diff --git a/.travis.yml b/.travis.yml
index 88121945f..981eedcf8 100644
--- a/.travis.yml
+++ b/.travis.yml
@@ -13,12 +13,12 @@ addons:
 install:
 - ./install_ta-lib.sh
 - export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/usr/local/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH
-- pip install --upgrade flake8 coveralls pytest-random-order mypy
+- pip install --upgrade flake8 coveralls pytest-random-order pytest-asyncio mypy
 - pip install -r requirements.txt
 - pip install -e .
 jobs:
   include:
-    - script: 
+    - script:
       - pytest --cov=freqtrade --cov-config=.coveragerc freqtrade/tests/
       - coveralls
     - script:
diff --git a/freqtrade/exchange/__init__.py b/freqtrade/exchange/__init__.py
index e7f94c499..f663420e0 100644
--- a/freqtrade/exchange/__init__.py
+++ b/freqtrade/exchange/__init__.py
@@ -1,12 +1,15 @@
 # pragma pylint: disable=W0603
 """ Cryptocurrency Exchanges support """
 import logging
+import inspect
 from random import randint
-from typing import List, Dict, Any, Optional
+from typing import List, Dict, Tuple, Any, Optional
 from datetime import datetime
 from math import floor, ceil
 
+import asyncio
 import ccxt
+import ccxt.async_support as ccxt_async
 import arrow
 
 from freqtrade import constants, OperationalException, DependencyException, TemporaryError
@@ -23,6 +26,24 @@ _EXCHANGE_URLS = {
 }
 
 
+def retrier_async(f):
+    async def wrapper(*args, **kwargs):
+        count = kwargs.pop('count', API_RETRY_COUNT)
+        try:
+            return await f(*args, **kwargs)
+        except (TemporaryError, DependencyException) as ex:
+            logger.warning('%s() returned exception: "%s"', f.__name__, ex)
+            if count > 0:
+                count -= 1
+                kwargs.update({'count': count})
+                logger.warning('retrying %s() still for %s times', f.__name__, count)
+                return await wrapper(*args, **kwargs)
+            else:
+                logger.warning('Giving up retrying: %s()', f.__name__)
+                raise ex
+    return wrapper
+
+
 def retrier(f):
     def wrapper(*args, **kwargs):
         count = kwargs.pop('count', API_RETRY_COUNT)
@@ -45,8 +66,8 @@ class Exchange(object):
 
     # Current selected exchange
     _api: ccxt.Exchange = None
+    _api_async: ccxt_async.Exchange = None
     _conf: Dict = {}
-    _cached_ticker: Dict[str, Any] = {}
 
     # Holds all open sell orders for dry_run
     _dry_run_open_orders: Dict[str, Any] = {}
@@ -60,11 +81,20 @@ class Exchange(object):
         """
         self._conf.update(config)
 
+        self._cached_ticker: Dict[str, Any] = {}
+
+        # Holds last candle refreshed time of each pair
+        self._pairs_last_refresh_time: Dict[str, int] = {}
+
+        # Holds candles
+        self.klines: Dict[str, Any] = {}
+
         if config['dry_run']:
             logger.info('Instance is running with dry_run enabled')
 
         exchange_config = config['exchange']
         self._api = self._init_ccxt(exchange_config)
+        self._api_async = self._init_ccxt(exchange_config, ccxt_async)
 
         logger.info('Using Exchange "%s"', self.name)
 
@@ -75,7 +105,15 @@ class Exchange(object):
             # Check if timeframe is available
             self.validate_timeframes(config['ticker_interval'])
 
-    def _init_ccxt(self, exchange_config: dict) -> ccxt.Exchange:
+    def __del__(self):
+        """
+        Destructor - clean up async stuff
+        """
+        logger.debug("Exchange object destroyed, closing async loop")
+        if self._api_async and inspect.iscoroutinefunction(self._api_async.close):
+            asyncio.get_event_loop().run_until_complete(self._api_async.close())
+
+    def _init_ccxt(self, exchange_config: dict, ccxt_module=ccxt) -> ccxt.Exchange:
         """
         Initialize ccxt with given config and return valid
         ccxt instance.
@@ -83,15 +121,15 @@ class Exchange(object):
         # Find matching class for the given exchange name
         name = exchange_config['name']
 
-        if name not in ccxt.exchanges:
+        if name not in ccxt_module.exchanges:
             raise OperationalException(f'Exchange {name} is not supported')
         try:
-            api = getattr(ccxt, name.lower())({
+            api = getattr(ccxt_module, name.lower())({
                 'apiKey': exchange_config.get('key'),
                 'secret': exchange_config.get('secret'),
                 'password': exchange_config.get('password'),
                 'uid': exchange_config.get('uid', ''),
-                'enableRateLimit': exchange_config.get('ccxt_rate_limit', True),
+                'enableRateLimit': exchange_config.get('ccxt_rate_limit', True)
             })
         except (KeyError, AttributeError):
             raise OperationalException(f'Exchange {name} is not supported')
@@ -120,6 +158,15 @@ class Exchange(object):
                                      "Please check your config.json")
                 raise OperationalException(f'Exchange {name} does not provide a sandbox api')
 
+    def _load_async_markets(self) -> None:
+        try:
+            if self._api_async:
+                asyncio.get_event_loop().run_until_complete(self._api_async.load_markets())
+
+        except ccxt.BaseError as e:
+            logger.warning('Could not load async markets. Reason: %s', e)
+            return
+
     def validate_pairs(self, pairs: List[str]) -> None:
         """
         Checks if all given pairs are tradable on the current exchange.
@@ -130,6 +177,7 @@ class Exchange(object):
 
         try:
             markets = self._api.load_markets()
+            self._load_async_markets()
         except ccxt.BaseError as e:
             logger.warning('Unable to validate pairs (assuming they are correct). Reason: %s', e)
             return
@@ -329,6 +377,102 @@ class Exchange(object):
             logger.info("returning cached ticker-data for %s", pair)
             return self._cached_ticker[pair]
 
+    def get_history(self, pair: str, tick_interval: str,
+                    since_ms: int) -> List:
+        """
+        Gets candle history using asyncio and returns the list of candles.
+        Handles all async doing.
+        """
+        return asyncio.get_event_loop().run_until_complete(
+            self._async_get_history(pair=pair, tick_interval=tick_interval,
+                                    since_ms=since_ms))
+
+    async def _async_get_history(self, pair: str,
+                                 tick_interval: str,
+                                 since_ms: int) -> List:
+        # Assume exchange returns 500 candles
+        _LIMIT = 500
+
+        one_call = constants.TICKER_INTERVAL_MINUTES[tick_interval] * 60 * _LIMIT * 1000
+        logger.debug("one_call: %s", one_call)
+        input_coroutines = [self._async_get_candle_history(
+            pair, tick_interval, since) for since in
+            range(since_ms, arrow.utcnow().timestamp * 1000, one_call)]
+        tickers = await asyncio.gather(*input_coroutines, return_exceptions=True)
+
+        # Combine tickers
+        data: List = []
+        for tick in tickers:
+            if tick[0] == pair:
+                data.extend(tick[1])
+        # Sort data again after extending the result - above calls return in "async order" order
+        data = sorted(data, key=lambda x: x[0])
+        logger.info("downloaded %s with length %s.", pair, len(data))
+        return data
+
+    def refresh_tickers(self, pair_list: List[str], ticker_interval: str) -> None:
+        """
+        Refresh tickers asyncronously and return the result.
+        """
+        logger.debug("Refreshing klines for %d pairs", len(pair_list))
+        asyncio.get_event_loop().run_until_complete(
+            self.async_get_candles_history(pair_list, ticker_interval))
+
+    async def async_get_candles_history(self, pairs: List[str],
+                                        tick_interval: str) -> List[Tuple[str, List]]:
+        """Download ohlcv history for pair-list asyncronously """
+        input_coroutines = [self._async_get_candle_history(
+            symbol, tick_interval) for symbol in pairs]
+        tickers = await asyncio.gather(*input_coroutines, return_exceptions=True)
+        return tickers
+
+    @retrier_async
+    async def _async_get_candle_history(self, pair: str, tick_interval: str,
+                                        since_ms: Optional[int] = None) -> Tuple[str, List]:
+        try:
+            # fetch ohlcv asynchronously
+            logger.debug("fetching %s since %s ...", pair, since_ms)
+
+            # Calculating ticker interval in second
+            interval_in_sec = constants.TICKER_INTERVAL_MINUTES[tick_interval] * 60
+
+            # If (last update time) + (interval in second) is greater or equal than now
+            # that means we don't have to hit the API as there is no new candle
+            # so we fetch it from local cache
+            if (not since_ms and
+                    self._pairs_last_refresh_time.get(pair, 0) + interval_in_sec >=
+                    arrow.utcnow().timestamp):
+                data = self.klines[pair]
+                logger.debug("Using cached klines data for %s ...", pair)
+            else:
+                data = await self._api_async.fetch_ohlcv(pair, timeframe=tick_interval,
+                                                         since=since_ms)
+
+            # Because some exchange sort Tickers ASC and other DESC.
+            # Ex: Bittrex returns a list of tickers ASC (oldest first, newest last)
+            # when GDAX returns a list of tickers DESC (newest first, oldest last)
+            data = sorted(data, key=lambda x: x[0])
+
+            # keeping last candle time as last refreshed time of the pair
+            if data:
+                self._pairs_last_refresh_time[pair] = data[-1][0] // 1000
+
+            # keeping candles in cache
+            self.klines[pair] = data
+
+            logger.debug("done fetching %s ...", pair)
+            return pair, data
+
+        except ccxt.NotSupported as e:
+            raise OperationalException(
+                f'Exchange {self._api.name} does not support fetching historical candlestick data.'
+                f'Message: {e}')
+        except (ccxt.NetworkError, ccxt.ExchangeError) as e:
+            raise TemporaryError(
+                f'Could not load ticker history due to {e.__class__.__name__}. Message: {e}')
+        except ccxt.BaseError as e:
+            raise OperationalException(f'Could not fetch ticker data. Msg: {e}')
+
     @retrier
     def get_candle_history(self, pair: str, tick_interval: str,
                            since_ms: Optional[int] = None) -> List[Dict]:
diff --git a/freqtrade/freqtradebot.py b/freqtrade/freqtradebot.py
index 3d3737372..5c943ba3d 100644
--- a/freqtrade/freqtradebot.py
+++ b/freqtrade/freqtradebot.py
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ from typing import Any, Callable, Dict, List, Optional
 
 import arrow
 import requests
+
 from cachetools import TTLCache, cached
 
 from freqtrade import (DependencyException, OperationalException,
@@ -181,6 +182,9 @@ class FreqtradeBot(object):
             final_list = sanitized_list[:nb_assets] if nb_assets else sanitized_list
             self.config['exchange']['pair_whitelist'] = final_list
 
+            # Refreshing candles
+            self.exchange.refresh_tickers(final_list, self.strategy.ticker_interval)
+
             # Query trades from persistence layer
             trades = Trade.query.filter(Trade.is_open.is_(True)).all()
 
@@ -358,7 +362,7 @@ class FreqtradeBot(object):
             amount_reserve_percent += self.strategy.stoploss
         # it should not be more than 50%
         amount_reserve_percent = max(amount_reserve_percent, 0.5)
-        return min(min_stake_amounts)/amount_reserve_percent
+        return min(min_stake_amounts) / amount_reserve_percent
 
     def create_trade(self) -> bool:
         """
@@ -387,11 +391,10 @@ class FreqtradeBot(object):
         if not whitelist:
             raise DependencyException('No currency pairs in whitelist')
 
-        # Pick pair based on buy signals
+        # running get_signal on historical data fetched
+        # to find buy signals
         for _pair in whitelist:
-            thistory = self.exchange.get_candle_history(_pair, interval)
-            (buy, sell) = self.strategy.get_signal(_pair, interval, thistory)
-
+            (buy, sell) = self.strategy.get_signal(_pair, interval, self.exchange.klines.get(_pair))
             if buy and not sell:
                 bidstrat_check_depth_of_market = self.config.get('bid_strategy', {}).\
                     get('check_depth_of_market', {})
@@ -402,6 +405,7 @@ class FreqtradeBot(object):
                     else:
                         return False
                 return self.execute_buy(_pair, stake_amount)
+
         return False
 
     def _check_depth_of_market_buy(self, pair: str, conf: Dict) -> bool:
@@ -581,7 +585,7 @@ class FreqtradeBot(object):
         (buy, sell) = (False, False)
         experimental = self.config.get('experimental', {})
         if experimental.get('use_sell_signal') or experimental.get('ignore_roi_if_buy_signal'):
-            ticker = self.exchange.get_candle_history(trade.pair, self.strategy.ticker_interval)
+            ticker = self.exchange.klines.get(trade.pair)
             (buy, sell) = self.strategy.get_signal(trade.pair, self.strategy.ticker_interval,
                                                    ticker)
 
diff --git a/freqtrade/optimize/__init__.py b/freqtrade/optimize/__init__.py
index 0478dbda6..74c842427 100644
--- a/freqtrade/optimize/__init__.py
+++ b/freqtrade/optimize/__init__.py
@@ -205,19 +205,18 @@ def download_backtesting_testdata(datadir: str,
                                   timerange: Optional[TimeRange] = None) -> None:
 
     """
-    Download the latest ticker intervals from the exchange for the pairs passed in parameters
+    Download the latest ticker intervals from the exchange for the pair passed in parameters
     The data is downloaded starting from the last correct ticker interval data that
-    esists in a cache. If timerange starts earlier than the data in the cache,
+    exists in a cache. If timerange starts earlier than the data in the cache,
     the full data will be redownloaded
 
     Based on @Rybolov work: https://github.com/rybolov/freqtrade-data
-    :param pairs: list of pairs to download
+    :param pair: pair to download
     :param tick_interval: ticker interval
     :param timerange: range of time to download
     :return: None
 
     """
-
     path = make_testdata_path(datadir)
     filepair = pair.replace("/", "_")
     filename = os.path.join(path, f'{filepair}-{tick_interval}.json')
@@ -233,8 +232,11 @@ def download_backtesting_testdata(datadir: str,
     logger.debug("Current Start: %s", misc.format_ms_time(data[1][0]) if data else 'None')
     logger.debug("Current End: %s", misc.format_ms_time(data[-1][0]) if data else 'None')
 
-    new_data = exchange.get_candle_history(pair=pair, tick_interval=tick_interval,
-                                           since_ms=since_ms)
+    # Default since_ms to 30 days if nothing is given
+    new_data = exchange.get_history(pair=pair, tick_interval=tick_interval,
+                                    since_ms=since_ms if since_ms
+                                    else
+                                    int(arrow.utcnow().shift(days=-30).float_timestamp) * 1000)
     data.extend(new_data)
 
     logger.debug("New Start: %s", misc.format_ms_time(data[0][0]))
diff --git a/freqtrade/optimize/backtesting.py b/freqtrade/optimize/backtesting.py
index 9e68318f7..d0b70afc7 100644
--- a/freqtrade/optimize/backtesting.py
+++ b/freqtrade/optimize/backtesting.py
@@ -330,15 +330,15 @@ class Backtesting(object):
         Run a backtesting end-to-end
         :return: None
         """
-        data = {}
+        data: Dict[str, Any] = {}
         pairs = self.config['exchange']['pair_whitelist']
         logger.info('Using stake_currency: %s ...', self.config['stake_currency'])
         logger.info('Using stake_amount: %s ...', self.config['stake_amount'])
 
         if self.config.get('live'):
             logger.info('Downloading data for all pairs in whitelist ...')
-            for pair in pairs:
-                data[pair] = self.exchange.get_candle_history(pair, self.ticker_interval)
+            self.exchange.refresh_tickers(pairs, self.ticker_interval)
+            data = self.exchange.klines
         else:
             logger.info('Using local backtesting data (using whitelist in given config) ...')
 
diff --git a/freqtrade/strategy/interface.py b/freqtrade/strategy/interface.py
index c86b85e62..6afa4161b 100644
--- a/freqtrade/strategy/interface.py
+++ b/freqtrade/strategy/interface.py
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ import logging
 from abc import ABC, abstractmethod
 from datetime import datetime
 from enum import Enum
-from typing import Dict, List, NamedTuple, Tuple
+from typing import Dict, List, NamedTuple, Optional, Tuple
 import warnings
 
 import arrow
@@ -145,7 +145,8 @@ class IStrategy(ABC):
 
         return dataframe
 
-    def get_signal(self, pair: str, interval: str, ticker_hist: List[Dict]) -> Tuple[bool, bool]:
+    def get_signal(self, pair: str, interval: str,
+                   ticker_hist: Optional[List[Dict]]) -> Tuple[bool, bool]:
         """
         Calculates current signal based several technical analysis indicators
         :param pair: pair in format ANT/BTC
diff --git a/freqtrade/tests/exchange/test_exchange.py b/freqtrade/tests/exchange/test_exchange.py
index 701eeb776..de720b3d9 100644
--- a/freqtrade/tests/exchange/test_exchange.py
+++ b/freqtrade/tests/exchange/test_exchange.py
@@ -3,8 +3,9 @@
 import logging
 from datetime import datetime
 from random import randint
-from unittest.mock import MagicMock, PropertyMock
+from unittest.mock import Mock, MagicMock, PropertyMock
 
+import arrow
 import ccxt
 import pytest
 
@@ -13,6 +14,14 @@ from freqtrade.exchange import API_RETRY_COUNT, Exchange
 from freqtrade.tests.conftest import get_patched_exchange, log_has
 
 
+# Source: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/29881236/how-to-mock-asyncio-coroutines
+def get_mock_coro(return_value):
+    async def mock_coro(*args, **kwargs):
+        return return_value
+
+    return Mock(wraps=mock_coro)
+
+
 def ccxt_exceptionhandlers(mocker, default_conf, api_mock, fun, mock_ccxt_fun, **kwargs):
     with pytest.raises(TemporaryError):
         api_mock.__dict__[mock_ccxt_fun] = MagicMock(side_effect=ccxt.NetworkError)
@@ -27,12 +36,32 @@ def ccxt_exceptionhandlers(mocker, default_conf, api_mock, fun, mock_ccxt_fun, *
     assert api_mock.__dict__[mock_ccxt_fun].call_count == 1
 
 
+async def async_ccxt_exception(mocker, default_conf, api_mock, fun, mock_ccxt_fun, **kwargs):
+    with pytest.raises(TemporaryError):
+        api_mock.__dict__[mock_ccxt_fun] = MagicMock(side_effect=ccxt.NetworkError)
+        exchange = get_patched_exchange(mocker, default_conf, api_mock)
+        await getattr(exchange, fun)(**kwargs)
+    assert api_mock.__dict__[mock_ccxt_fun].call_count == API_RETRY_COUNT + 1
+
+    with pytest.raises(OperationalException):
+        api_mock.__dict__[mock_ccxt_fun] = MagicMock(side_effect=ccxt.BaseError)
+        exchange = get_patched_exchange(mocker, default_conf, api_mock)
+        await getattr(exchange, fun)(**kwargs)
+    assert api_mock.__dict__[mock_ccxt_fun].call_count == 1
+
+
 def test_init(default_conf, mocker, caplog):
     caplog.set_level(logging.INFO)
     get_patched_exchange(mocker, default_conf)
     assert log_has('Instance is running with dry_run enabled', caplog.record_tuples)
 
 
+def test_destroy(default_conf, mocker, caplog):
+    caplog.set_level(logging.DEBUG)
+    get_patched_exchange(mocker, default_conf)
+    assert log_has('Exchange object destroyed, closing async loop', caplog.record_tuples)
+
+
 def test_init_exception(default_conf, mocker):
     default_conf['exchange']['name'] = 'wrong_exchange_name'
 
@@ -64,6 +93,7 @@ def test_symbol_amount_prec(default_conf, mocker):
 
     mocker.patch('freqtrade.exchange.Exchange._init_ccxt', MagicMock(return_value=api_mock))
     mocker.patch('freqtrade.exchange.Exchange.validate_timeframes', MagicMock())
+    mocker.patch('freqtrade.exchange.Exchange._load_async_markets', MagicMock())
     exchange = Exchange(default_conf)
 
     amount = 2.34559
@@ -87,6 +117,7 @@ def test_symbol_price_prec(default_conf, mocker):
 
     mocker.patch('freqtrade.exchange.Exchange._init_ccxt', MagicMock(return_value=api_mock))
     mocker.patch('freqtrade.exchange.Exchange.validate_timeframes', MagicMock())
+    mocker.patch('freqtrade.exchange.Exchange._load_async_markets', MagicMock())
     exchange = Exchange(default_conf)
 
     price = 2.34559
@@ -108,6 +139,7 @@ def test_set_sandbox(default_conf, mocker):
     type(api_mock).urls = url_mock
     mocker.patch('freqtrade.exchange.Exchange._init_ccxt', MagicMock(return_value=api_mock))
     mocker.patch('freqtrade.exchange.Exchange.validate_timeframes', MagicMock())
+    mocker.patch('freqtrade.exchange.Exchange._load_async_markets', MagicMock())
 
     exchange = Exchange(default_conf)
     liveurl = exchange._api.urls['api']
@@ -129,6 +161,7 @@ def test_set_sandbox_exception(default_conf, mocker):
 
     mocker.patch('freqtrade.exchange.Exchange._init_ccxt', MagicMock(return_value=api_mock))
     mocker.patch('freqtrade.exchange.Exchange.validate_timeframes', MagicMock())
+    mocker.patch('freqtrade.exchange.Exchange._load_async_markets', MagicMock())
 
     with pytest.raises(OperationalException, match=r'does not provide a sandbox api'):
         exchange = Exchange(default_conf)
@@ -136,6 +169,20 @@ def test_set_sandbox_exception(default_conf, mocker):
         exchange.set_sandbox(exchange._api, default_conf['exchange'], 'Logname')
 
 
+def test__load_async_markets(default_conf, mocker, caplog):
+    exchange = get_patched_exchange(mocker, default_conf)
+    exchange._api_async.load_markets = get_mock_coro(None)
+    exchange._load_async_markets()
+    assert exchange._api_async.load_markets.call_count == 1
+    caplog.set_level(logging.DEBUG)
+
+    exchange._api_async.load_markets = Mock(side_effect=ccxt.BaseError("deadbeef"))
+    exchange._load_async_markets()
+
+    assert log_has('Could not load async markets. Reason: deadbeef',
+                   caplog.record_tuples)
+
+
 def test_validate_pairs(default_conf, mocker):
     api_mock = MagicMock()
     api_mock.load_markets = MagicMock(return_value={
@@ -146,6 +193,7 @@ def test_validate_pairs(default_conf, mocker):
 
     mocker.patch('freqtrade.exchange.Exchange._init_ccxt', MagicMock(return_value=api_mock))
     mocker.patch('freqtrade.exchange.Exchange.validate_timeframes', MagicMock())
+    mocker.patch('freqtrade.exchange.Exchange._load_async_markets', MagicMock())
     Exchange(default_conf)
 
 
@@ -154,6 +202,7 @@ def test_validate_pairs_not_available(default_conf, mocker):
     api_mock.load_markets = MagicMock(return_value={})
     mocker.patch('freqtrade.exchange.Exchange._init_ccxt', MagicMock(return_value=api_mock))
     mocker.patch('freqtrade.exchange.Exchange.validate_timeframes', MagicMock())
+    mocker.patch('freqtrade.exchange.Exchange._load_async_markets', MagicMock())
 
     with pytest.raises(OperationalException, match=r'not available'):
         Exchange(default_conf)
@@ -167,6 +216,7 @@ def test_validate_pairs_not_compatible(default_conf, mocker):
     default_conf['stake_currency'] = 'ETH'
     mocker.patch('freqtrade.exchange.Exchange._init_ccxt', MagicMock(return_value=api_mock))
     mocker.patch('freqtrade.exchange.Exchange.validate_timeframes', MagicMock())
+    mocker.patch('freqtrade.exchange.Exchange._load_async_markets', MagicMock())
     with pytest.raises(OperationalException, match=r'not compatible'):
         Exchange(default_conf)
 
@@ -179,6 +229,7 @@ def test_validate_pairs_exception(default_conf, mocker, caplog):
     api_mock.load_markets = MagicMock(return_value={})
     mocker.patch('freqtrade.exchange.Exchange._init_ccxt', api_mock)
     mocker.patch('freqtrade.exchange.Exchange.validate_timeframes', MagicMock())
+    mocker.patch('freqtrade.exchange.Exchange._load_async_markets', MagicMock())
 
     with pytest.raises(OperationalException, match=r'Pair ETH/BTC is not available at Binance'):
         Exchange(default_conf)
@@ -198,6 +249,7 @@ def test_validate_pairs_stake_exception(default_conf, mocker, caplog):
     api_mock.name = MagicMock(return_value='binance')
     mocker.patch('freqtrade.exchange.Exchange._init_ccxt', api_mock)
     mocker.patch('freqtrade.exchange.Exchange.validate_timeframes', MagicMock())
+    mocker.patch('freqtrade.exchange.Exchange._load_async_markets', MagicMock())
 
     with pytest.raises(
         OperationalException,
@@ -515,6 +567,160 @@ def test_get_ticker(default_conf, mocker):
     exchange.get_ticker(pair='ETH/BTC', refresh=True)
 
 
+def test_get_history(default_conf, mocker, caplog):
+    exchange = get_patched_exchange(mocker, default_conf)
+    tick = [
+        [
+            arrow.utcnow().timestamp * 1000,  # unix timestamp ms
+            1,  # open
+            2,  # high
+            3,  # low
+            4,  # close
+            5,  # volume (in quote currency)
+        ]
+    ]
+    pair = 'ETH/BTC'
+
+    async def mock_candle_hist(pair, tick_interval, since_ms):
+        return pair, tick
+
+    exchange._async_get_candle_history = Mock(wraps=mock_candle_hist)
+    # one_call calculation * 1.8 should do 2 calls
+    since = 5 * 60 * 500 * 1.8
+    print(f"since = {since}")
+    ret = exchange.get_history(pair, "5m", int((arrow.utcnow().timestamp - since) * 1000))
+
+    assert exchange._async_get_candle_history.call_count == 2
+    # Returns twice the above tick
+    assert len(ret) == 2
+
+
+def test_refresh_tickers(mocker, default_conf, caplog) -> None:
+    tick = [
+        [
+            1511686200000,  # unix timestamp ms
+            1,  # open
+            2,  # high
+            3,  # low
+            4,  # close
+            5,  # volume (in quote currency)
+        ]
+    ]
+
+    caplog.set_level(logging.DEBUG)
+    exchange = get_patched_exchange(mocker, default_conf)
+    exchange._api_async.fetch_ohlcv = get_mock_coro(tick)
+
+    pairs = ['IOTA/ETH', 'XRP/ETH']
+    # empty dicts
+    assert not exchange.klines
+    exchange.refresh_tickers(['IOTA/ETH', 'XRP/ETH'], '5m')
+
+    assert log_has(f'Refreshing klines for {len(pairs)} pairs', caplog.record_tuples)
+    assert exchange.klines
+    for pair in pairs:
+        assert exchange.klines[pair]
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test__async_get_candle_history(default_conf, mocker, caplog):
+    tick = [
+        [
+            arrow.utcnow().timestamp * 1000,  # unix timestamp ms
+            1,  # open
+            2,  # high
+            3,  # low
+            4,  # close
+            5,  # volume (in quote currency)
+        ]
+    ]
+
+    caplog.set_level(logging.DEBUG)
+    exchange = get_patched_exchange(mocker, default_conf)
+    # Monkey-patch async function
+    exchange._api_async.fetch_ohlcv = get_mock_coro(tick)
+
+    exchange = Exchange(default_conf)
+    pair = 'ETH/BTC'
+    res = await exchange._async_get_candle_history(pair, "5m")
+    assert type(res) is tuple
+    assert len(res) == 2
+    assert res[0] == pair
+    assert res[1] == tick
+    assert exchange._api_async.fetch_ohlcv.call_count == 1
+    assert not log_has(f"Using cached klines data for {pair} ...", caplog.record_tuples)
+    # test caching
+    res = await exchange._async_get_candle_history(pair, "5m")
+    assert exchange._api_async.fetch_ohlcv.call_count == 1
+    assert log_has(f"Using cached klines data for {pair} ...", caplog.record_tuples)
+
+    # exchange = Exchange(default_conf)
+    await async_ccxt_exception(mocker, default_conf, MagicMock(),
+                               "_async_get_candle_history", "fetch_ohlcv",
+                               pair='ABCD/BTC', tick_interval=default_conf['ticker_interval'])
+
+    api_mock = MagicMock()
+    with pytest.raises(OperationalException, match=r'Could not fetch ticker data*'):
+        api_mock.fetch_ohlcv = MagicMock(side_effect=ccxt.BaseError)
+        exchange = get_patched_exchange(mocker, default_conf, api_mock)
+        await exchange._async_get_candle_history(pair, "5m",
+                                                 (arrow.utcnow().timestamp - 2000) * 1000)
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test__async_get_candle_history_empty(default_conf, mocker, caplog):
+    """ Test empty exchange result """
+    tick = []
+
+    caplog.set_level(logging.DEBUG)
+    exchange = get_patched_exchange(mocker, default_conf)
+    # Monkey-patch async function
+    exchange._api_async.fetch_ohlcv = get_mock_coro([])
+
+    exchange = Exchange(default_conf)
+    pair = 'ETH/BTC'
+    res = await exchange._async_get_candle_history(pair, "5m")
+    assert type(res) is tuple
+    assert len(res) == 2
+    assert res[0] == pair
+    assert res[1] == tick
+    assert exchange._api_async.fetch_ohlcv.call_count == 1
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_async_get_candles_history(default_conf, mocker):
+    tick = [
+        [
+            1511686200000,  # unix timestamp ms
+            1,  # open
+            2,  # high
+            3,  # low
+            4,  # close
+            5,  # volume (in quote currency)
+        ]
+    ]
+
+    async def mock_get_candle_hist(pair, tick_interval, since_ms=None):
+        return (pair, tick)
+
+    exchange = get_patched_exchange(mocker, default_conf)
+    # Monkey-patch async function
+    exchange._api_async.fetch_ohlcv = get_mock_coro(tick)
+
+    exchange._async_get_candle_history = Mock(wraps=mock_get_candle_hist)
+
+    pairs = ['ETH/BTC', 'XRP/BTC']
+    res = await exchange.async_get_candles_history(pairs, "5m")
+    assert type(res) is list
+    assert len(res) == 2
+    assert type(res[0]) is tuple
+    assert res[0][0] == pairs[0]
+    assert res[0][1] == tick
+    assert res[1][0] == pairs[1]
+    assert res[1][1] == tick
+    assert exchange._async_get_candle_history.call_count == 2
+
+
 def test_get_order_book(default_conf, mocker, order_book_l2):
     default_conf['exchange']['name'] = 'binance'
     api_mock = MagicMock()
diff --git a/freqtrade/tests/optimize/test_backtesting.py b/freqtrade/tests/optimize/test_backtesting.py
index 32a5229c0..a17867b3a 100644
--- a/freqtrade/tests/optimize/test_backtesting.py
+++ b/freqtrade/tests/optimize/test_backtesting.py
@@ -110,7 +110,7 @@ def mocked_load_data(datadir, pairs=[], ticker_interval='0m', refresh_pairs=Fals
     return pairdata
 
 
-# use for mock freqtrade.exchange.get_candle_history'
+# use for mock ccxt.fetch_ohlvc'
 def _load_pair_as_ticks(pair, tickfreq):
     ticks = optimize.load_data(None, ticker_interval=tickfreq, pairs=[pair])
     ticks = trim_dictlist(ticks, -201)
@@ -455,7 +455,7 @@ def test_backtesting_start(default_conf, mocker, caplog) -> None:
         return Arrow(2017, 11, 14, 21, 17), Arrow(2017, 11, 14, 22, 59)
 
     mocker.patch('freqtrade.optimize.load_data', mocked_load_data)
-    mocker.patch('freqtrade.exchange.Exchange.get_candle_history')
+    mocker.patch('freqtrade.exchange.Exchange.refresh_tickers', MagicMock())
     patch_exchange(mocker)
     mocker.patch.multiple(
         'freqtrade.optimize.backtesting.Backtesting',
@@ -490,7 +490,7 @@ def test_backtesting_start_no_data(default_conf, mocker, caplog) -> None:
         return Arrow(2017, 11, 14, 21, 17), Arrow(2017, 11, 14, 22, 59)
 
     mocker.patch('freqtrade.optimize.load_data', MagicMock(return_value={}))
-    mocker.patch('freqtrade.exchange.Exchange.get_candle_history')
+    mocker.patch('freqtrade.exchange.Exchange.refresh_tickers', MagicMock())
     patch_exchange(mocker)
     mocker.patch.multiple(
         'freqtrade.optimize.backtesting.Backtesting',
@@ -733,9 +733,14 @@ def test_backtest_record(default_conf, fee, mocker):
 
 def test_backtest_start_live(default_conf, mocker, caplog):
     default_conf['exchange']['pair_whitelist'] = ['UNITTEST/BTC']
-    mocker.patch('freqtrade.exchange.Exchange.get_candle_history',
-                 new=lambda s, n, i: _load_pair_as_ticks(n, i))
-    patch_exchange(mocker)
+
+    async def load_pairs(pair, timeframe, since):
+        return _load_pair_as_ticks(pair, timeframe)
+
+    api_mock = MagicMock()
+    api_mock.fetch_ohlcv = load_pairs
+
+    patch_exchange(mocker, api_mock)
     mocker.patch('freqtrade.optimize.backtesting.Backtesting.backtest', MagicMock())
     mocker.patch('freqtrade.optimize.backtesting.Backtesting._generate_text_table', MagicMock())
     mocker.patch('freqtrade.configuration.open', mocker.mock_open(
@@ -776,9 +781,13 @@ def test_backtest_start_live(default_conf, mocker, caplog):
 
 def test_backtest_start_multi_strat(default_conf, mocker, caplog):
     default_conf['exchange']['pair_whitelist'] = ['UNITTEST/BTC']
-    mocker.patch('freqtrade.exchange.Exchange.get_candle_history',
-                 new=lambda s, n, i: _load_pair_as_ticks(n, i))
-    patch_exchange(mocker)
+
+    async def load_pairs(pair, timeframe, since):
+        return _load_pair_as_ticks(pair, timeframe)
+    api_mock = MagicMock()
+    api_mock.fetch_ohlcv = load_pairs
+
+    patch_exchange(mocker, api_mock)
     backtestmock = MagicMock()
     mocker.patch('freqtrade.optimize.backtesting.Backtesting.backtest', backtestmock)
     gen_table_mock = MagicMock()
diff --git a/freqtrade/tests/optimize/test_optimize.py b/freqtrade/tests/optimize/test_optimize.py
index 13f65fbf5..77fa3e3b1 100644
--- a/freqtrade/tests/optimize/test_optimize.py
+++ b/freqtrade/tests/optimize/test_optimize.py
@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ def _clean_test_file(file: str) -> None:
 
 
 def test_load_data_30min_ticker(ticker_history, mocker, caplog, default_conf) -> None:
-    mocker.patch('freqtrade.exchange.Exchange.get_candle_history', return_value=ticker_history)
+    mocker.patch('freqtrade.exchange.Exchange.get_history', return_value=ticker_history)
     file = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), '..', 'testdata', 'UNITTEST_BTC-30m.json')
     _backup_file(file, copy_file=True)
     optimize.load_data(None, pairs=['UNITTEST/BTC'], ticker_interval='30m')
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ def test_load_data_30min_ticker(ticker_history, mocker, caplog, default_conf) ->
 
 
 def test_load_data_5min_ticker(ticker_history, mocker, caplog, default_conf) -> None:
-    mocker.patch('freqtrade.exchange.Exchange.get_candle_history', return_value=ticker_history)
+    mocker.patch('freqtrade.exchange.Exchange.get_history', return_value=ticker_history)
 
     file = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), '..', 'testdata', 'UNITTEST_BTC-5m.json')
     _backup_file(file, copy_file=True)
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ def test_load_data_5min_ticker(ticker_history, mocker, caplog, default_conf) ->
 
 
 def test_load_data_1min_ticker(ticker_history, mocker, caplog) -> None:
-    mocker.patch('freqtrade.exchange.Exchange.get_candle_history', return_value=ticker_history)
+    mocker.patch('freqtrade.exchange.Exchange.get_history', return_value=ticker_history)
     file = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), '..', 'testdata', 'UNITTEST_BTC-1m.json')
     _backup_file(file, copy_file=True)
     optimize.load_data(None, ticker_interval='1m', pairs=['UNITTEST/BTC'])
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ def test_load_data_with_new_pair_1min(ticker_history, mocker, caplog, default_co
     """
     Test load_data() with 1 min ticker
     """
-    mocker.patch('freqtrade.exchange.Exchange.get_candle_history', return_value=ticker_history)
+    mocker.patch('freqtrade.exchange.Exchange.get_history', return_value=ticker_history)
     exchange = get_patched_exchange(mocker, default_conf)
     file = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), '..', 'testdata', 'MEME_BTC-1m.json')
 
@@ -118,7 +118,7 @@ def test_testdata_path() -> None:
 
 
 def test_download_pairs(ticker_history, mocker, default_conf) -> None:
-    mocker.patch('freqtrade.exchange.Exchange.get_candle_history', return_value=ticker_history)
+    mocker.patch('freqtrade.exchange.Exchange.get_history', return_value=ticker_history)
     exchange = get_patched_exchange(mocker, default_conf)
     file1_1 = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), '..', 'testdata', 'MEME_BTC-1m.json')
     file1_5 = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), '..', 'testdata', 'MEME_BTC-5m.json')
@@ -261,7 +261,7 @@ def test_load_cached_data_for_updating(mocker) -> None:
 
 
 def test_download_pairs_exception(ticker_history, mocker, caplog, default_conf) -> None:
-    mocker.patch('freqtrade.exchange.Exchange.get_candle_history', return_value=ticker_history)
+    mocker.patch('freqtrade.exchange.Exchange.get_history', return_value=ticker_history)
     mocker.patch('freqtrade.optimize.__init__.download_backtesting_testdata',
                  side_effect=BaseException('File Error'))
     exchange = get_patched_exchange(mocker, default_conf)
@@ -279,7 +279,7 @@ def test_download_pairs_exception(ticker_history, mocker, caplog, default_conf)
 
 
 def test_download_backtesting_testdata(ticker_history, mocker, default_conf) -> None:
-    mocker.patch('freqtrade.exchange.Exchange.get_candle_history', return_value=ticker_history)
+    mocker.patch('freqtrade.exchange.Exchange.get_history', return_value=ticker_history)
     exchange = get_patched_exchange(mocker, default_conf)
 
     # Download a 1 min ticker file
@@ -304,7 +304,7 @@ def test_download_backtesting_testdata2(mocker, default_conf) -> None:
         [1509836580000, 0.00161, 0.00161, 0.00161, 0.00161, 82.390199]
     ]
     json_dump_mock = mocker.patch('freqtrade.misc.file_dump_json', return_value=None)
-    mocker.patch('freqtrade.exchange.Exchange.get_candle_history', return_value=tick)
+    mocker.patch('freqtrade.exchange.Exchange.get_history', return_value=tick)
     exchange = get_patched_exchange(mocker, default_conf)
     download_backtesting_testdata(None, exchange, pair="UNITTEST/BTC", tick_interval='1m')
     download_backtesting_testdata(None, exchange, pair="UNITTEST/BTC", tick_interval='3m')
diff --git a/freqtrade/tests/strategy/test_interface.py b/freqtrade/tests/strategy/test_interface.py
index 29a6dc1de..fedd355af 100644
--- a/freqtrade/tests/strategy/test_interface.py
+++ b/freqtrade/tests/strategy/test_interface.py
@@ -89,7 +89,6 @@ def test_get_signal_old_dataframe(default_conf, mocker, caplog):
 
 
 def test_get_signal_handles_exceptions(mocker, default_conf):
-    mocker.patch('freqtrade.exchange.Exchange.get_candle_history', return_value=MagicMock())
     exchange = get_patched_exchange(mocker, default_conf)
     mocker.patch.object(
         _STRATEGY, 'analyze_ticker',
diff --git a/freqtrade/tests/test_freqtradebot.py b/freqtrade/tests/test_freqtradebot.py
index 49c9c4431..5e982f11a 100644
--- a/freqtrade/tests/test_freqtradebot.py
+++ b/freqtrade/tests/test_freqtradebot.py
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ def patch_get_signal(freqtrade: FreqtradeBot, value=(True, False)) -> None:
     :return: None
     """
     freqtrade.strategy.get_signal = lambda e, s, t: value
-    freqtrade.exchange.get_candle_history = lambda p, i: None
+    freqtrade.exchange.refresh_tickers = lambda p, i: None
 
 
 def patch_RPCManager(mocker) -> MagicMock:
@@ -553,7 +553,6 @@ def test_create_trade_no_signal(default_conf, fee, mocker) -> None:
     mocker.patch.multiple(
         'freqtrade.exchange.Exchange',
         validate_pairs=MagicMock(),
-        get_candle_history=MagicMock(return_value=20),
         get_balance=MagicMock(return_value=20),
         get_fee=fee,
     )
diff --git a/requirements.txt b/requirements.txt
index e9da93b1d..feeff061f 100644
--- a/requirements.txt
+++ b/requirements.txt
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ numpy==1.15.1
 TA-Lib==0.4.17
 pytest==3.8.0
 pytest-mock==1.10.0
+pytest-asyncio==0.9.0
 pytest-cov==2.6.0
 tabulate==0.8.2
 coinmarketcap==5.0.3
diff --git a/scripts/download_backtest_data.py b/scripts/download_backtest_data.py
index 686098f94..27c4c1e1c 100755
--- a/scripts/download_backtest_data.py
+++ b/scripts/download_backtest_data.py
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env python3
 
-"""This script generate json data from bittrex"""
+"""This script generate json data"""
 import json
 import sys
 from pathlib import Path
@@ -52,9 +52,10 @@ exchange = Exchange({'key': '',
                      'stake_currency': '',
                      'dry_run': True,
                      'exchange': {
-                        'name': args.exchange,
-                        'pair_whitelist': []
-                        }
+                         'name': args.exchange,
+                         'pair_whitelist': [],
+                         'ccxt_rate_limit': False
+                     }
                      })
 pairs_not_available = []
 
diff --git a/scripts/plot_dataframe.py b/scripts/plot_dataframe.py
index f2f2e0c7f..0f0a3d4cb 100755
--- a/scripts/plot_dataframe.py
+++ b/scripts/plot_dataframe.py
@@ -138,7 +138,8 @@ def plot_analyzed_dataframe(args: Namespace) -> None:
     tickers = {}
     if args.live:
         logger.info('Downloading pair.')
-        tickers[pair] = exchange.get_candle_history(pair, tick_interval)
+        exchange.refresh_tickers([pair], tick_interval)
+        tickers[pair] = exchange.klines[pair]
     else:
         tickers = optimize.load_data(
             datadir=_CONF.get("datadir"),