Skip to content

Automating Crypto Trades with a Python Trading Bot

17 September 2024
automating crypto trades with a python trading bot

What if we could streamline our cryptocurrency trading, removing the emotional highs and lows by allowing a programmatic approach? Automating crypto trades not only enhances efficiency but also lets us execute strategies without the constant need for our direct intervention. This guide focuses on how we can harness the power of Python to create a trading bot that interfaces with crypto exchanges. By doing so, we liberate ourselves from the mundane aspects of trading and open the door to smarter decision-making.

Automating Crypto Trades with a Python Trading Bot

🚨Best top10 Crypto Online Casino & Bitcoin Online Casino Recommendation Lists.🚨 – https://Stockcoin.net

Understanding the Need for Automation

Manual trading can often feel like a double-edged sword. While it allows flexibility and a personal touch, it demands a level of attention that can be daunting. Whether due to the relentless pace of the markets or the sheer volume of trades, it’s easy for opportunities to slip through the cracks. Automation through a trading bot gives us the freedom to monitor multiple markets simultaneously, executing trades based on pre-defined parameters.

With the onset of 24/7 trading in the cryptocurrency sphere, the appeal of automation becomes even more evident. It encourages us to create a more disciplined approach, aligning with our trading strategies while minimizing the scope for mistakes that stem from fatigue or emotional reactions.

Prerequisites

Before we start building our trading bot, we need a few essential tools and packages. We’ll be working primarily in a Jupyter notebook environment, ensuring our development process remains interactive.

To begin, let’s ensure we have the necessary packages installed:

pip install sqlalchemy pip install coinbase-advanced-py

Once we have the packages ready, we can initiate Jupyter by executing:

jupyter lab

This command opens a new tab in your default browser. For those interested in using a pre-built notebook, we can clone the repository associated with this tutorial. Just remember to plug in our API keys instead of hardcoding them directly into the notebook; that’s a poor security practice that we must avoid to safeguard our sensitive data.

Automating Crypto Trades with a Python Trading Bot

🚨Best top10 Crypto Online Casino & Bitcoin Online Casino Recommendation Lists.🚨 – https://Stockcoin.net

Setting Up API Access

To automate our trading and make API calls, we need access to certain APIs, specifically the CoinGecko and Coinbase APIs.

CoinGecko API

The CoinGecko API serves as our data provider. We will use it to fetch ticker data based on specified exchange IDs. For this tutorial, the free Demo plan will suffice, providing a rate limit of 30 calls per minute, with a monthly cap of 10,000 calls. To get started, we need to create a CoinGecko account and generate our complementary Demo API key.

Coinbase API

Simultaneously, we will need access to the Coinbase API. This requires us to create an account on Coinbase and generate API keys for trading.

Creating a separate portfolio on Coinbase for this project is advisable, as it allows for better organization of our trades and limits risk.

API Endpoints We Will Use

Our trading bot will extend the functionalities of our previous arbitrage bot, now focusing on automation rather than just data monitoring. The following key endpoints will be critical in our trading operations:

Endpoint URLDescription
api/v3/brokerage/timeQueries the Advanced API server time
api/v3/brokerage/key_permissionsRetrieves permissions associated with the provided API key
api/v3/brokerage/market/products//tickerFetches the latest trades for a particular trading pair
api/v3/brokerage/portfolios/Provides a breakdown of a specified portfolio
api/v3/brokerage/ordersPlaces a market order to buy
api/v3/brokerage/orders/historical/Retrieves details for an existing order

With these endpoints in place, we equip ourselves with the necessary functionalities to monitor trading activity and execute trades seamlessly.

Automating Crypto Trades with a Python Trading Bot

🚨Best top10 Crypto Online Casino & Bitcoin Online Casino Recommendation Lists.🚨 – https://Stockcoin.net

Monitoring Crypto Trading Activity

To track trading activities effectively, we need to frequently collect price data from our chosen exchanges. However, continuous data storage can lead to memory issues; thus, we shall maintain our data using a SQLite database that lives on disk.

Using the sqlalchemy package allows us to write and interact with our database easily. We can store each exchange’s data in designated tables. At runtime, if the bot detects new trade data that is not time-stamped in the database, it appends this information.

Visualizing trading data can be highly beneficial for spotting trends. By integrating the Plotly Express library, we create dynamic visualizations that display price movements for our desired cryptocurrencies.

Collecting Data

We will configure our bot to run continuously, collecting data every minute. For example, let’s visualize ETH-USD trading for Coinbase after the bot has been running for a few hours.

This will reveal how the price action behaves over time, and we can identify patterns to inform our trading strategy. Monitoring price behaviors, such as reversals after a downtrend, could signify optimal moments for placing buy orders.

Setting Up the Coinbase API Key

Generating API keys on Coinbase is straightforward, though we must practice caution. By creating distinct portfolios for different trading strategies, we can mitigate risk. Each API key we generate can be tailored to specific portfolios, limiting the extent of any accidental trades.

To create a portfolio, we need to navigate to the ‘Portfolio’ tab on Coinbase and follow the prompts to set one up.

ActionSteps
Create Portfolio1. Click on ‘New portfolio’
2. Name based on usage
Transfer Funds1. Select the source portfolio
2. Specify the amount and destination

API Key Generation

Once portfolios are set, we proceed to the Developer Platform:

  1. Navigate to ‘Access’ and select ‘Create API key’.
  2. Assign the new key to our chosen portfolio.
  3. Set permissions to either ‘View’ for testing or ‘Trade’ for executing orders.

After downloading and securing the JSON file with our API credentials, we import the necessary classes to interface with the Coinbase API.

Automating Crypto Trades with a Python Trading Bot

🚨Best top10 Crypto Online Casino & Bitcoin Online Casino Recommendation Lists.🚨 – https://Stockcoin.net

Viewing Portfolio Details

Programmatically accessing our portfolio details allows us to manage multiple portfolios efficiently. This feature is vital for evaluating the performance of different trading strategies.

When we retrieve portfolio details using the portfolio UUID, we can obtain insights into our current balances and holdings. Regular monitoring helps us adjust our strategies based on real-time data.

Executing Market Orders

With our preparation complete, we can proceed to execute trades. Our function will leverage a unique customer ID for each order to avoid duplicates.

Placing a buy order should involve parameters such as the trading pair and the monetary amount we wish to invest. Once the order is made, the Coinbase API provides a response detailing the order’s status. This feedback loop is crucial for confirming that our trades are executed successfully.

Making a Buy Order

Let’s begin with a buy order for Ethereum using a small amount as a demonstration:

buy_order = trade_client.market_order_buy( client_order_id=generate_client_id(10), product_id=”ETH-EUR”, quote_size=”5″ )

The response will reveal whether the order succeeded and carry essential information such as the order ID. We can use this to pull future details about the order.

Automating Crypto Trades with a Python Trading Bot

🚨Best top10 Crypto Online Casino & Bitcoin Online Casino Recommendation Lists.🚨 – https://Stockcoin.net

Selling Assets

Once we have secured our position, we must be prepared to sell. By utilizing the same process that we employed for placing buy orders, we can preview our sell orders before executing them.

It’s paramount to ensure the details are correct; otherwise, we may find ourselves in unwanted positions.

Placing a Sell Order

Before executing a sell order, we can preview it:

sell_order_preview = trade_client.preview_market_order_sell( product_id=”ETH-EUR”, base_size=”0.0025″ )

After ensuring the preview looks satisfactory, we can proceed with the sell order using a similar command structure as the buy order.

Summary

As we reflect on our journey into automating crypto trading with a Python trading bot, we recognize that the potential for programmable trading solutions is immense. By using APIs to streamline our operations, we cultivate a more organized, data-driven approach to trading.

In an industry defined by volatility, our trading bot serves as a critical ally in capturing market opportunities efficiently. As we continue to refine and optimize our code, we create not just a tool, but a more reliable companion for our trading endeavors.

🚨Best top10 Crypto Online Casino & Bitcoin Online Casino Recommendation Lists.🚨 – https://Stockcoin.net