50 essential terms for working with crypto and financial data APIs.
A unique, deterministic identifier assigned to every tradeable asset across all exchanges and blockchains. Canonical IDs eliminate ambiguity when the same asset is listed under different tickers or contract addresses on different platforms.
The process of mapping an ambiguous asset reference — such as a ticker symbol, contract address, or name — to a single canonical asset record. Resolution handles aliases, chain variants, and exchange-specific naming.
Standardizing asset data from multiple sources into a uniform schema. Normalization ensures that fields like name, symbol, category, and pricing follow consistent formatting regardless of the upstream data provider.
Augmenting a basic asset record with additional data such as real-time price, market cap, 24h volume, category classification, and family groupings. Enrichment turns a simple identifier into actionable intelligence.
A grouping of related assets that share the same underlying value. For example, BTC, WBTC, cbBTC, and tBTC all belong to the Bitcoin family because they are pegged 1:1 to the same base asset.
A short alphabetic code used to identify a publicly traded asset. Ticker symbols are not globally unique — the same symbol can refer to different assets on different exchanges.
The on-chain address of a smart contract that defines a token on a blockchain. Each token deployment has a unique contract address on its respective chain.
A distributed ledger system (e.g. Ethereum, Solana, Bitcoin) where tokens and transactions are recorded. Different networks have different protocols, consensus mechanisms, and token standards.
A specification that defines how tokens behave on a blockchain. Common standards include ERC-20 (Ethereum fungible tokens), ERC-721 (NFTs), and SPL (Solana tokens).
A token on one blockchain that represents an asset from another blockchain, typically pegged 1:1. Wrapped tokens enable cross-chain liquidity (e.g. WBTC is Bitcoin wrapped on Ethereum).
A cryptocurrency designed to maintain a stable value relative to a reference asset, usually the US dollar. Examples include USDT, USDC, and DAI.
A token associated with a decentralized finance protocol, typically granting governance rights or representing a stake in the protocol. Examples include UNI (Uniswap), AAVE, and MKR (Maker).
The total value of an asset calculated by multiplying its current price by the circulating supply. Market cap is a common metric for ranking assets by size.
The total quantity of an asset traded over a given time period, usually 24 hours. Volume indicates market activity and liquidity.
A data stream providing real-time or near-real-time price updates for an asset. Price feeds aggregate data from multiple trading venues to produce a representative market price.
A real-time list of buy and sell orders for an asset on an exchange, organized by price level. The order book reveals supply and demand at each price point.
A smart contract holding paired tokens that enables decentralized trading. Liquidity providers deposit tokens and earn fees from trades executed against the pool.
A trading platform that operates without a central authority, using smart contracts to facilitate peer-to-peer trading directly from users' wallets. Examples include Uniswap, SushiSwap, and Raydium.
A trading platform operated by a company that acts as an intermediary between buyers and sellers. Users deposit funds into the exchange's custody. Examples include Coinbase, Binance, and Kraken.
Two assets quoted against each other on an exchange, such as BTC/USD or ETH/BTC. The first asset is the base currency and the second is the quote currency.
The first currency in a trading pair, representing the asset being bought or sold. In the pair BTC/USD, Bitcoin is the base currency.
The second currency in a trading pair, used to express the price of the base currency. In BTC/USD, the US dollar is the quote currency.
A restriction on the number of API requests a client can make within a given time window. Rate limits protect the service from abuse and ensure fair access for all users.
A unique token issued to a developer to authenticate API requests. API keys track usage, enforce rate limits, and associate requests with a specific account.
An API architecture that uses HTTP methods (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE) and stateless request-response cycles. REST APIs return data in JSON format and are the most common API style for web services.
A protocol that provides full-duplex communication over a single TCP connection, enabling real-time data streaming without repeated HTTP requests.
A response body formatted in JavaScript Object Notation, the standard data interchange format for modern APIs. JSON is lightweight, human-readable, and universally supported.
A technique for dividing large result sets into smaller pages, each returned in a separate API response. Pagination uses parameters like limit and offset (or cursor) to control which page is returned.
A property of an API operation where making the same request multiple times produces the same result as making it once. Idempotent operations are safe to retry without side effects.
A callback mechanism where an API sends an HTTP POST request to a client-specified URL when a specific event occurs. Webhooks enable event-driven integrations without polling.
An acronym for Open, High, Low, Close, Volume — the five data points that describe an asset's trading activity within a specific time interval. OHLCV data is the foundation of candlestick charts.
The process of collecting, normalizing, and combining market data from multiple trading venues to produce a comprehensive view of an asset's market activity.
A benchmark that tracks the performance of a basket of cryptocurrencies, similar to how the S&P 500 tracks stocks. Crypto indices provide a single metric for overall market performance.
A type of derivatives contract that allows traders to speculate on an asset's price without an expiration date. Perpetual futures use a funding rate mechanism to keep the contract price aligned with the spot price.
The current market price at which an asset can be bought or sold for immediate delivery. Spot price reflects real-time supply and demand.
The difference between the expected price of a trade and the actual execution price. Slippage occurs due to market movement or insufficient liquidity at the desired price level.
The transaction fee paid to blockchain validators for processing and confirming on-chain transactions. Gas fees vary by network congestion and transaction complexity.
A fixed-length alphanumeric string produced by a cryptographic hash function. In the context of asset IDs, a hash provides a unique, deterministic fingerprint derived from an asset's properties.
A unique string of characters that identifies a cryptocurrency wallet on a blockchain. Wallet addresses are used to send and receive tokens.
Custodial services hold users' private keys and manage assets on their behalf (e.g. exchanges). Non-custodial solutions let users retain full control of their private keys (e.g. self-hosted wallets).
An entity that provides liquidity by continuously quoting buy and sell prices for an asset. Market makers profit from the bid-ask spread and improve market efficiency.
The practice of exploiting price differences for the same asset across different markets or exchanges. Arbitrage helps equalize prices across venues.
The process of adding a new token to an exchange's available trading pairs. Listings increase a token's accessibility and often impact its trading volume and price.
A software layer that transforms heterogeneous data from multiple sources into a single, consistent format. This eliminates the need for downstream consumers to handle source-specific quirks.
The ability of a platform or API to work with assets across multiple blockchain networks simultaneously, rather than being limited to a single chain.
The process of connecting to an exchange's API to receive market data, submit orders, or manage accounts. Each exchange has its own API format, authentication, and rate limits.
Exchange-Traded Fund — a pooled investment vehicle that tracks an index, commodity, or basket of assets and trades on stock exchanges like a regular stock. Crypto ETFs (e.g. Bitcoin ETFs) have brought digital assets to traditional finance.
A digital token that represents ownership of or exposure to a physical commodity such as gold, silver, or oil. Commodity tokens bridge traditional commodity markets with blockchain technology.
An API that enables developers to build portfolio tracking and management features, including holdings valuation, performance calculation, and asset allocation analysis.
Market information delivered with minimal latency, reflecting the most current state of trading activity. Real-time data is essential for accurate pricing, trading decisions, and portfolio valuation.