Create your own exchange with HollaEx Kit

Have you ever wanted to create your own crypto exchange but didn’t know how? Or are you planning on creating your own token and need a marketplace for it. Maybe you just have a general interest in cryptocurrency. If you resonate with any of the statements above, read on to learn how to start your own exchange from the comfort of your bedroom using HollaEx Kit.
HollaEx Kit is a comprehensive exchange solution by bitHolla allows anyone to launch a full crypto exchange. HollaEx Kit simplifies the setup process and makes creating a new marketplace easy. You can create and operate your own exchange within minutes by following five easy steps. Even better, you can test out the exchange for free by running a trial version of HollaEx Kit. After completing the five steps below, you will have your trial exchange up and running in no time.
Before we start
System Requirements
The steps you need to take to run your exchange are simple but the process behind the scenes is not. Make sure your computer meets the following requirements:
- Debian-based Linux (Ubuntu) or macOS
- Minimum 2vCore of CPU
- Minimum 4GB of Memory
- Minimum 50GB of Free Disk Space
- Latest
dockeranddocker-compose
Currently, HollaEx Kit is designed for Unix-based machines (Linux, macOS). For Windows users, please refer to this link before proceeding. Note: HollaEx Kit for Windows is still in beta.
Third-party services
HollaEx Kit currently uses the following third-party services to operate exchanges:
These services are optional and are not required to launch your exchange. But be advised, your exchange will not have full functionality without them. In particular, without AWS SES new users will not be able to sign up on your exchange and without Vault users will not be able to deposit or withdrawal currencies to your exchange.
Go directly to Step 1 to skip the process of getting keys for these services. Otherwise, start at Step 0. If you do skip this step, make sure to eventually come back to Step 0 and make additional configurations to have your exchange running at full strength.
Launching your trial Exchange
(Optional) Step 0: Getting Third-party keys
AWS
HollaEx uses AWS SES, SNS, and S3 for sending emails, SMS messages, and storing user data, respectively. You will need to create an access key and secret for SES and SNS. For S3, you will need to create a bucket.
To get your AWS access key and secret, go to the AWS page, sign up for an account, and create an IAM User. Once created, you will need to generate an access key and secret for the IAM user. Save your secret, you won’t be able to view it after creation.
To create an S3 bucket, click here. Make sure you set your bucket as a private bucket.
Vault
Vault is a business cryptocurrency management service provided by bitHolla. Its purpose in HollaEx Kit is to provide cryptocurrency integration. In simple terms, Vault handles cryptocurrency deposits and withdrawals for your exchange. Unfortunately, Vault does not offer a free trial like HollaEx Kit. You can proceed without it, but keep in mind that your exchange users will not be able to deposit or withdraw crypto.
To get a Vault key and secret, go to the bitHolla dashboard (if you don’t have an account, signup for one). Once there, go to the Vault section and upgrade your account. Once your account is upgraded, go to the API Keys section and generate a new key. You will not be able to see your secret in the future so make sure to save it.
To learn how to fully integrate Vault to HollaEx Kit, click here.
Step 1: Get a free trial activation key.
First, you need a bitHolla account. Visit https://dash.bitholla.com and signup for a new account. Once you have your account, log in and go to the HollaEx Kit section. Here, you will see a Create New Exchange button located on the top right. Once clicked, you will be asked to enter an exchange name and URL. Just type in an exchange name for now and proceed. You will be notified that you have insufficient collateral to make an exchange. For now, we want to begin a trial run of our exchange so click Begin Trial. You will be given an Exchange Activation Code. Now you have your activation code!
Step 2: Download HollaEx Kit & HollaEx CLI
Once you have your activation code, go to the HollaEx Kit Github repo to install HollaEx Kit. You can either clone the repo or download the zip folder directly. After installing, go to the location of HollaEx Kit via your terminal. Run the command bash install.sh to install HollaEx CLI, a command-line tool for operating HollaEx Kit using simple commands.
You’re now armed with HollaEx Kit and HollaEx CLI and finally ready to create your own exchange!
Step 3: Setup your exchange
It’s time to set up your exchange. Inside your HollaEx Kit directory, run the command hollaex setup. This will bring up an interactive form on your terminal that prompts you to enter key values for your exchange. For now, only input values for the questions listed below. You can use the default values for the rest.
- [1/30] Exchange Name (Your Exchange Name)
- [2/30] Activation Code (The activation code you received from Step 1)
- [8/30] Default Country (Your country’s two-letter ISO 3166–1 alpha-2 code)
- [9/30] Timezone (Your timezone’s TZ database name)
- [15/30] Admin Email (The email for your exchange’s admin account)
- [16/30] Admin Password (A password for your admin account)
- [17/30] Support Email (The email for your exchange’s support account)
Only input values for questions below if you completed Step 0.
- [21/30] AWS AccessKey
- [22/30] AWS SecretKey
- [23/30] AWS Region
- [24/30] AWS S3 Bucket
- [26/30] Vault Key
- [27/30] Vault Secret
After completing the form, you will see a summary of your provided values. Make sure they are correct and proceed.
You will then be asked if you’d like to add new coins and trading pairs. You can choose to add them now or in the future. To add them now, enter y and complete the interactive form. Information on the fields can be found here. Otherwise, if you wish to skip this, enter n and proceed to the next step.
Use the command
hollaex toolbox --add_coinorhollaex toolbox --add_trading_pairto add a new coin or trading pair in the future, respectively. More information can be found here.
Step 4: Start your exchange server
You’re done setting up your exchange and now ready to have your exchange up-and-running. First, your exchange will need a server. Run the command hollaex start to bring up your server. Once finished, your exchange server will be up and running. Don't believe me? Click here to see the status of your exchange and click here to see the available coins and trading pairs of your exchange. Voila! Your exchange's server is now running on your machine and accessible through http://localhost. Now for the final step...
Step 5: Start your exchange web client
You may be wondering how you and your users can interact with the server created above. Don’t worry, HollaEx Kit provides an interactive web client to fill the void. Inside your HollaEx Kit directory, run the command hollaex web --start to deploy your web client. Be patient, the initial client setup process will take about 10 minutes.
And that is it! After your web client has finished setting up, click here. Congratulations! Your trial exchange is running and is accessible through http://localhost:8080. Log in with your exchange's admin account and browse around the fruit of your labor. If you'd like to know how to upgrade your trial exchange, read the bonus step below.
(Optional) Bonus Step: Upgrading your trial exchange
All good things must come to an end…or do they? Your trial exchange expires after 15 days but what if you wish to continue operating your exchange after the trial period?
To fully activate your exchange, you will need to credit your bitHolla account with HollaEx Token (HEX), the fuel of HollaEx Kit. Go to the Credit section of the bitHolla dashboard and charge your account with Bitcoin or other cryptocurrency and automatically get credited HollaEx Tokens. After doing so, you will be able to collateralize your exchange with HollaEx Token. Once done, your exchange will be fully activated. You can also buy HEX from the HollaEx exchange.
Conclusion
Although creating a brand new exchange might sound intimidating, HollaEx Kit makes the process a breeze. With 5 simple steps, you are able to create your very own crypto exchange without moving from your seat. For more in-depth information, refer to the bitHolla docs. If you have questions on anything related to HollaEx, ask them in the bitHolla forums.
