Coingecko
Coingecko connects cryptocurrency prices with market activity and supply data
Coingecko combines cryptocurrency market data into price summaries, charts and asset information that help explain trading activity across exchanges. Its aggregate price gives a broader reference than one trading pair, while market capitalization relates that price to circulating supply. Exchange information, portfolio tracking and programmable data access support different ways of following the market. The appropriate view depends on the question: comparing assets requires consistent valuation inputs, investigating a price difference requires individual markets and reviewing historical performance requires a defined period. None of these readings establishes the price available for a particular order. That distinction matters before using a displayed value in a calculation or trading decision.
An aggregated crypto price describes tracked markets, while the amount available for a trade depends on the selected venue and its liquidity.
Filtering and weighting turn exchange observations into a reference price
Price aggregation combines eligible spot-market observations after processing their currencies and filtering anomalous data. A ticker here means a trading-pair data record. It identifies a market observation rather than merely a coin abbreviation. Different exchanges can report different prices for the same asset, so combining their records requires a common basis.
The aggregate price is a volume-weighted average of the tickers remaining after outlier filtering. Greater eligible trading volume therefore gives a market more influence on the calculation. The methodology also excludes specified invalid or stale observations. These filters affect which prices contribute, so the displayed average need not match every market listed beneath an asset.
A reference price answers a market-data question. An executable quote answers a different question about a particular transaction.
Can I buy a coin at the displayed aggregate price?
You cannot place an order against the aggregate price itself; execution depends on a trading venue and the orders or liquidity available there.
An exchange order book contains offers to buy and sell at different prices. The spread is the gap between the best buying and selling offers. Depth describes how much trading interest exists around those prices. An order that exceeds the available amount at one level can reach less favorable levels. Trading fees also affect the amount received. These mechanisms explain why a market-data reference and an execution estimate serve different purposes.
The platform supplies information and does not hold cryptoassets or execute purchases on your behalf. Reading a price creates no purchase, deposit or withdrawal. A request to send funds to unlock a supposed tracker balance conflicts with that function.
Asset identity determines whether two readings describe the same thing
A name or symbol can identify more than one token, making identity matching essential before comparing prices or importing data into another application.
Coin records provide identifiers and metadata, including contract information where applicable. A token contract address belongs with its network; separating those details removes part of the identity. An aggregate coin record and an individual pool record also describe different objects. The first combines eligible markets for an asset. The second describes a particular trading pool. Their values can differ without either record referring to the wrong token.
To interpret a price discrepancy, confirm the asset identity and account for differences in quote currency and market-record type.
Supply changes what a valuation figure measures
Circulating supply connects price to market capitalization
Market capitalization equals the asset price multiplied by its circulating supply. This relationship explains why comparing unit prices alone says little about relative asset size. Supply estimates matter alongside prices. A revised circulating-supply figure can change the reported capitalization even without a corresponding price move. Market capitalization also does not measure the cash deposited into a project or the proceeds available from selling every circulating token.
Total supply creates a different valuation basis
Fully diluted valuation, or FDV, applies the displayed price to a broader supply basis. The platform describes its FDV calculation using total supply. Total supply reflects minted tokens after burns, while circulating supply excludes tokens classified as non-circulating. A gap between the resulting valuations describes a supply difference. It does not establish an unlock date, a future market price or an amount that holders can realize through sales.
Does Trust Score certify an exchange as safe?
Trust Score assesses an exchange through several indicators, but it does not certify that deposited funds are safe or that every market behaves reliably.
Trust Score for spot exchanges incorporates liquidity, cybersecurity, regulation, incidents and proof of reserves. Its methodology evaluates exchanges relative to their peers. Liquidity analysis includes reported volume and order-book depth, which helps distinguish activity from a volume figure considered alone. The regulation component is a regulatory-posture signal, not a complete compliance audit. These distinctions limit what a high score establishes.
The exchange and the trading pair also have different scopes. An exchange-wide assessment cannot describe the depth available for every order in every pair.
When is a price snapshot ready to use?
A price snapshot is ready for a comparison when its asset identity, currency and update time satisfy the requirements of that comparison.
Consider a valuation record that needs a timestamped price before the next calculation. The API can return a price together with its last update time. Decide how recent the observation must be for that task before requesting it. A successful response confirms delivery; its contents establish whether the requested observation is usable. Requesting a price does not authorize a trade.
| Stage | Required input | Action and evidence | Limit on continuing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Define the observation | Intended asset, reporting currency and acceptable data age | Match the asset to its unique coin ID | Stop if the identity remains ambiguous |
| Request the snapshot | Matched coin ID and supported quote currency | Request the price with its last update time | A delivered response alone does not establish freshness |
| Inspect the returned record | Returned identity, price and timestamp | Compare the fields with the valuation requirement | Wait for a newer observation if the price is too old |
| Record the usable observation | A matching price with a suitable timestamp | Retain the identity, currency, value and update time together | Continue with valuation; no transaction has occurred |
| Completion | The saved record identifies the asset and the age of the price used in the calculation. | ||
If the API successfully returns an observation that is too old for the calculation, wait for a newer one that meets the required data age. Repeating the same calculation does not refresh its input. Until a suitable observation arrives, the record supports only a valuation at its stated update time.
Charts and portfolio records answer different tracking questions
Historical charts describe the market over a selected period
Price histories show how recorded market values changed through time. Market-capitalization and volume histories add different information about valuation and activity. Comparisons need matching periods and currencies. A percentage change over a short interval does not describe performance across an entire holding period, and a chart’s sampled points do not reproduce every transaction within that interval. Historical API access includes separate price, market-capitalization and volume data.
Portfolio records relate tracked holdings to market values
The portfolio feature organizes recorded transactions and holdings, with profit-and-loss information and transaction history. Its displayed balance represents tracked value. It is not a wallet balance held by the platform, so it cannot be withdrawn from the tracker. Recording a holding and owning that holding are separate facts. This distinction keeps a portfolio estimate useful without treating its entries as proof of custody.
Pool data brings price analysis closer to individual trades
Onchain market data adds network and pool context to token prices, which helps explain differences that an aggregate coin view cannot fully describe.
A decentralized exchange pool holds liquidity used for swaps. Its price reflects that pool’s trading conditions. The onchain token-price API selects a pool using liquidity and activity considerations, and the selected price source can change. A pool-specific query fixes the observation to a particular pool instead. Consequently, a token-level onchain price and a selected pool’s price may represent different observations.
A visible pool and a recorded trade establish market activity. They do not establish that a token contract lacks harmful permissions.
API access makes the same distinctions explicit in software
An application programming interface, or API, lets software request structured market records instead of reading values from a webpage. The returned fields preserve distinctions that a compact display can obscure.
A useful integration retains asset identifiers, currencies and timestamps alongside numeric values. Missing data needs its own state: replacing an absent value with zero changes its meaning. Different requests serve current prices, historical series and pool observations. Access conditions and update behavior belong to the selected endpoint and subscription, so a single assumed refresh schedule can misrepresent the available data.
A website view suits visual inspection of an asset and its markets. An API suits repeatable calculations that need explicit fields. For an actual purchase or sale, the selected venue’s executable quote answers the transaction question that neither presentation resolves.
Coingecko: the short answers
What does a missing market cap mean in an onchain API response?
A missing market cap can mean that the token’s capitalization has not been verified. The onchain token-price API can return null in that situation. An optional fallback can substitute FDV, which measures a different supply basis. Software should distinguish that substituted valuation from verified circulating market capitalization.
How far back can historical cryptocurrency data extend?
Historical coverage depends on the asset’s available records and the access allowed by the API plan. A cryptocurrency can have existed before its supported trading data became available. Its launch date therefore does not establish the beginning of a complete price series. Missing early observations should remain gaps rather than invented prices.
Is every historical chart point a separate trade?
A historical chart point can represent a sampled observation rather than an individual trade. Data granularity determines the spacing between those observations. Historical API granularity can depend on the requested period and access conditions, so a longer series may contain less detail within each day. Comparing series requires attention to their intervals as well as their dates.
Do prices shown in another currency represent a separate trading market?
A displayed currency conversion does not necessarily represent a trading pair in that currency. The pricing methodology converts aggregate values into supported reporting currencies. This changes the denomination of the reference value, while an exchange market describes trading between a particular pair of assets. Those readings can differ because they have different inputs.
Does a token listing guarantee that it will remain searchable?
A token listing can be removed, so its presence does not guarantee permanent coverage. Listing and data-quality policies allow assets or markets to be unpublished when their information is unsuitable. A missing listing therefore should not be interpreted by itself as proof that the blockchain asset ceased to exist.