The gist

Hummingbot is an open-source framework for building and deploying automated trading bots on cryptocurrency exchanges. Maintained by a global community of developers and traders, it aims to democratize high-frequency trading. The framework provides standardized connectors for numerous centralized and decentralized exchanges, allowing users to create and run strategies like market making and arbitrage with a high degree of customization.

What it does

Builds and deploys automated trading bots for cryptocurrency markets.
Connects to over 140 centralized (CEX) and decentralized (DEX) exchanges.
Implements common strategies like market making, arbitrage, and perpetuals trading.
Backtests trading strategies against historical market data.
Runs locally using Docker or by compiling from the source code.

How it works

Hummingbot is a self-hosted command-line application, typically installed using Docker or built from source. Users configure pre-built strategies or code custom ones, providing API keys for centralized exchanges or wallet keys for decentralized ones. The framework's standardized connectors then execute trades automatically based on the defined logic. The software is free and open-source under the Apache 2.0 license.

Best for

Hummingbot is ideal for quantitative traders and developers who want to build and run custom, automated trading strategies across multiple cryptocurrency exchanges without being locked into a proprietary platform.

Watch out for

The framework requires significant technical expertise to install, configure, and customize. As with any trading tool, users are responsible for the financial risks associated with their automated strategies.