Derivatives Introduction

Overview of the Kraken Derivatives (Futures) API — REST, WebSocket, and FIX access, conventions, and testing environment

Platform overview

The Kraken Derivatives platform provides access via REST, WebSocket, and FIX APIs. For FIX, refer to the FIX introduction for session setup and authentication.

The REST API provides secure access to your Derivatives account to:

• Request current or historical price information
• Check your account balance and PnL
• View margin parameters and estimated liquidation thresholds
• Place or cancel orders (individually or in batch)
• View open orders, open positions, or trade history
• Request a digital asset withdrawal

The WebSocket API provides real-time data channels, eliminating the need to periodically poll for frequently changing information.

The API can be implemented in any language capable of managing HTTP requests. See sample implementations for code in Java, Python, C#, and Visual Basic .NET.

Conventions

Server time

All timestamps are in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).

Unique identifiers

c18f0c17-9971-40e6-8e5b-10df05d422f0

Unique identifiers follow the UUID (Universally Unique Identifier) standard.

Dates and times

2016-02-26T12:09:38.830Z

The API requires and returns dates in ISO 8601 format: <yyyy>-<mm>-<dd>T<HH>:<MM>:<SS>.<sss>Z. The millisecond component <sss> is optional when provided as an argument. Z denotes UTC.

Symbols

The system identifies accounts, margin accounts, futures contracts, and indices through ticker symbols:

Symbol	Description
xbt	Bitcoin
xrp	Ripple XRP
fi_xbtusd	Bitcoin-Dollar Futures Margin Account
fi_xrpusd	Ripple-Dollar Futures Margin Account
fi_xbtusd_180615	Bitcoin-Dollar Futures, maturing 16:00 London time 15 June 2018
in_xbtusd	Bitcoin-Dollar Real-Time Index
rr_xbtusd	Bitcoin-Dollar Reference Rate

Generate API keys

1. Sign in to your Derivatives account.

2. Click your name in the upper-right corner.

3. Select Settings from the drop-down menu.

4. Select the Create Key tab in the API panel.

5. Choose the access level:

   General API: No Access / Read Only / Full Access (excludes withdrawals)

   Withdrawal API: No Access / Full Access (controls withdrawal permissions)

6. Press Create Key.

7. Record your Public and Private keys somewhere safe.

The private key is shown only once. You cannot view it again after closing this screen.

API keys must be kept secure and never shared. If you cannot store your private key safely, do not generate it.

Key limits

Up to 50 keys can be created per account, each with a distinct nonce.

API testing environment

A fully functional demo environment is available at demo-futures.kraken.com. It is completely separate from production and does not require existing account credentials.

To get started:

1. Navigate to demo-futures.kraken.com
2. Click Sign Up — email and password are generated automatically
3. Accept the Demo Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy
4. Note your credentials for reuse, then select Complete Sign-Up

Once signed up, generate API keys for testing.

The demo API code is identical to production in terms of feeds, endpoints, and response structure. The only difference is the base URL:

Environment	Base URL
Production	https://futures.kraken.com
Demo	https://demo-futures.kraken.com

WebSocket (demo): wss://demo-futures.kraken.com/ws/v1

REST (demo): https://demo-futures.kraken.com/derivatives/api/v3/tickers

API URLs

REST API:

https://futures.kraken.com/derivatives/api/v3/
https://futures.kraken.com/api/history/v2/
https://futures.kraken.com/api/charts/v1/

WebSocket:

wss://futures.kraken.com/ws/v1

Direct access URLs for IP whitelisting are different from the above. Contact your Account Manager for whitelisted endpoint details.

Sample implementations

Sample implementations in Java, Python, C#, and Visual Basic .NET are available on GitHub:

github.com/krakenfx

If you have implemented the API in another language and would like to share it, contact support.