Exchange Connections
Connect exchange API keys, supported exchanges, and sync settings.
Exchange Connections
Exchange connections allow Thrive to automatically import your trade history, synchronize portfolio balances, and provide personalized analytics based on your actual positions. Connections are configured in Settings → Connections and use read-only API keys that never have withdrawal or trade execution permissions.
Connecting an exchange is entirely optional. All intelligence features, signals, divergence detection, market data, and the research desk function without an exchange connection. Connections enhance the trade journal, portfolio view, and performance analytics by populating them with real data from your exchange accounts.
Read-only access only
Supported Exchanges
Thrive supports API connections to nine major centralized exchanges. Each exchange integration covers spot balances, futures positions, and historical trade data. Support for additional exchanges is added based on user demand.
| Binance | Full support for spot, USDM futures, and COINM futures. Includes sub-account support for institutional users. |
| Bybit | Spot, inverse perpetuals, and USDT perpetuals. Supports both unified and classic account structures. |
| OKX | Spot, perpetual swaps, futures, and options. Supports unified trading account and classic account modes. |
| Bitget | Spot and USDT-margined futures. Copy trading positions are included in the sync. |
| Coinbase | Coinbase Advanced (formerly Pro) spot trading. Does not include Coinbase Consumer earn or staking data. |
| Kraken | Spot and Kraken Futures. Supports staking balance visibility and margin trading history. |
| KuCoin | Spot, margin, and futures accounts. Includes lending and borrowing balance visibility. |
| MEXC | Spot and USDT-margined futures. Supports both main and sub-accounts. |
| Gate.io | Spot and perpetual futures. Includes delivery futures and margin account support. |
API Key Setup
Each exchange has a slightly different API key creation process, but the general steps are the same. The key principle is to grant the minimum permissions necessary: read-only access to account data and trade history.
Generate an API key on your exchange
Log into your exchange account and navigate to the API management section (usually under Account or Security settings). Create a new API key. When configuring permissions, enable only Read access. Disable all trade, withdrawal, transfer, and futures trading permissions.
Restrict the IP whitelist (recommended)
Most exchanges allow you to restrict API key usage to specific IP addresses. While Thrive's servers use rotating IPs (making strict whitelisting impractical), you should avoid setting the key to "unrestricted" if the exchange offers a "trusted IPs only" option with a broad range. If your exchange requires a specific IP, leave the whitelist open and rely on the read-only permission restriction as your primary security layer.
Copy the API key and secret
After creation, the exchange displays your API key and API secret. Copy both values immediately. Most exchanges only show the secret once. If you lose it, you will need to delete the key and create a new one.
Enter credentials in Thrive
Navigate to Settings → Connections in Thrive. Click Add Exchange, select your exchange from the dropdown, and paste your API key and secret. Some exchanges (like OKX) also require a passphrase, which you set during key creation.
Verify and sync
Click Connect. Thrive validates the credentials by making a test read request to the exchange. If successful, the initial sync begins immediately, importing your trade history and current balances. The first sync typically completes within 60 seconds for accounts with fewer than 10,000 trades.
Never share your API secret
Sync Frequency
Once connected, Thrive synchronizes your exchange data on two schedules. These intervals balance data freshness with exchange API rate limits.
| Trade History | Syncs every 15 minutes. New trades executed since the last sync are imported into your trade journal automatically. |
| Balances & Positions | Syncs every 60 minutes. Spot balances, futures positions, margin levels, and unrealized P&L are updated. |
| Manual Sync | Available at any time from the Connections page. Click the refresh icon next to any connected exchange to trigger an immediate full sync. |
| Initial Sync | Imports up to 12 months of trade history on first connection. Older trades can be imported via CSV upload if needed. |
Sync timestamps are displayed next to each connected exchange so you always know when the data was last updated. If a sync fails (due to exchange maintenance or API issues), Thrive retries automatically on the next cycle and displays a warning indicator on the connection card.
Troubleshooting Sync Issues
Most sync issues stem from one of a few common causes. Check the following before contacting support.
Invalid or Expired API Key
Some exchanges expire API keys after a set period or if you change your account password. If you see an "Authentication Failed" error, log into your exchange, verify the API key is still active, and regenerate it if necessary. Update the credentials in Thrive under Settings → Connections.
Insufficient Permissions
If Thrive can connect but is missing data (no trades appearing, or balances showing zero), the API key may lack the required read permissions. Verify that the key has "Read" or "Account Info" permissions enabled on the exchange. For futures data, some exchanges require a separate "Futures Read" permission.
Rate Limiting
If you use the same API key across multiple services, you may hit the exchange's rate limits. Thrive is designed to stay within standard rate limits, but shared keys can cause intermittent failures. The recommended solution is to create a dedicated API key for Thrive that is not shared with bots, other analytics platforms, or trading tools.
Exchange Maintenance Windows
Exchanges periodically undergo scheduled maintenance during which API access is unavailable. Thrive detects maintenance windows and retries syncs automatically once the exchange comes back online. No action is required on your part. The connection card will show a "Maintenance" status badge during these periods.
Dedicated API key
Security and Encryption
API credentials are treated as the most sensitive data in the Thrive system. The following measures protect your keys at every layer.
API secrets are encrypted before being stored in the database. The encryption key is managed via environment variables and never committed to source control.
All communication between your browser and Thrive servers, and between Thrive servers and exchanges, uses TLS 1.3 encryption.
Once you submit an API secret, it is never displayed again in the Thrive UI. You can only replace it by entering a new one.
Thrive validates on connection that the API key does not have write permissions. If write permissions are detected, a warning is displayed.
You can disconnect an exchange at any time from Settings. Disconnecting immediately deletes the stored credentials from the database.
Managing Connections
The Connections page shows all your linked exchanges with their status, last sync time, and data coverage summary. From this page you can add new exchanges, update credentials, trigger manual syncs, or disconnect exchanges entirely.
| Add Exchange | Click the "Add Exchange" button to connect a new exchange. You can connect multiple accounts on the same exchange using different API keys. |
| Update Credentials | Click the edit icon on any connection card to update the API key or secret. The old credentials are immediately overwritten. |
| Manual Sync | Click the refresh icon to trigger an immediate sync. Useful after executing trades that you want reflected in the journal right away. |
| Disconnect | Click the disconnect button to remove the exchange. All stored credentials are deleted. Imported trade data in your journal is preserved. |
