CoinMarketCap

Overview

CoinMarketCap is the most-visited cryptocurrency data site, and its Pro API exposes the same market data programmatically: coin listings, quotes, fiat/crypto conversions, and historical data. The free tier is credit-based and sufficient for hobby dashboards.

Quick Start

Latest coin listings (replace YOUR_KEY):

curl "https://pro-api.coinmarketcap.com/v1/cryptocurrency/listings/latest?limit=10&convert=USD" \
  -H "X-CMC_PRO_API_KEY: YOUR_KEY"

Price quotes for specific coins:

curl "https://pro-api.coinmarketcap.com/v1/cryptocurrency/quotes/latest?symbol=BTC,ETH&convert=USD" \
  -H "X-CMC_PRO_API_KEY: YOUR_KEY"

Fiat conversion:

curl "https://pro-api.coinmarketcap.com/v1/tools/price-conversion?amount=1&symbol=BTC&convert=EUR" \
  -H "X-CMC_PRO_API_KEY: YOUR_KEY"

Authentication

• Register at coinmarketcap.com/api for a free key.
• Send it as the X-CMC_PRO_API_KEY header.
• Free tier is credit-based — each endpoint call consumes credits (check the pricing page for the monthly credit allowance).

Rate Limits & Notes

• Free tier: a monthly credit allowance (roughly 10k credits) — a full listings call costs several credits, so plan accordingly.
• Responses are large (full market data per coin) — use limit, symbol, or convert to trim them.
• Some endpoints (historical OHLCV, global metrics) need higher tiers.
• Data updates at varying cadences; listings are snapshot-based, not real-time tickers.

FAQ

Is CoinMarketCap free? There’s a free credit-based tier; higher tiers add more credits and endpoints.

How do I authenticate? X-CMC_PRO_API_KEY header with your free key.

Is it real-time? Listings/quotes update frequently but aren’t exchange tickers — for real-time trades use an exchange API.