for orders and trades.

tip

Coinbase recommends beginning with our REST API architecture if you are not familiar with FIX.

To access the Prime APIs, you need a Coinbase Prime account.

Audience​

Coinbase Prime APIs allow institutional investors to programmatically manage trading, custody, real-time market data, and account management:

  • Institutions with programmatic trading strategies can execute multiple order types and use Coinbase’s smart order routing technology to ensure the best all-in price across connected liquidity venues.

  • Financial technology firms, brokerages, and others looking to build a crypto offering within their products can integrate with the APIs to manage crypto trading on behalf of their customers.

  • Fund administrators and operations teams can automate critical processes such as settlements, rebalancing, and bookkeeping in a transparent manner.

Key Features​

Some features include:

Trading and Order Management - Full market access for programmatic execution and price optimization:

  • Programmatically execute market, limit, and TWAP (Time-Weighted Average Price) orders
  • Get order fills
  • Cancel orders when needed
  • Access Websocket and FIX market data

Account Management - Automate reconciliation, trade and transaction tracking, and more:

  • View resources across your account hierarchy, at the entity, organization, portfolio, and user levels
  • View transactions and positions by portfolio and wallet
  • Provide read-only access to your third-party partners for further streamlining.

Custody - Store your assets with a highly secure crypto custodian:

  • Retrieve wallets, corresponding transactions, and deposit instructions
  • View balances by type and symbol
caution

Custody-only users do not have access to Trading and Order Management APIs and features.

Technical Support​

For technical support, see our Help Center. If you do not have a Coinbase Prime account or you’d like to learn more, get started here.

Was this helpful?