CCXT for PHP

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

Installation

Via Composer (REST and WebSocket)

composer require ccxt/ccxt

Required PHP Extensions

• cURL
• mbstring (UTF-8)
• PCRE
• iconv
• gmp (for some exchanges)

Optional for Async/WebSocket

• ReactPHP (installed automatically with ccxt)

Quick Start

REST API - Synchronous

<?php
date_default_timezone_set('UTC');  // Required!
require_once 'vendor/autoload.php';

$exchange = new \ccxt\binance();
$exchange->load_markets();
$ticker = $exchange->fetch_ticker('BTC/USDT');
print_r($ticker);

REST API - Asynchronous (ReactPHP)

<?php
use function React\Async\await;

date_default_timezone_set('UTC');
require_once 'vendor/autoload.php';

$exchange = new \ccxt\async\binance();
$ticker = await($exchange->fetch_ticker('BTC/USDT'));
print_r($ticker);

WebSocket API - Real-time Updates

<?php
use function React\Async\await;
use function React\Async\async;

date_default_timezone_set('UTC');
require_once 'vendor/autoload.php';

$exchange = new \ccxt\pro\binance();

while (true) {
    $ticker = await($exchange->watch_ticker('BTC/USDT'));
    print_r($ticker);  // Live updates!
}

await($exchange->close());

REST vs WebSocket

Mode	REST	WebSocket
Sync	\ccxt\binance()	(WebSocket requires async)
Async	\ccxt\async\binance()	\ccxt\pro\binance()

Feature	REST API	WebSocket API
Use for	One-time queries, placing orders	Real-time monitoring, live price feeds
Method prefix	fetch_* (fetch_ticker, fetch_order_book)	watch_* (watch_ticker, watch_order_book)
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 - Synchronous

<?php
date_default_timezone_set('UTC');
require_once 'vendor/autoload.php';

// Public API (no authentication)
$exchange = new \ccxt\binance([
    'enableRateLimit' => true  // Recommended!
]);

// Private API (with authentication)
$exchange = new \ccxt\binance([
    'apiKey' => 'YOUR_API_KEY',
    'secret' => 'YOUR_SECRET',
    'enableRateLimit' => true
]);

REST API - Asynchronous

<?php
use function React\Async\await;

$exchange = new \ccxt\async\binance([
    'enableRateLimit' => true
]);

$ticker = await($exchange->fetch_ticker('BTC/USDT'));

WebSocket API

<?php
use function React\Async\await;

// Public WebSocket
$exchange = new \ccxt\pro\binance();

// Private WebSocket (with authentication)
$exchange = new \ccxt\pro\binance([
    'apiKey' => 'YOUR_API_KEY',
    'secret' => 'YOUR_SECRET'
]);

// Always close when done
await($exchange->close());

Common REST Operations

Loading Markets

// Load all available trading pairs
$exchange->load_markets();

// Access market information
$btc_market = $exchange->market('BTC/USDT');
print_r($btc_market['limits']['amount']['min']);  // Minimum order amount

Fetching Ticker

// Single ticker
$ticker = $exchange->fetch_ticker('BTC/USDT');
print_r($ticker['last']);      // Last price
print_r($ticker['bid']);       // Best bid
print_r($ticker['ask']);       // Best ask
print_r($ticker['volume']);    // 24h volume

// Multiple tickers (if supported)
$tickers = $exchange->fetch_tickers(['BTC/USDT', 'ETH/USDT']);

Fetching Order Book

// Full orderbook
$orderbook = $exchange->fetch_order_book('BTC/USDT');
print_r($orderbook['bids'][0]);  // [price, amount]
print_r($orderbook['asks'][0]);  // [price, amount]

// Limited depth
$orderbook = $exchange->fetch_order_book('BTC/USDT', 5);  // Top 5 levels

Creating Orders

Limit Order

// Buy limit order
$order = $exchange->create_limit_buy_order('BTC/USDT', 0.01, 50000);
print_r($order['id']);

// Sell limit order
$order = $exchange->create_limit_sell_order('BTC/USDT', 0.01, 60000);

// Generic limit order
$order = $exchange->create_order('BTC/USDT', 'limit', 'buy', 0.01, 50000);

Market Order

// Buy market order
$order = $exchange->create_market_buy_order('BTC/USDT', 0.01);

// Sell market order
$order = $exchange->create_market_sell_order('BTC/USDT', 0.01);

// Generic market order
$order = $exchange->create_order('BTC/USDT', 'market', 'sell', 0.01);

Fetching Balance

$balance = $exchange->fetch_balance();
print_r($balance['BTC']['free']);   // Available balance
print_r($balance['BTC']['used']);   // Balance in orders
print_r($balance['BTC']['total']);  // Total balance

Fetching Orders

// Open orders
$open_orders = $exchange->fetch_open_orders('BTC/USDT');

// Closed orders
$closed_orders = $exchange->fetch_closed_orders('BTC/USDT');

// All orders (open + closed)
$all_orders = $exchange->fetch_orders('BTC/USDT');

// Single order by ID
$order = $exchange->fetch_order($order_id, 'BTC/USDT');

Fetching Trades

// Recent public trades
$trades = $exchange->fetch_trades('BTC/USDT', null, 10);

// Your trades (requires authentication)
$my_trades = $exchange->fetch_my_trades('BTC/USDT');

Canceling Orders

// Cancel single order
$exchange->cancel_order($order_id, 'BTC/USDT');

// Cancel all orders for a symbol
$exchange->cancel_all_orders('BTC/USDT');

WebSocket Operations (Real-time)

Watching Ticker (Live Price Updates)

<?php
use function React\Async\await;

$exchange = new \ccxt\pro\binance();

while (true) {
    $ticker = await($exchange->watch_ticker('BTC/USDT'));
    print_r($ticker['last']);
}

await($exchange->close());

Watching Order Book (Live Depth Updates)

<?php
use function React\Async\await;

$exchange = new \ccxt\pro\binance();

while (true) {
    $orderbook = await($exchange->watch_order_book('BTC/USDT'));
    print_r('Best bid: ' . $orderbook['bids'][0][0]);
    print_r('Best ask: ' . $orderbook['asks'][0][0]);
}

await($exchange->close());

Watching Trades (Live Trade Stream)

<?php
use function React\Async\await;

$exchange = new \ccxt\pro\binance();

while (true) {
    $trades = await($exchange->watch_trades('BTC/USDT'));
    foreach ($trades as $trade) {
        print_r($trade['price'] . ' ' . $trade['amount'] . ' ' . $trade['side']);
    }
}

await($exchange->close());

Watching Your Orders (Live Order Updates)

<?php
use function React\Async\await;

$exchange = new \ccxt\pro\binance([
    'apiKey' => 'YOUR_API_KEY',
    'secret' => 'YOUR_SECRET'
]);

while (true) {
    $orders = await($exchange->watch_orders('BTC/USDT'));
    foreach ($orders as $order) {
        print_r($order['id'] . ' ' . $order['status'] . ' ' . $order['filled']);
    }
}

await($exchange->close());

Watching Balance (Live Balance Updates)

<?php
use function React\Async\await;

$exchange = new \ccxt\pro\binance([
    'apiKey' => 'YOUR_API_KEY',
    'secret' => 'YOUR_SECRET'
]);

while (true) {
    $balance = await($exchange->watch_balance());
    print_r('BTC: ' . $balance['BTC']['total']);
}

await($exchange->close());

Complete Method Reference

Market Data Methods

Tickers & Prices

• fetchTicker(symbol) - Fetch ticker for one symbol
• fetchTickers([symbols]) - Fetch multiple tickers at once
• fetchBidsAsks([symbols]) - Fetch best bid/ask for multiple symbols
• fetchLastPrices([symbols]) - Fetch last prices
• fetchMarkPrices([symbols]) - Fetch mark prices (derivatives)

Order Books

• fetchOrderBook(symbol, limit) - Fetch order book
• fetchOrderBooks([symbols]) - Fetch multiple order books
• fetchL2OrderBook(symbol) - Fetch level 2 order book
• fetchL3OrderBook(symbol) - Fetch level 3 order book (if supported)

Trades

• fetchTrades(symbol, since, limit) - Fetch public trades
• fetchMyTrades(symbol, since, limit) - Fetch your trades (auth required)
• fetchOrderTrades(orderId, symbol) - Fetch trades for specific order

OHLCV (Candlesticks)

• fetchOHLCV(symbol, timeframe, since, limit) - Fetch candlestick data
• fetchIndexOHLCV(symbol, timeframe) - Fetch index price OHLCV
• fetchMarkOHLCV(symbol, timeframe) - Fetch mark price OHLCV
• fetchPremiumIndexOHLCV(symbol, timeframe) - Fetch premium index OHLCV

Account & Balance

• fetchBalance() - Fetch account balance (auth required)
• fetchAccounts() - Fetch sub-accounts
• fetchLedger(code, since, limit) - Fetch ledger history
• fetchLedgerEntry(id, code) - Fetch specific ledger entry
• fetchTransactions(code, since, limit) - Fetch transactions
• fetchDeposits(code, since, limit) - Fetch deposit history
• fetchWithdrawals(code, since, limit) - Fetch withdrawal history
• fetchDepositsWithdrawals(code, since, limit) - Fetch both deposits and withdrawals

Trading Methods

Creating Orders

• createOrder(symbol, type, side, amount, price, params) - Create order (generic)
• createLimitOrder(symbol, side, amount, price) - Create limit order
• createMarketOrder(symbol, side, amount) - Create market order
• createLimitBuyOrder(symbol, amount, price) - Buy limit order
• createLimitSellOrder(symbol, amount, price) - Sell limit order
• createMarketBuyOrder(symbol, amount) - Buy market order
• createMarketSellOrder(symbol, amount) - Sell market order
• createMarketBuyOrderWithCost(symbol, cost) - Buy with specific cost
• createStopLimitOrder(symbol, side, amount, price, stopPrice) - Stop-limit order
• createStopMarketOrder(symbol, side, amount, stopPrice) - Stop-market order
• createStopLossOrder(symbol, side, amount, stopPrice) - Stop-loss order
• createTakeProfitOrder(symbol, side, amount, takeProfitPrice) - Take-profit order
• createTrailingAmountOrder(symbol, side, amount, trailingAmount) - Trailing stop
• createTrailingPercentOrder(symbol, side, amount, trailingPercent) - Trailing stop %
• createTriggerOrder(symbol, side, amount, triggerPrice) - Trigger order
• createPostOnlyOrder(symbol, side, amount, price) - Post-only order
• createReduceOnlyOrder(symbol, side, amount, price) - Reduce-only order
• createOrders([orders]) - Create multiple orders at once
• createOrderWithTakeProfitAndStopLoss(symbol, type, side, amount, price, tpPrice, slPrice) - OCO order

Managing Orders

• fetchOrder(orderId, symbol) - Fetch single order
• fetchOrders(symbol, since, limit) - Fetch all orders
• fetchOpenOrders(symbol, since, limit) - Fetch open orders
• fetchClosedOrders(symbol, since, limit) - Fetch closed orders
• fetchCanceledOrders(symbol, since, limit) - Fetch canceled orders
• fetchOpenOrder(orderId, symbol) - Fetch specific open order
• fetchOrdersByStatus(status, symbol) - Fetch orders by status
• cancelOrder(orderId, symbol) - Cancel single order
• cancelOrders([orderIds], symbol) - Cancel multiple orders
• cancelAllOrders(symbol) - Cancel all orders for symbol
• editOrder(orderId, symbol, type, side, amount, price) - Modify order

Margin & Leverage

• fetchBorrowRate(code) - Fetch borrow rate for margin
• fetchBorrowRates([codes]) - Fetch multiple borrow rates
• fetchBorrowRateHistory(code, since, limit) - Historical borrow rates
• fetchCrossBorrowRate(code) - Cross margin borrow rate
• fetchIsolatedBorrowRate(symbol, code) - Isolated margin borrow rate
• borrowMargin(code, amount, symbol) - Borrow margin
• repayMargin(code, amount, symbol) - Repay margin
• fetchLeverage(symbol) - Fetch leverage
• setLeverage(leverage, symbol) - Set leverage
• fetchLeverageTiers(symbols) - Fetch leverage tiers
• fetchMarketLeverageTiers(symbol) - Leverage tiers for market
• setMarginMode(marginMode, symbol) - Set margin mode (cross/isolated)
• fetchMarginMode(symbol) - Fetch margin mode

Derivatives & Futures

Positions

• fetchPosition(symbol) - Fetch single position
• fetchPositions([symbols]) - Fetch all positions
• fetchPositionsForSymbol(symbol) - Fetch positions for symbol
• fetchPositionHistory(symbol, since, limit) - Position history
• fetchPositionsHistory(symbols, since, limit) - Multiple position history
• fetchPositionMode(symbol) - Fetch position mode (one-way/hedge)
• setPositionMode(hedged, symbol) - Set position mode
• closePosition(symbol, side) - Close position
• closeAllPositions() - Close all positions

Funding & Settlement

• fetchFundingRate(symbol) - Current funding rate
• fetchFundingRates([symbols]) - Multiple funding rates
• fetchFundingRateHistory(symbol, since, limit) - Funding rate history
• fetchFundingHistory(symbol, since, limit) - Your funding payments
• fetchFundingInterval(symbol) - Funding interval
• fetchSettlementHistory(symbol, since, limit) - Settlement history
• fetchMySettlementHistory(symbol, since, limit) - Your settlement history

Open Interest & Liquidations

• fetchOpenInterest(symbol) - Open interest for symbol
• fetchOpenInterests([symbols]) - Multiple open interests
• fetchOpenInterestHistory(symbol, timeframe, since, limit) - OI history
• fetchLiquidations(symbol, since, limit) - Public liquidations
• fetchMyLiquidations(symbol, since, limit) - Your liquidations

Options

• fetchOption(symbol) - Fetch option info
• fetchOptionChain(code) - Fetch option chain
• fetchGreeks(symbol) - Fetch option greeks
• fetchVolatilityHistory(code, since, limit) - Volatility history
• fetchUnderlyingAssets() - Fetch underlying assets

Fees & Limits

• fetchTradingFee(symbol) - Trading fee for symbol
• fetchTradingFees([symbols]) - Trading fees for multiple symbols
• fetchTradingLimits([symbols]) - Trading limits
• fetchTransactionFee(code) - Transaction/withdrawal fee
• fetchTransactionFees([codes]) - Multiple transaction fees
• fetchDepositWithdrawFee(code) - Deposit/withdrawal fee
• fetchDepositWithdrawFees([codes]) - Multiple deposit/withdraw fees

Deposits & Withdrawals

• fetchDepositAddress(code, params) - Get deposit address
• fetchDepositAddresses([codes]) - Multiple deposit addresses
• fetchDepositAddressesByNetwork(code) - Addresses by network
• createDepositAddress(code, params) - Create new deposit address
• fetchDeposit(id, code) - Fetch single deposit
• fetchWithdrawal(id, code) - Fetch single withdrawal
• fetchWithdrawAddresses(code) - Fetch withdrawal addresses
• fetchWithdrawalWhitelist(code) - Fetch whitelist
• withdraw(code, amount, address, tag, params) - Withdraw funds
• deposit(code, amount, params) - Deposit funds (if supported)

Transfer & Convert

• transfer(code, amount, fromAccount, toAccount) - Internal transfer
• fetchTransfer(id, code) - Fetch transfer info
• fetchTransfers(code, since, limit) - Fetch transfer history
• fetchConvertCurrencies() - Currencies available for convert
• fetchConvertQuote(fromCode, toCode, amount) - Get conversion quote
• createConvertTrade(fromCode, toCode, amount) - Execute conversion
• fetchConvertTrade(id) - Fetch convert trade
• fetchConvertTradeHistory(code, since, limit) - Convert history

Market Info

• fetchMarkets() - Fetch all markets
• fetchCurrencies() - Fetch all currencies
• fetchTime() - Fetch exchange server time
• fetchStatus() - Fetch exchange status
• fetchBorrowInterest(code, symbol, since, limit) - Borrow interest paid
• fetchLongShortRatio(symbol, timeframe, since, limit) - Long/short ratio
• fetchLongShortRatioHistory(symbol, timeframe, since, limit) - L/S ratio history

WebSocket Methods (ccxt.pro)

All REST methods have WebSocket equivalents with watch* prefix:

Real-time Market Data

• watchTicker(symbol) - Watch single ticker
• watchTickers([symbols]) - Watch multiple tickers
• watchOrderBook(symbol) - Watch order book updates
• watchOrderBookForSymbols([symbols]) - Watch multiple order books
• watchTrades(symbol) - Watch public trades
• watchOHLCV(symbol, timeframe) - Watch candlestick updates
• watchBidsAsks([symbols]) - Watch best bid/ask

Real-time Account Data (Auth Required)

• watchBalance() - Watch balance updates
• watchOrders(symbol) - Watch your order updates
• watchMyTrades(symbol) - Watch your trade updates
• watchPositions([symbols]) - Watch position updates
• watchPositionsForSymbol(symbol) - Watch positions for symbol

Authentication Required

Methods marked with 🔒 require API credentials:

• All create* methods (creating orders, addresses)
• All cancel* methods (canceling orders)
• All edit* methods (modifying orders)
• All fetchMy* methods (your trades, orders)
• fetchBalance, fetchLedger, fetchAccounts
• withdraw, transfer, deposit
• Margin/leverage methods
• Position methods
• watchBalance, watchOrders, watchMyTrades, watchPositions

Checking Method Availability

Not all exchanges support all methods. Check before using:

// Check if method is supported
if (exchange.has['fetchOHLCV']) {
    const candles = await exchange.fetchOHLCV('BTC/USDT', '1h')
}

// Check multiple capabilities
console.log(exchange.has)
// {
//   fetchTicker: true,
//   fetchOHLCV: true,
//   fetchMyTrades: true,
//   fetchPositions: false,
//   ...
// }

Method Naming Convention

• fetch* - REST API methods (HTTP requests)
• watch* - WebSocket methods (real-time streams)
• create* - Create new resources (orders, addresses)
• cancel* - Cancel existing resources
• edit* - Modify existing resources
• set* - Configure settings (leverage, margin mode)
• *Ws suffix - WebSocket variant (some exchanges)

Proxy Configuration

CCXT supports HTTP, HTTPS, and SOCKS proxies for both REST and WebSocket connections.

Setting Proxy

// 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'

// Proxy with authentication
exchange.httpProxy = 'http://user:pass@proxy-host:port'

Proxy for WebSocket

WebSocket connections also respect proxy settings:

exchange.httpsProxy = 'https://proxy:8080'
// WebSocket connections will use this proxy

Testing Proxy Connection

exchange.httpProxy = 'http://localhost:8080'
try {
    await exchange.fetchTicker('BTC/USDT')
    console.log('Proxy working!')
} catch (error) {
    console.error('Proxy connection failed:', error)
}

WebSocket-Specific Methods

Some exchanges provide WebSocket variants of REST methods for faster order placement and management. These use the *Ws suffix:

Trading via WebSocket

Creating Orders:

• createOrderWs - Create order via WebSocket (faster than REST)
• createLimitOrderWs - Create limit order via WebSocket
• createMarketOrderWs - Create market order via WebSocket
• createLimitBuyOrderWs - Buy limit order via WebSocket
• createLimitSellOrderWs - Sell limit order via WebSocket
• createMarketBuyOrderWs - Buy market order via WebSocket
• createMarketSellOrderWs - Sell market order via WebSocket
• createStopLimitOrderWs - Stop-limit order via WebSocket
• createStopMarketOrderWs - Stop-market order via WebSocket
• createStopLossOrderWs - Stop-loss order via WebSocket
• createTakeProfitOrderWs - Take-profit order via WebSocket
• createTrailingAmountOrderWs - Trailing stop via WebSocket
• createTrailingPercentOrderWs - Trailing stop % via WebSocket
• createPostOnlyOrderWs - Post-only order via WebSocket
• createReduceOnlyOrderWs - Reduce-only order via WebSocket

Managing Orders:

• editOrderWs - Edit order via WebSocket
• cancelOrderWs - Cancel order via WebSocket (faster than REST)
• cancelOrdersWs - Cancel multiple orders via WebSocket
• cancelAllOrdersWs - Cancel all orders via WebSocket

Fetching Data:

• fetchOrderWs - Fetch order via WebSocket
• fetchOrdersWs - Fetch orders via WebSocket
• fetchOpenOrdersWs - Fetch open orders via WebSocket
• fetchClosedOrdersWs - Fetch closed orders via WebSocket
• fetchMyTradesWs - Fetch your trades via WebSocket
• fetchBalanceWs - Fetch balance via WebSocket
• fetchPositionWs - Fetch position via WebSocket
• fetchPositionsWs - Fetch positions via WebSocket
• fetchPositionsForSymbolWs - Fetch positions for symbol via WebSocket
• fetchTradingFeesWs - Fetch trading fees via WebSocket

When to Use WebSocket Methods

Use *Ws methods when:

• You need faster order placement (lower latency)
• You're already connected via WebSocket
• You want to reduce REST API rate limit usage
• Trading strategies require sub-100ms latency

Use REST methods when:

• You need guaranteed execution confirmation
• You're making one-off requests
• The exchange doesn't support the WebSocket variant
• You need detailed error responses

Example: Order Placement Comparison

REST API (slower, more reliable):

const order = await exchange.createOrder('BTC/USDT', 'limit', 'buy', 0.01, 50000)

WebSocket API (faster, lower latency):

const order = await exchange.createOrderWs('BTC/USDT', 'limit', 'buy', 0.01, 50000)

Checking WebSocket Method Availability

Not all exchanges support WebSocket trading methods:

if (exchange.has['createOrderWs']) {
    // Exchange supports WebSocket order creation
    const order = await exchange.createOrderWs('BTC/USDT', 'limit', 'buy', 0.01, 50000)
} else {
    // Fall back to REST
    const order = await exchange.createOrder('BTC/USDT', 'limit', 'buy', 0.01, 50000)
}

Authentication

Setting API Keys

<?php
// During instantiation (recommended)
$exchange = new \ccxt\binance([
    'apiKey' => getenv('BINANCE_API_KEY'),
    'secret' => getenv('BINANCE_SECRET'),
    'enableRateLimit' => true
]);

// After instantiation
$exchange->apiKey = getenv('BINANCE_API_KEY');
$exchange->secret = getenv('BINANCE_SECRET');

Testing Authentication

try {
    $balance = $exchange->fetch_balance();
    print_r('Authentication successful!');
} catch (\ccxt\AuthenticationError $e) {
    print_r('Invalid API credentials');
}

Error Handling

Exception Hierarchy

BaseError
├─ NetworkError (recoverable - retry)
│  ├─ RequestTimeout
│  ├─ ExchangeNotAvailable
│  ├─ RateLimitExceeded
│  └─ DDoSProtection
└─ ExchangeError (non-recoverable - don't retry)
   ├─ AuthenticationError
   ├─ InsufficientFunds
   ├─ InvalidOrder
   └─ NotSupported

Basic Error Handling

<?php
try {
    $ticker = $exchange->fetch_ticker('BTC/USDT');
} catch (\ccxt\NetworkError $e) {
    echo 'Network error - retry: ' . $e->getMessage();
} catch (\ccxt\ExchangeError $e) {
    echo 'Exchange error - do not retry: ' . $e->getMessage();
} catch (\Exception $e) {
    echo 'Unknown error: ' . $e->getMessage();
}

Specific Exception Handling

<?php
try {
    $order = $exchange->create_order('BTC/USDT', 'limit', 'buy', 0.01, 50000);
} catch (\ccxt\InsufficientFunds $e) {
    echo 'Not enough balance';
} catch (\ccxt\InvalidOrder $e) {
    echo 'Invalid order parameters';
} catch (\ccxt\RateLimitExceeded $e) {
    echo 'Rate limit hit - wait before retrying';
    sleep(1);  // Wait 1 second
} catch (\ccxt\AuthenticationError $e) {
    echo 'Check your API credentials';
}

Retry Logic for Network Errors

<?php
function fetch_with_retry($exchange, $max_retries = 3) {
    for ($i = 0; $i < $max_retries; $i++) {
        try {
            return $exchange->fetch_ticker('BTC/USDT');
        } catch (\ccxt\NetworkError $e) {
            if ($i < $max_retries - 1) {
                echo "Retry " . ($i + 1) . "/$max_retries\n";
                sleep(1 * ($i + 1));  // Exponential backoff
            } else {
                throw $e;
            }
        }
    }
}

Rate Limiting

Built-in Rate Limiter (Recommended)

$exchange = new \ccxt\binance([
    'enableRateLimit' => true  // Automatically throttles requests
]);

Manual Delays

$exchange->fetch_ticker('BTC/USDT');
usleep($exchange->rateLimit * 1000);  // Convert ms to microseconds
$exchange->fetch_ticker('ETH/USDT');

Checking Rate Limit

print_r($exchange->rateLimit);  // Milliseconds between requests

Common Pitfalls

Forgetting Timezone Setting

// Wrong - will cause errors
<?php
require_once 'vendor/autoload.php';
$exchange = new \ccxt\binance();  // ERROR!

// Correct
<?php
date_default_timezone_set('UTC');  // Required!
require_once 'vendor/autoload.php';
$exchange = new \ccxt\binance();

Wrong Namespace Format

// Wrong - missing leading backslash
$exchange = new ccxt\binance();  // May fail!

// Correct
$exchange = new \ccxt\binance();  // Leading backslash!

Using REST for Real-time Monitoring

// Wrong - wastes rate limits
while (true) {
    $ticker = $exchange->fetch_ticker('BTC/USDT');  // REST
    print_r($ticker['last']);
    sleep(1);
}

// Correct - use WebSocket
use function React\Async\await;
$exchange = new \ccxt\pro\binance();
while (true) {
    $ticker = await($exchange->watch_ticker('BTC/USDT'));  // WebSocket
    print_r($ticker['last']);
}

Not Closing WebSocket Connections

// Wrong - memory leak
$exchange = new \ccxt\pro\binance();
$ticker = await($exchange->watch_ticker('BTC/USDT'));
// Forgot to close!

// Correct
$exchange = new \ccxt\pro\binance();
try {
    while (true) {
        $ticker = await($exchange->watch_ticker('BTC/USDT'));
    }
} finally {
    await($exchange->close());
}

Not Checking PHP Extensions

// Check required extensions before running
<?php
$required = ['curl', 'mbstring', 'iconv', 'gmp'];
foreach ($required as $ext) {
    if (!extension_loaded($ext)) {
        die("Error: $ext extension is not loaded\n");
    }
}

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

1. "date_default_timezone_get(): Invalid date.timezone"

• Solution: Add date_default_timezone_set('UTC'); at the top

2. "Class 'ccxt\binance' not found"

• Solution: Run composer require ccxt/ccxt
• Check you're using \ccxt\binance with leading backslash

3. "RateLimitExceeded"

• Solution: Enable rate limiter: 'enableRateLimit' => true

4. "AuthenticationError"

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

5. "InvalidNonce"

• Solution: Sync system clock
• Use only one exchange instance per API key

6. Missing PHP extensions

• Solution: Install required extensions:
  • Ubuntu/Debian: apt-get install php-curl php-mbstring php-gmp
  • macOS: Usually pre-installed
  • Windows: Enable in php.ini

Debugging

// Enable verbose logging
$exchange->verbose = true;

// Check exchange capabilities
print_r($exchange->has);
// Array(
//   'fetchTicker' => true,
//   'fetchOrderBook' => true,
//   'createOrder' => true,
//   ...
// )

// Check market information
print_r($exchange->markets['BTC/USDT']);

// Check last request/response
print_r($exchange->last_http_response);
print_r($exchange->last_json_response);

Prediction Markets

CCXT supports prediction-market exchanges (Polymarket, Kalshi, Limitless, Myriad, Hyperliquid) under a dedicated \ccxt\prediction namespace (async-only, ReactPHP — \ccxt\prediction\<id> IS the async class). 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.

use React\Async;

// async-only (ReactPHP)
$exchange = new \ccxt\prediction\polymarket();
Async\await($exchange->load_markets());
// discover events -> markets -> outcomes
$events = Async\await($exchange->fetch_events(['query' => 'Trump']));
$outcome = $events[0]['markets'][0]['outcomes'][0];
// each outcome has: outcome (handle, e.g. 'TRUMP_OUT_PRESIDENT_2027:YES'),
// outcomeId, market, label ('YES'/'NO')
$handle = $outcome['outcome'];
$ticker = Async\await($exchange->fetch_ticker($handle));
$book = Async\await($exchange->fetch_order_book($handle));
// limit buy 5 YES shares @ 0.40 USDC (price is 0..1 per share)
$order = Async\await($exchange->create_order($handle, 'limit', 'buy', 5, 0.40));
Async\await($exchange->cancel_order($order['id'], $handle));

• Price/trade methods (fetch_ticker, fetch_order_book, fetch_ohlcv, fetch_trades, create_order, cancel_order, …) take an outcome handle or outcomeId (the outcome / outcomes parameter), not symbol.
• Check support with $exchange->has['prediction']; discover markets via fetch_events / fetch_event (or load_markets).

Learn More

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