Linking KuCoin API Keys [Tutorial]
Make it easy to diversify and rebalance by connecting your API Keys to Shrimpy.
We’ve had a ton of growth recently and realized we needed a step-by-step guide (with lots of pictures) to help you unlock the power of Shrimpy for free. If you don’t know what rebalancing is or the benefits of rebalancing, check out the our overview of portfolio rebalancing for cryptocurrency.
So you’ve got a Shrimpy account, a KuCoin account, you know rebalancing could help you, but you don’t understand API keys or how to use them. Keep reading!
What are API Keys anyways?
An API key and API secret are like a username and password. These keys allow Shrimpy to communicate with the exchange in order to perform trades. Basically in order to rebalance and diversify your portfolio we need an API to talk to the exchange.
Before we start…
Shrimpy allows for any number of exchange accounts to be linked to a single Shrimpy account. That means if you want to have 10 KuCoin accounts linked to Shrimpy, you are more than welcome. If you want to link 3 Bittrex, 1 Binance, 9 KuCoin, 5 Coinbase Pro, 7 Kraken, and 31 Poloniex exchange accounts, this is all possible inside a single Shrimpy account.
If you’ve already connected your API Key and would like to jump ahead, read about our research from over 200,000 tests on how portfolios would have performed with different numbers of cryptocurrencies. There’s a short summary at the end with a link to the research as well.
How to get KuCoin API Key and Secret Key
Note: There are a number of confirmation and set up stages in-between each of these steps. Some of the missing steps include steps for setting up and entering 2FA codes. These were excluded because there were many of these intermediate steps.
Step 1
Log into your KuCoin account. Once you have logged in, click on “Account” in the header. You can see in the above image a pink square around the location of the “Account” tab.
Step 2
Once you have navigated to the settings tab on KuCoin, click on “API Keys” to view your API keys. If you have not created an API key yet, you will see a screen that walks you through the process. You will need to enter your password, verify your answer to a security question, and input your 2FA code. Once these are filled out, you can click “Submit”.
Step 3
Once your keys have been created, it is important to remember that “Trading authority” is disabled by default. This means we need to “Update” the “Authority” on the API keys before we let Shrimpy use them. Simply click the “Update” button on the the API key and enable the correct permissions.
Step 4
The resulting permissions should look like the above image. “Read information” and “Trading authority” should be checked. “Withdrawal authority” should remain unchecked. Shrimpy does not require withdrawal access. In addition, “No limit” should be selected for “IP limit”. Using the “IP white list” option will prevent Shrimpy from being able to access data from your account. Select “Save” once these options have been set.
Now that the keys have been configured, the “Key” and “Secret” should be copied so we can input them into the Shrimpy application.
Step 5
Now, select “KuCoin” as your exchange and paste your “API key” and “API Secret” into the Shrimpy application. This can be found by navigating to “Settings” and then “Exchange”. Then, click the “LINK EXCHANGE”.
At this time data should populate in your account dashboard. If it does not populate immediately, please allow up to 15 minutes for the data to populate. If it still does not populate after 15 minutes, please contact us at support@shrimpy.io.
Step 6
Congratulations! You have successfully connected your API keys to Shrimpy.
It’s now time to experience the exciting features that are waiting for you inside the application. Starting with the “Allocations” tab. Clicking this tab, you will quickly see there are a list of assets which are available on the exchange you linked. This is where you should select the assets you would like to have in your portfolio.
These are the assets that will be bought or sold in order to reach your target allocations. The target allocations are the assets and percentages that are specified under “Your Allocations”. Anything that is not in your allocations will be sold in order to buy these assets. Essentially, treat this list of assets that you select as what you want your entire portfolio to become. Shrimpy will do the rest to reach this goal.
Step 7
The “Rebalance Now” button is the way you let Shrimpy know you want to perform trades immediately. Once you hit that button, it will perform all of the necessary trades to reach the target allocations that were specified on the “Allocations” tab. If your portfolio has already been created and is close to your target allocations, it will simply realign your allocations to match your target allocations.
How often should I rebalance? How many assets should I include?
We’ve been busy performing hundreds of thousands of backtests at Shrimpy to find what types of portfolios have performed best in the past. First things first,
Always do your own research (DYOR).
We’ve written a bit about how to avoid scams in the past. If you haven’t you should definitely check it out.
Next, here’s a link to our latest research on how portfolios with different assets and rebalance periods have performed.
Short summary is that in the past portfolios with ~20 assets and a rebalance period of every 1 hour have far out-performed other portfolios. Adding more cryptos after 20 did help returns, albeit at a lower rate.
What about security?
Shrimpy ensures all API keys are encrypted separately and stored securely using FIPS 140–2 validated hardware security modules (HSMs) to protect the confidentiality and integrity of your Exchange API keys. We also recommend turning off withdrawal rights so Shrimpy only has trade access. As of writing this article these are disabled by default on Binance and Poloniex
Rebalancing with Shrimpy
Over the past year, we have seen that rebalancing a diverse portfolio can significantly improve performance. The Shrimpy website can help automate this entire process. Quickly select assets, instantly allocate a portfolio, and rebalance on a consistent time period. Shrimpy is the easiest way to manage your portfolio. Best of all, it’s completely free to use right now!
Sign up by clicking here.
If you still aren’t sure, try out the demo to see everything we have to offer!
Looking for Something Else?
Don’t forget to check out the Shrimpy website, follow us on Twitter and Facebook for updates, and ask any questions to our amazing, active communities on Telegram & Discord.
Leave a comment to let us know your experiences with rebalancing!
The Shrimpy Team
