You can create API keys on Ourbit, but what you can trade with them is narrow. On the day we checked, the official public endpoint /api/v3/defaultSymbols listed just two spot pairs, BTCUSDT and ETHUSDT, as open for API trading, and Ourbit spot already charges zero fees. The API management page says each account can have up to 5 keys with up to 4 IPs each, and a key with no IP bound is valid for 90 days and can be renewed for 90 days in its last 5 days. Ourbit's referral rules do not say whether API orders count toward the rebate (Ourbit API management page, referral rules and public API, checked 2026-10-17).
This guide covers the API key rules, permissions, tradable-pair settings and renewal that Ourbit's own pages state, the fees and API trading list we pulled from the public API, a script that runs without a signature, and the questions the official pages leave open. If you plan to run a futures strategy on Ourbit through code, read "What the official pages don't make clear" before you decide.
Key takeaways
- Only two spot pairs via API: on the day we checked,
defaultSymbolsreturned BTCUSDT and ETHUSDT; the API management page also says to contact support to request API trading on other coins. - Key limits and validity: up to 5 keys per account and 4 IPs per key; a key with no IP bound expires after 90 days and can be renewed for 90 days in its last 5 days.
- Four permissions: Basic, Spot, Margin and Futures. The page offers no withdrawal permission and recommends turning on the withdrawal whitelist.
- Fees: all 883 spot pairs are 0 maker and 0 taker; all 753 perpetual contracts are 0.02% maker and 0.04% taker.
- Rebate: manual trading after signing up with code FEEOTTER and binding your UID gets a 70% futures rebate. Whether API orders count is not stated; your rebate records are the final word.
Rules stated on the API management page
The points below come from the official text on Ourbit's "API management / create new API key" page, checked 2026-10-17:
- Number: up to 5 API keys per account; names of 1 to 40 characters.
- IP: binding an IP is optional, up to 4. The page says "a key without a bound IP address is valid for 90 days (not recommended)".
- Renewal: in the last 5 days, go to "My API Key → Action → Renew" to extend it by 90 days.
- Tradable pairs: under "My API Key → Set tradable pairs" you can limit a key to specific pairs, up to 30. With none set, all pairs are tradable (still subject to the API trading list).
- Secret: shown once and cannot be recovered.
- Risk notice: you must tick agreement to the "API user risk notice" before creating a key; the page also recommends the withdrawal whitelist.
- Sub-accounts: you can create "API-only, no login" sub-accounts and create API keys for them.
One line on the same page does not match the above: "API keys are valid for 180 days after creation. Readable permissions include spot order history, spot trade history, futures order history and futures trade history." The page does not reconcile whether a key with a bound IP lasts 180 days or never expires. After creating a key, check the "Remaining validity (days)" column in the list and renew in the last 5 days.
Which permissions to tick
| Permission | Use | Needed for a strategy? |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | Read account, order and trade history | Always on |
| Spot | Place and cancel spot orders | Spot strategies only |
| Margin | Margin trading | Only if used |
| Futures | Futures trading | Futures strategies only; confirm the futures API works first |
The API management page lists no withdrawal permission. Even though the key cannot withdraw, turn on the withdrawal whitelist anyway; it adds a barrier if the account itself is compromised. Account security and KYC limits are covered in Ourbit KYC guide.
What the API can trade: tested on public endpoints
| Item | Result on the day we checked | Endpoint |
|---|---|---|
| Spot pairs open for API trading | BTCUSDT, ETHUSDT | api.ourbit.com/api/v3/defaultSymbols |
| Spot pairs and fees | 883 pairs, all 0 maker and 0 taker | api.ourbit.com/api/v3/exchangeInfo |
| BTCUSDT order types | LIMIT, MARKET, LIMIT_MAKER | Same |
| Perpetual contracts and fees | 753 contracts, all 0.02% maker and 0.04% taker | futures.ourbit.com/api/v1/contract/detail |
| BTC_USDT maximum leverage | 500x | Same |
Both spot pairs open to the API charge zero fees, so spot API trading has no fee and therefore nothing to rebate. The fees are on futures. Futures private endpoints (account assets, for example) return "No authority!" without a signature, which shows they exist, but we found no current public futures API documentation from Ourbit, so we cannot confirm that ordinary users can place futures orders through the API.
This script needs no key and checks the latest list and fees for you:
import requests
spot = requests.get("https://api.ourbit.com/api/v3/defaultSymbols").json()
print("API spot pairs:", spot["data"])
info = requests.get("https://api.ourbit.com/api/v3/exchangeInfo?symbol=BTCUSDT").json()
s = info["symbols"][0]
print(s["symbol"], "maker", s["makerCommission"], "taker", s["takerCommission"])
fut = requests.get("https://futures.ourbit.com/api/v1/contract/detail?symbol=BTC_USDT").json()["data"]
print(fut["symbol"], "maker", fut["makerFeeRate"], "taker", fut["takerFeeRate"], "max", fut["maxLeverage"])What the official pages don't make clear
- Current API docs: the API management page has an "API documentation" entry, but we could not read current docs from the public pages. A GitHub page labelled Ourbit carries an old V2 document; the website does not link to it and it covers spot only, so we don't rely on it.
- Rate limits: we found no current official figures.
- Futures API: there is a Futures permission, but the public pages say nothing about whether orders can be placed or at what rate.
- Whether API orders earn the rebate: the referral rules on Ourbit's Invite Friends page say rebates are calculated on "fees actually collected by the system" and exclude fees paid with futures bonus and abnormal trading, with no mention of the API.
Before going live, ask Ourbit support directly, or place one minimum-size order and check whether it appears in your rebate records.
How the rebate works: 70% on manual futures orders
Sign up with our code FEEOTTER and bind your UID on Fee Otter, and Ourbit futures fees earn a 70% rebate (50% automatic rebate from the exchange + 20% extra rebate). The 50% goes straight back to your Ourbit account; the 20% is settled daily by Fee Otter and paid out on request as USDT on BEP20, minimum 1 USDT per request, with the 0.015 USDT network fee paid by you. The rebate covers trading fees only, not funding or liquidation; whether API orders count is not stated by Ourbit, so your rebate records are the final word.
In numbers, with 2 million USDT a month of futures taker volume at 0.04%:
| Case | Monthly fees | Rebate | Net cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manual orders, our code and UID bound (70%) | 800 USDT | 560 USDT | 240 USDT |
| Same volume, if API orders earn no rebate | 800 USDT | 0 | 800 USDT |
The second row is a hypothetical, because the official pages are silent. For comparison, MEXC states plainly that API orders earn no commission: see MEXC API setup; the two exchanges' futures fees and rebates are compared in Ourbit vs MEXC fee rebate. Settlement is explained in how fee rebates are settled.
To follow other traders automatically and keep the rebate, look at Ourbit's built-in copy trading in the Ourbit copy trading guide. If you rely on the API, compare exchanges' rules in crypto exchange API comparison.
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