Beginner’s Introduction to Cryptocurrency APIs: The Basics You Need as an Intern Web Developer

A few months ago, when I first started learning about cryptocurrency, I felt like I was thrown into a whole new world, with people using complex terms that I didn’t understand. One concept in particular that I struggled to grasp was APIs.

It took me hours of tutorials and personal research to finally understand what APIs are and what they do. So if you are a trainee web developer, crypto enthusiast, or new to crypto trading and have a similar problem to mine, then this is the tutorial you will need.

Using simple language and easy-to-understand analogies, by the end of this tutorial you will save hours of research and be able to answer the fundamental questions:

• What are cryptocurrency APIs and how do they work?
• Why are cryptocurrency APIs important?
• What are the main APIs available?

Now let’s get started!

What are cryptocurrency APIs and how do they work?

To understand this, we must first understand what APIs are. API is an acronym that stands for Application Programming Interface.

Sounds complicated? Let’s break it down.

An application is software that helps people get information about specific things or do certain tasks, like the Expedia app on your phone that helps you book flights on the go or the Amazon weather app that helps you check the weather forecast.

An interface in this context is a program that helps 2 apps or websites communicate with each other, kind of like a middleman. So an API is basically a program or a “link” that helps two apps (or websites) “talk” to each other about a particular thing. So when an app (let’s call it app A) needs information about a particular thing or needs to access a service provided by another app B, an API of app B is used.

This API for App B acts as a link, a connection through which the specific information that App A requires is obtained from App B.

Wait what?!

Ok, ok. Let’s break this down further using this analogy:

Imagine you open a bakery and decide to sell cupcakes, muffins, and sourdough bread. However, for some reason, you don’t have the skills to make the sourdough bread yourself.

What are you doing?

You go to another bakery that sells sourdough bread. You make an agreement for them to sell you sourdough bread when you ask for it.

So, whenever you need bread, you go to an employee of that bakery and he brings you the bread.

Now, bread is not the only thing this second bakery sells, but it is the only thing you need from them. This is how an API basically works.

When an app needs information that it can’t provide on its own, it uses another app’s API to access that information from the other app.

For a more technical analogy.

To illustrate how the API works, let’s use a flight booking app:

Imagine using a travel app like Expedia to book a flight. When you search for flights, the app doesn’t have all the flight information stored locally. Instead, it uses specific APIs to fetch data from airline systems or other flight databases.

Here’s basically what happens behind the scenes:

1. The travel app sends a request to the airline’s API (e.g., “Get flights from Nigeria to New York on August 26”).

2. The airline API processes the request and returns the relevant data (e.g. flight numbers, departure times, prices).

3. The travel app receives the data and displays it in an intuitive format.

As you see:

• The travel app is the “client” or “consumer” of the API.

• The airline system is the “provider” of the API.

• The API acts as an intermediary, allowing the travel app to access airline data without having to replicate it locally.

So if I am an app developer and the app I am working on is to provide specific information about Qatar Airways flight schedules, for example, I will use a Qatar Airways API to allow me and my future users to access that information.

Now that we understand what an API is, by directly applying this knowledge, we can say that cryptocurrency APIs are basically programs that allow different apps or websites to access specific cryptocurrency data (e.g. chart updates, transactions, etc.) from other websites that monitor and interact directly with the cryptocurrency market.

So if I want information about the current state of Bitcoin in the cryptocurrency market, I open a website like Dervi.

This website cannot directly monitor the cryptocurrency market, so it uses an API to get information about the current status of Bitcoin from the Trading View website.

Why are cryptocurrency APIs important?

From the above, we can say that some of the most important APIs for cryptocurrencies are:

1. Real-time data access: APIs provide up-to-date information on market prices, trading volumes, and blockchain data, enabling informed decisions.

2. Research and Analysis: APIs provide data to researchers, analysts, and investors to study market trends and make predictions.

3. Integration with other services: APIs enable integration with payment systems, e-commerce platforms, and other services, broadening cryptocurrency adoption.

In essence, cryptocurrency APIs facilitate innovation, automation, and accessibility in the cryptocurrency and blockchain ecosystem.

What are the main cryptocurrency APIs?

Now that we understand what APIs are and why they are so important, let’s take a look at some of the major cryptocurrency APIs:

Coin Market Cap API

Coin Market Cap is one of the best cryptocurrency data APIs. So as a developer, embedding it in your app or website will be really helpful. You see, it offers real-time cryptocurrency data and market information, such as:

• Historical Cryptocurrency Data Since 2013
• Real-time price updates for cryptocurrencies
• Market data, volume and trading information
• Trading data and analysis
• Non-Fungible Token (NFT) Data Business, Professional and Free API Plans

This is an API used worldwide by cryptocurrency traders, developers, and financial companies.

CoinGeko API

CoinGeko is a big name among web developers! It offers many exciting features and has an easy to use interface. It has its own charts that it uses to track different coins in the cryptocurrency market. Some of the important features that it offers are:

• Real-time and historical cryptocurrency prices,
• Market capitalization data,
• Trading volume and trading data,
• Metadata,
• Minimum prices of the NFT collection.

Coin Gecko API offers a free plan! As well as several paid plans with additional features and support.

Binance:

Binance is considered one of the largest cryptocurrency exchange platforms globally. It allows users to buy and sell digital assets.

Its free API allows web developers to interact with the Binance platform and create custom trading applications such as:

• Perform transactions and check your account balances.
• View your trading history via the API.
• It allows developers to create custom trading strategies and automate their trading activities.

The world of cryptocurrency is constantly changing, evolving, and expanding. APIs make it easy for web developers to create cryptocurrency-related apps, wallets, exchanges, and analytics tools. This makes it much easier for traders to monitor trends within the cryptocurrency market.

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