CCXT vs the KuCoin Futures API

kucoinfutures is a product line of KuCoin — KuCoin's derivatives venue, which runs on a different API host from KuCoin spot.

Because it shares an API dialect with KuCoin, CCXT implements it by extending its kucoin class. Everything in the CCXT vs the KuCoin API comparison applies here — this page covers only what is specific to kucoinfutures.

What is different

Same account as KuCoin spot, but a genuinely different API — different host, different endpoints, different response shapes. That is why CCXT models it as its own class rather than an option on the spot class.

Symbols are swaps (BTC/USDT:USDT). Position, leverage and funding-rate methods live here, not on kucoin.

What CCXT gives you here

_{Figures verified September 2026 against CCXT v4.5.77, read from the source tree with build/comparisons-facts.cjs. Counts include everything inherited from kucoin.}

Using it

The class name is the only thing that changes — every unified method behaves as it does everywhere else in CCXT:

import ccxt

exchange = ccxt.kucoinfutures({'apiKey': '...', 'secret': '...'})
markets = exchange.load_markets()
ticker = exchange.fetch_ticker(list(markets)[0])

Because kucoinfutures lists a different market set from kucoin, call load_markets() and pick symbols from it rather than assuming a pair exists.

Streaming works the same way:

import ccxt.pro, asyncio

async def main():
    exchange = ccxt.pro.kucoinfutures()
    while True:
        orderbook = await exchange.watch_order_book('BTC/USDT')
        print(orderbook['bids'][0], orderbook['asks'][0])

asyncio.run(main())

Should you use this class or the parent?

Use kucoinfutures when you hold an account with KuCoin Futures specifically. Use kucoin when you hold an account with the main venue and want its other product lines from one client. They are different hosts, so this is not a preference — it follows from where your account is.

FAQ

Do my kucoin API keys work with kucoinfutures? Yes — it is the same account and the same credentials, just a different product host.

Does kucoinfutures support the full unified API? It inherits 111 unified capabilities from kucoin. Where the venue does not offer a feature, the corresponding has flag is turned off, and the method raises NotSupported rather than failing quietly. Check exchange.has at runtime.

Can I reach KuCoin Futures-specific endpoints? Yes — all 351 endpoints in this class's api block are generated as implicit methods, with signing, rate limiting and error mapping applied. The mechanism is documented on the kucoin implicit API page; this venue's own endpoint list differs slightly from the parent's.

Is CCXT free? Yes. MIT-licensed, including the WebSocket support.

Next steps

• CCXT vs the KuCoin API — the full comparison
• kucoinfutures API reference
• Install CCXT
• Manual
• More comparisons