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Ekiden enforces uniform rate limits across all API endpoints to ensure fair usage and system stability. Rate limiting prevents any single client from overloading the platform, so all users experience a consistent, high-performance trading API.
Note: All rate limits are subject to change as we balance demand and reliability. Ekiden may adjust these limits over time to maintain optimal performance.

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Rate Limit Policy

Ekiden’s REST API rate limits apply globally – there is a single limit on requests across all endpoints.
  • Global request limit: 100 requests per 10 seconds (aggregate across all REST endpoints). Brief bursts above this are tolerated, but sustained requests beyond this threshold will be rejected.
  • Enforcement scope:
    • Public (unauthenticated) endpoints: Tracked per IP address.
    • Private (authenticated) endpoints: Tracked per API key and per IP address.
  • Behavior on exceedance:
    • Response: HTTP 429 – Too Many Requests
    • Error code: 2003
    • Message: "Rate limit exceeded"
  • Rate limit headers:
    • Retry-After- number of seconds to wait before retrying (typically 60 seconds).
      Clients must pause requests until the indicated time has passed.

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Best Practices

  • Throttle requests: Ensure you do not exceed 100 requests in any rolling 10-second window.
  • Use WebSockets for real-time data: Ideal for high-frequency updates instead of frequent REST polling.
  • Handle 429 responses gracefully:
    • Respect the Retry-After header.
    • Wait the specified time before retrying.
  • Check for error code 2003: Helps your application identify rate limit issues.
  • Need higher limits?
    Contact the Ekiden team (e.g., via Discord) for options like colocated infrastructure and custom limits.

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Example: 429 Rate Limit Exceeded

HTTP/1.1 429 Too Many Requests
Content-Type: application/json
Retry-After: 60

{
  "error_code": 2003,
  "error_message": "Rate limit exceeded"
}