CCXT for Java

A comprehensive guide to using CCXT in Java projects for cryptocurrency exchange integration.

Installation

Via Gradle

// build.gradle
repositories {
    mavenCentral()
}
dependencies {
    implementation 'io.github.ccxt:ccxt:latest.release'
}

Via Maven

<dependency>
    <groupId>io.github.ccxt</groupId>
    <artifactId>ccxt</artifactId>
    <version>LATEST</version>
</dependency>

Requirements

• Java 21 or higher (uses virtual threads)

Quick Start

REST API

import io.github.ccxt.exchanges.Binance;
import io.github.ccxt.types.Ticker;

Binance exchange = new Binance();
exchange.loadMarkets(false);
Ticker ticker = exchange.fetchTicker("BTC/USDT");
System.out.println(ticker.last);

WebSocket API - Real-time Updates

import io.github.ccxt.exchanges.pro.Binance;

var exchange = new Binance();
exchange.loadMarkets(false);
while (true) {
    Ticker ticker = exchange.watchTicker("BTC/USDT"); // typed sync, blocks for one update
    System.out.println(ticker.last);
}

Architecture: Typed Subclasses

Each exchange has two classes following the Go pattern:

• BinanceCore - transpiled untyped class (internal, extends BinanceApi extends Exchange)
• Binance - typed wrapper extending Core with typed overloads (user-facing)

// User-facing typed class (recommended)
Binance exchange = new Binance();
Ticker ticker = exchange.fetchTicker("BTC/USDT");       // returns Ticker
List<Trade> trades = exchange.fetchTrades("BTC/USDT");   // returns List<Trade>

// Exchange-specific implicit API methods are also accessible
Object raw = exchange.publicGetTicker24hr(params).join(); // Binance-specific endpoint

// Properties accessible directly
exchange.apiKey = "...";
exchange.secret = "...";

The typed methods use Java method overloading. They coexist safely with untyped methods because Java resolves overloads at compile time: BinanceCore.java is compiled without knowledge of Binance.java's typed overloads, so internal calls always bind to untyped varargs.

REST vs WebSocket

Feature	REST API	WebSocket API
Use for	One-time queries, placing orders	Real-time monitoring, live price feeds
Import	io.github.ccxt.exchanges.Binance	io.github.ccxt.exchanges.pro.Binance
Methods	fetch* (fetchTicker, fetchOrderBook)	watch* (watchTicker, watchOrderBook)
Returns	Typed objects (Ticker, List<Trade>)	CompletableFuture<Object> (call .join())
Speed	Slower (HTTP request/response)	Faster (persistent connection)
Rate limits	Strict (1-2 req/sec)	More lenient (continuous stream)
Best for	Trading, account management	Price monitoring, arbitrage detection

Creating Exchange Instance

REST API

import io.github.ccxt.exchanges.Binance;
import java.util.Map;
import java.util.HashMap;

// Public API (no authentication)
Binance exchange = new Binance();

// Private API (with authentication)
Map<String, Object> config = new HashMap<>();
config.put("apiKey", "YOUR_API_KEY");
config.put("secret", "YOUR_SECRET");
Binance exchange = new Binance(config);

WebSocket API

import io.github.ccxt.exchanges.pro.Binance;

// Public WebSocket
var exchange = new Binance();

// Private WebSocket (with authentication)
Map<String, Object> config = new HashMap<>();
config.put("apiKey", "YOUR_API_KEY");
config.put("secret", "YOUR_SECRET");
var exchange = new Binance(config);

Dynamic Instantiation (generic, untyped)

import io.github.ccxt.Exchange;

// Returns Exchange type - no typed methods, but works for any exchange
Exchange exchange = Exchange.dynamicallyCreateInstance("binance", config);
Object ticker = exchange.fetchTicker("BTC/USDT").join(); // untyped, returns CompletableFuture

Common REST Operations

Loading Markets

// Load all available trading pairs (typed)
Map<String, MarketInterface> markets = exchange.loadMarkets(false);

// Access market information
MarketInterface btcMarket = markets.get("BTC/USDT");
System.out.println(btcMarket.base);    // "BTC"
System.out.println(btcMarket.quote);   // "USDT"
System.out.println(btcMarket.active);  // true

Fetching Ticker

// Single ticker (typed)
Ticker ticker = exchange.fetchTicker("BTC/USDT");
System.out.println(ticker.last);      // Last price
System.out.println(ticker.bid);       // Best bid
System.out.println(ticker.ask);       // Best ask
System.out.println(ticker.baseVolume); // 24h volume

// Async variant
CompletableFuture<Ticker> future = exchange.fetchTickerAsync("BTC/USDT", null);

Fetching Order Book

// Full orderbook (typed)
OrderBook orderbook = exchange.fetchOrderBook("BTC/USDT", null, null);
System.out.println(orderbook.bids.get(0)); // [price, amount]
System.out.println(orderbook.asks.get(0)); // [price, amount]

// Limited depth
OrderBook orderbook = exchange.fetchOrderBook("BTC/USDT", 5L, null);

Fetching Trades

// Recent public trades (typed)
List<Trade> trades = exchange.fetchTrades("BTC/USDT");
for (Trade t : trades) {
    System.out.println(t.datetime + " " + t.side + " " + t.price + " x " + t.amount);
}

// With optional params (pass null to skip)
List<Trade> trades = exchange.fetchTrades("BTC/USDT", null, 20L, null);

Fetching OHLCV (Candlesticks)

List<OHLCV> candles = exchange.fetchOHLCV("BTC/USDT", "1h", null, 10L, null);
for (OHLCV c : candles) {
    System.out.println(c.timestamp + " O:" + c.open + " H:" + c.high + " L:" + c.low + " C:" + c.close);
}

Creating Orders

Limit Order

// Buy limit order (typed)
Order order = exchange.createOrder("BTC/USDT", "limit", "buy", 0.01, 50000.0, null);
System.out.println(order.id);

// Sell limit order
Order order = exchange.createOrder("BTC/USDT", "limit", "sell", 0.01, 60000.0, null);

Market Order

// Buy market order
Order order = exchange.createOrder("BTC/USDT", "market", "buy", 0.01, null, null);

// Sell market order
Order order = exchange.createOrder("BTC/USDT", "market", "sell", 0.01, null, null);

Fetching Balance

Balances balance = exchange.fetchBalance((Map<String, Object>) null);
// Access via the info map
System.out.println(balance);

Fetching Orders

// Open orders
List<Order> openOrders = exchange.fetchOpenOrders("BTC/USDT");

// Closed orders
List<Order> closedOrders = exchange.fetchClosedOrders("BTC/USDT");

// Single order by ID
Order order = exchange.fetchOrder("orderId123", "BTC/USDT", null);

Canceling Orders

// Cancel single order
Order cancelled = exchange.cancelOrder("orderId123", "BTC/USDT", null);

// Cancel all orders for a symbol
List<Order> cancelled = exchange.cancelAllOrders("BTC/USDT", null);

Exchange-Specific (Implicit) API

Each exchange class inherits exchange-specific endpoint methods from its Api class. These return CompletableFuture<Object> (untyped):

import io.github.ccxt.exchanges.Binance;

Binance exchange = new Binance();
exchange.loadMarkets(false);

// Binance-specific public endpoints
Map<String, Object> params = new HashMap<>();
params.put("symbol", "BTCUSDT");
Object rawTicker = exchange.publicGetTicker24hr(params).join();

// Binance-specific private endpoints (requires auth)
Object accountInfo = exchange.sapiGetAccountInfo(null).join();

// Access raw exchange info
Object exchangeInfo = exchange.publicGetExchangeInfo(null).join();

WebSocket Operations (Real-time)

WebSocket classes are in io.github.ccxt.exchanges.pro. They return CompletableFuture<Object>:

Watching Ticker

import io.github.ccxt.exchanges.pro.Binance;

var exchange = new Binance();
exchange.loadMarkets(false);
while (true) {
    Ticker ticker = exchange.watchTicker("BTC/USDT"); // typed sync, blocks for one update
    System.out.println("Last: " + ticker.last);
}

Watching Order Book

var exchange = new Binance();
exchange.loadMarkets(false);
while (true) {
    OrderBook ob = exchange.watchOrderBook("BTC/USDT");
    System.out.println("Best bid: " + ob.bids.get(0));
}

Watching Trades

var exchange = new Binance();
exchange.loadMarkets(false);
while (true) {
    List<Trade> trades = exchange.watchTrades("BTC/USDT");
    for (Trade t : trades) {
        System.out.println(t.price + " " + t.amount + " " + t.side);
    }
}

Watching Your Orders (Private)

Map<String, Object> config = Map.of("apiKey", "KEY", "secret", "SECRET");
var exchange = new Binance(config);
exchange.loadMarkets(false);
while (true) {
    List<Order> orders = exchange.watchOrders("BTC/USDT");
    System.out.println(orders);
}

Sync vs Async

Java CCXT provides three patterns — and the symmetry applies to both REST fetch* and WS watch* methods.

1. Typed Sync (blocking)

// REST — blocks until one HTTP response
Binance exchange = new Binance();
Ticker ticker = exchange.fetchTicker("BTC/USDT");

// WS — blocks until one streaming update
var wsExchange = new io.github.ccxt.exchanges.pro.Binance();
Ticker tick = wsExchange.watchTicker("BTC/USDT");

2. Typed Async (non-blocking)

// REST async
CompletableFuture<Ticker> future = exchange.fetchTickerAsync("BTC/USDT", null);
future.thenAccept(ticker -> System.out.println(ticker.last));

// WS async — same shape, returns CompletableFuture<Ticker> that completes on next update
CompletableFuture<Ticker> wsFuture = wsExchange.watchTickerAsync("BTC/USDT", null);
wsFuture.thenAccept(tick -> System.out.println(tick.last));

// Compose multiple watches without blocking the calling thread:
CompletableFuture.allOf(
    wsExchange.watchTickerAsync("BTC/USDT", null),
    wsExchange.watchOrderBookAsync("ETH/USDT", null, null)
).join();

Every typed fetch* and watch* method has a matching *Async overload at every supported arity, including zero-arg (where the method allows it). Same return-type symmetry: Ticker fetchTicker(...) ↔ CompletableFuture<Ticker> fetchTickerAsync(...); Tickers watchTickers(...) ↔ CompletableFuture<Tickers> watchTickersAsync(...).

3. Untyped (CompletableFuture<Object>)

Exchange exchange = Exchange.dynamicallyCreateInstance("binance", null);
Object result = exchange.fetchTicker("BTC/USDT").join();

Complete Method Reference

Market Data Methods

Tickers & Prices

• fetchTicker(symbol) - Fetch ticker for one symbol
• fetchTickers(symbols, params) - Fetch multiple tickers
• fetchBidsAsks(symbols, params) - Fetch best bid/ask
• fetchLastPrices(symbols, params) - Fetch last prices
• fetchMarkPrice(symbol, params) - Fetch mark price (derivatives)

Order Books

• fetchOrderBook(symbol, limit, params) - Fetch order book

Trades

• fetchTrades(symbol, since, limit, params) - Fetch public trades
• fetchMyTrades(symbol, since, limit, params) - Fetch your trades (auth required)

OHLCV (Candlesticks)

• fetchOHLCV(symbol, timeframe, since, limit, params) - Fetch candlestick data

Account & Balance

• fetchBalance(params) - Fetch account balance (auth required)
• fetchAccounts(params) - Fetch sub-accounts
• fetchLedger(code, since, limit, params) - Fetch ledger history

Trading Methods

Creating Orders

• createOrder(symbol, type, side, amount, price, params) - Create order
• createOrders(orders, params) - Create multiple orders
• editOrder(id, symbol, type, side, amount, price, params) - Modify order

Managing Orders

• fetchOrder(id, symbol, params) - Fetch single order
• fetchOrders(symbol, since, limit, params) - Fetch all orders
• fetchOpenOrders(symbol, since, limit, params) - Fetch open orders
• fetchClosedOrders(symbol, since, limit, params) - Fetch closed orders
• cancelOrder(id, symbol, params) - Cancel single order
• cancelAllOrders(symbol, params) - Cancel all orders

Derivatives & Futures

• fetchPosition(symbol, params) - Fetch single position
• fetchPositions(symbols, params) - Fetch all positions
• fetchFundingRate(symbol, params) - Current funding rate
• fetchFundingRateHistory(symbol, since, limit, params) - Funding rate history
• setLeverage(leverage, symbol, params) - Set leverage
• setMarginMode(marginMode, symbol, params) - Set margin mode

Deposits & Withdrawals

• fetchDepositAddress(code, params) - Get deposit address
• withdraw(code, amount, address, tag, params) - Withdraw funds
• transfer(code, amount, fromAccount, toAccount, params) - Internal transfer
• fetchDeposits(code, since, limit, params) - Fetch deposit history
• fetchWithdrawals(code, since, limit, params) - Fetch withdrawal history

Fees

• fetchTradingFee(symbol, params) - Trading fee for symbol
• fetchTradingFees(params) - All trading fees

WebSocket Methods

All REST methods have WebSocket equivalents with watch* prefix:

• watchTicker(symbol) - Watch single ticker
• watchTickers(symbols) - Watch multiple tickers
• watchOrderBook(symbol) - Watch order book updates
• watchTrades(symbol) - Watch public trades
• watchOHLCV(symbol, timeframe) - Watch candlestick updates
• watchBalance() - Watch balance updates (auth required)
• watchOrders(symbol) - Watch your order updates (auth required)
• watchMyTrades(symbol) - Watch your trade updates (auth required)

Optional Parameters

Java typed methods use null for optional parameters:

// Full params
List<Trade> trades = exchange.fetchTrades("BTC/USDT", sinceTimestamp, 100L, extraParams);

// Skip optional params with null
List<Trade> trades = exchange.fetchTrades("BTC/USDT", null, 100L, null);

// Convenience overload (required params only)
List<Trade> trades = exchange.fetchTrades("BTC/USDT");

Authentication

Setting API Keys

Map<String, Object> config = new HashMap<>();
config.put("apiKey", System.getenv("BINANCE_API_KEY"));
config.put("secret", System.getenv("BINANCE_SECRET"));
Binance exchange = new Binance(config);

// Or set after creation
exchange.apiKey = System.getenv("BINANCE_API_KEY");
exchange.secret = System.getenv("BINANCE_SECRET");

Testing Authentication

try {
    Balances balance = exchange.fetchBalance((Map<String, Object>) null);
    System.out.println("Authentication successful!");
} catch (CompletionException e) {
    if (e.getCause() instanceof AuthenticationError) {
        System.out.println("Invalid API credentials");
    }
}

Error Handling

Exception Hierarchy

BaseError
+- NetworkError (recoverable - retry)
|  +- RequestTimeout
|  +- ExchangeNotAvailable
|  +- RateLimitExceeded
|  +- DDoSProtection
+- ExchangeError (non-recoverable - don't retry)
   +- AuthenticationError
   +- InsufficientFunds
   +- InvalidOrder
   +- BadSymbol
   +- NotSupported

Basic Error Handling

Typed sync methods (fetchTicker, createOrder, fetchBalance, etc.) unwrap CompletionException internally and rethrow the underlying typed ccxt error, so users write idiomatic Java try/catch with multiple typed catch blocks in most-specific → least-specific order — same shape as catching ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException / IOException from the JDK:

import io.github.ccxt.errors.*;
import io.github.ccxt.exchanges.Binance;
import io.github.ccxt.types.Ticker;

Binance exchange = new Binance();
try {
    Ticker ticker = exchange.fetchTicker("BTC/USDT");
} catch (NetworkError e) {
    System.out.println("Network error - retry: " + e.getMessage());
} catch (ExchangeError e) {
    System.out.println("Exchange error - do not retry: " + e.getMessage());
}

No CompletionException boilerplate, no .getCause() unwrap needed.

Java pitfalls when catching ccxt errors

1. You cannot multi-catch a parent and child error together. Java forbids it:

   // ❌ compile error — BaseError is parent of NetworkError
   catch (NetworkError | BaseError e) { ... }
   
   // ✅ separate clauses, most-specific first
   catch (NetworkError e) { ... }
   catch (BaseError e) { ... }
   

2. Passing null to a sync method can be ambiguous for the 13 zero-required-param methods (fetchBalance, fetchOrders, fetchMyTrades, fetchOpenOrders, fetchClosedOrders, fetchCanceledOrders, fetchTime, fetchStatus, fetchTickers, fetchPositions, fetchAccounts, fetchCurrencies, fetchMarkets) plus their *Ws siblings. These ship both a typed fetchX(Map<String, Object> params) and the base fetchX(Object...) varargs, so a bare null matches both:

   // ❌ "reference to fetchBalance is ambiguous"
   exchange.fetchBalance(null);
   
   // ✅ use the typed zero-arg overload (these 13 methods ship one)
   exchange.fetchBalance();
   
   // ✅ or cast to disambiguate (always works)
   exchange.fetchBalance((Map<String, Object>) null);
   

   Same applies to fetchBalanceAsync(null) etc. For methods outside the list, the typed zero-arg form doesn't exist — pass an explicit argument or use the cast form.

3. The JVM stays alive after main() returns because of internal HTTP/scheduler threads (Netty event loop, virtual-thread executors per WS connection). Call exchange.close() to release them; as a last resort System.exit(0) will force-exit. Avoid Runtime.addShutdownHook — a shutdown hook runs during JVM shutdown, it doesn't trigger one.

Specific Exception Handling

Multi-catch and ordering work exactly as JDK conventions expect:

try {
    Order order = exchange.createOrder("BTC/USDT", "limit", "buy", 0.01, 50000.0, null);
} catch (InsufficientFunds e) {
    System.out.println("Not enough balance: " + e.getMessage());
} catch (InvalidOrder e) {                                  // covers OrderNotFound, DuplicateOrderId, etc.
    System.out.println("Invalid order params: " + e.getMessage());
} catch (AuthenticationError e) {
    System.out.println("Check your API credentials: " + e.getMessage());
} catch (RateLimitExceeded | DDoSProtection e) {             // multi-catch — same handler for both
    Thread.sleep(30_000);
} catch (NetworkError e) {                                   // any other transient: RequestTimeout, ExchangeNotAvailable
    Thread.sleep(2_000);
} catch (ExchangeError e) {                                  // any other exchange-side error
    System.out.println("Exchange refused: " + e.getMessage());
} catch (BaseError e) {                                      // ccxt catch-all (rare)
    System.out.println("CCXT error: " + e.getMessage());
}

Note: each catch clause must be for a single class; you cannot multi-catch NetworkError | BaseError because BaseError is a parent of NetworkError. The order above (most-specific to least-specific) is the JDK convention.

Async Error Handling

For async methods (fetchTickerAsync, createOrderAsync, …), the returned CompletableFuture wraps exceptions in CompletionException. Use the Helpers.unwrap() helper inside .exceptionally(...) to peel the wrapper and pattern-match the underlying ccxt error:

import io.github.ccxt.Helpers;

exchange.fetchTickerAsync("BTC/USDT")
    .thenAccept(t -> System.out.println(t.last()))
    .exceptionally(throwable -> {
        Throwable cause = Helpers.unwrap(throwable);          // peels CompletionException
        return switch (cause) {                                // pattern-matching switch (Java 21+)
            case RateLimitExceeded e   -> { backoff(); yield null; }
            case NetworkError e        -> { retry(); yield null; }
            case AuthenticationError e -> { refreshCredentials(); yield null; }
            case ExchangeError e       -> { logExchangeError(e); yield null; }
            case BaseError e           -> { logCcxtError(e); yield null; }
            default -> throw new java.util.concurrent.CompletionException(cause);
        };
    });

If you'd rather block and use the sync exception style, you can also do Helpers.joinUnwrapped(future) instead of calling .join() directly — that's the same helper the typed sync wrappers use internally.

Rate Limiting

Built-in Rate Limiter (Enabled by Default)

// Rate limiting is enabled by default
Binance exchange = new Binance();
System.out.println(exchange.enableRateLimit); // true
System.out.println(exchange.rateLimit);       // milliseconds between requests

Proxy Configuration

// HTTP Proxy
exchange.httpProxy = "http://your-proxy-host:port";

// HTTPS Proxy
exchange.httpsProxy = "https://your-proxy-host:port";

// SOCKS Proxy
exchange.socksProxy = "socks://your-proxy-host:port";

Common Pitfalls

Typed vs Untyped Methods

// Typed (recommended) - use concrete exchange class
Binance exchange = new Binance();
Ticker ticker = exchange.fetchTicker("BTC/USDT");  // returns Ticker

// Untyped - generic Exchange reference
Exchange exchange = Exchange.dynamicallyCreateInstance("binance", null);
Object result = exchange.fetchTicker("BTC/USDT").join();  // returns Object

Null for Optional Parameters

// Wrong - ambiguous with varargs
exchange.fetchBalance(null);

// Correct - cast null to specific type
exchange.fetchBalance((Map<String, Object>) null);

Wrong Symbol Format

// Wrong
"BTCUSDT"    // No separator
"BTC-USDT"   // Dash separator
"btc/usdt"   // Lowercase

// Correct
"BTC/USDT"   // Unified CCXT format

REST for Real-time Monitoring

// Wrong - wastes rate limits
while (true) {
    Ticker ticker = exchange.fetchTicker("BTC/USDT");
    Thread.sleep(1000);
}

// Correct - use WebSocket
var wsExchange = new io.github.ccxt.exchanges.pro.Binance();
wsExchange.loadMarkets(false);
while (true) {
    Ticker ticker = wsExchange.watchTicker("BTC/USDT"); // typed sync
}

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

1. "Java 21 required"

• Solution: CCXT Java requires Java 21+ for virtual threads

2. "RateLimitExceeded"

• Solution: Rate limiting is enabled by default. If you disabled it, re-enable with exchange.enableRateLimit = true

3. "AuthenticationError"

• Solution: Check API key and secret
• Verify API key permissions on exchange
• Check system clock is synced

4. "NotSupported"

• Solution: Check exchange.has map for method availability before calling

5. Typed methods not visible

• Solution: Use the concrete exchange type (Binance exchange = new Binance()) not the generic Exchange type

Debugging

// Enable verbose logging
exchange.verbose = true;

// Check exchange capabilities
System.out.println(exchange.has);

Prediction Markets

CCXT supports prediction-market exchanges (Polymarket, Kalshi, Limitless, Myriad, Hyperliquid) under the io.github.ccxt.exchanges.prediction package. They use the same unified API, but prices are quoted 0–1 (USDC per outcome share) and the tradeable unit is an outcome (e.g. a market's YES/NO token), not a regular market symbol.

import io.github.ccxt.exchanges.prediction.Polymarket;
import io.github.ccxt.types.PredictionOrder;

Polymarket exchange = new Polymarket();
exchange.loadMarkets();
// discover events -> markets -> outcomes (each outcome has: outcome (handle),
// outcomeId, market, label); fetchEvents / fetchEvent are available too
// an outcome handle looks like 'TRUMP_OUT_PRESIDENT_2027:YES'
String handle = "TRUMP_OUT_PRESIDENT_2027:YES";
var ticker = exchange.fetchTicker(handle);
var book = exchange.fetchOrderBook(handle);
// limit buy 5 YES shares @ 0.40 USDC (price is 0..1 per share)
PredictionOrder order = exchange.createOrder(handle, "limit", "buy", 5.0, 0.40);
exchange.cancelOrder(order.id, handle);

• Price/trade methods (fetchTicker, fetchOrderBook, fetchOHLCV, fetchTrades, createOrder, cancelOrder, …) take an outcome handle or outcomeId (the outcome parameter), not a market symbol.
• Discover markets via fetchEvents / fetchEvent (or loadMarkets).

Learn More

• CCXT Manual
• CCXT Pro Documentation
• Supported Exchanges
• GitHub Repository