Crypto Trading Bot with Python: Building a Github Repo from Scratch
In today's digital age, cryptocurrencies have not only become an attractive investment option for many but also opened doors to new opportunities in trading and automated investing. The advent of blockchain technology has brought about the concept of crypto trading bots that can execute trades autonomously without human intervention. A popular choice among developers is Python due to its vast library support and readability, making it an excellent tool for creating such a bot. This article will guide you through building your own cryptocurrency trading bot using Python, specifically focusing on connecting with the exchange via API and automating trading tasks.
Understanding Crypto Trading Bots
A crypto trading bot is essentially an algorithm that trades cryptocurrencies automatically without human intervention. These bots can be categorized into several types based on their operation mechanism:
1. Arbitrage bots: Execute trades across multiple exchanges simultaneously to capitalize on the price discrepancies.
2. Momentum bots: Buy low and sell high based on trends, aiming for quick profits.
3. Mean reversion bots: Bidirectional trading strategy focusing on reversals in prices back towards an average level.
4. Market making bots: Provide both bid and ask quotes on a market. They aim to make a profit by earning the spread between these two quotes.
Setting Up Your Development Environment
To create your crypto trading bot, you'll need:
Python 3.6 or higher
A text editor (e.g., Visual Studio Code)
pip and virtualenv for package management
Firstly, set up a virtual environment to isolate the project dependencies. Then install the necessary packages:
```bash
python -m venv trading_bot_env
source trading_bot_env/bin/activate
pip install --upgrade pip
pip install requests PyQt5 cryptocoin-api matplotlib
```
It's important to note that using a GUI toolkit like PyQt is optional but recommended for a more user-friendly interface. For simplicity, we'll focus on the trading logic and API interaction here.
Building Your Bot: The GitHub Repo Approach
To manage your project effectively, it's wise to use Git for version control. Create a new GitHub repository named something like "crypto_trading_bot". Push an initial empty repository to GitHub with `git init` and `git add . && git commit -m "Initial commit"` followed by `git remote add origin https://github.com/USERNAME/crypto_trading_bot.git` and then `git push -u origin master`.
Your project structure should start as follows:
```bash
mkdir crypto_trading_bot
cd crypto_trading_bot
touch bot.py readme.md requirements.txt setup.py
```
This creates a basic directory structure that includes your main script, README for documentation, pip requirements file, and setup file for potential deployment purposes.
Connecting to the Exchange API with Python
For interacting with the exchange's API, you can use cryptocoin-api or similar libraries. This example uses Binance Futures API due to its wide array of features:
```python
import requests
from binance.client import Client
def get_account_balance():
APIKEY = ""
APISECRET = ""
ticker = 'BTCUSDT' # Example symbol pair
futures_info = client.futures_api.get_all_futures_markets()
for market in futures_info:
if market['symbol'] == ticker:
return float(market['quoteAssetAccountBalance'])
client = Client(APIKEY, APISECRET)
print('Your account balance:', get_account_balance())
```
This script connects to Binance Futures API and fetches the current balance of your specified trading pair.
Automating Trading Logic
The core of a trading bot is its logic. For simplicity, let's create a basic arbitrage strategy:
1. Buy low in one market.
2. Sell high in another market.
3. Repeat with different pairs to take advantage of the price differences.
This is highly simplified and doesn't account for transaction fees, slippage, or order types like limit orders which are crucial in a real-world application:
```python
from binance.websockets import BinanceSocketManager
class Bot():
def __init__(self):
APIKEY = ""
APISECRET = ""
client = Client(APIKEY, APISECRET)
bm = BinanceSocketManager(client)
bm.start_trade_socket('btcusdt', 1000, 'ws://testnet.binance.org:9443') # Update for live trading API keys
```
The `BinanceSocketManager` allows real-time streaming of trades and updates from Binance Futures in Python. It's a powerful tool that simplifies the process of keeping track of market prices without having to constantly query the exchange.
Integrating with Github Actions
To ensure your bot is always working correctly, consider integrating GitHub Actions into your workflow:
CI/CD: Set up tests and deployments automatically on every push.
Security: Run security checks against new contributions.
Actions can be set up by adding a `.github/workflows/ci.yml` file with content like:
```yaml
name: CI/CD for Binance Trading Bot
on: [push]
jobs:
build:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
uses: actions/checkout@v2
name: Set up Python 3.x
uses: actions/setup-python@v1
with:
python-version: '3.6'
name: Install dependencies
run: |
pip install --upgrade pip
pip install pyqt5 cryptocoin-api requests
Add more steps for testing and deployment as needed
```
This workflow ensures your bot passes all tests before it can be deployed.
Conclusion
Creating a cryptocurrency trading bot is an exciting venture that combines technical skills with deep understanding of the financial markets. By following this guide, you've learned how to set up your development environment, interact with exchange APIs, implement basic logic for arbitrage trading, and integrate continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipelines on GitHub Actions. Remember, the world of cryptocurrency is vast, with endless possibilities for both learning and making profits. Happy coding!