Any company looking to build an online cryptocurrency exchange business can integrate an advanced and reliable crypto application programming interface (API) into their online software applications. Rather than having to build the crypto exchange infrastructure from scratch, companies can use the crypto API to tap into the cryptocurrency ecosystem to execute trades and extract blockchain data and market prices.
Whether you want to set up a crypto exchange, crypto wallet, or payment gateway, a good crypto API is the way to go. A crypto API will minimize the development time and maximize the security and swap functionality of your online crypto project. That way, your business can start profiting a lot sooner rather than later. All you need to do now is choose the best crypto API for your specific crypto exchange project.
Evaluation Criteria
The critical criteria we used to evaluate these crypto APIs include the following:
- Assets & Liquidity – A good crypto API will connect you to the most popular markets with deep liquidity. We evaluate a crypto API based on its volume and number of supported coins, tokens, and blockchain networks.
- Performance – Fast execution times and minimal slippage indicate good performance for a crypto platform. If a crypto API offers fast response times, consistent system uptimes, and technical support, then we will give it a good rating.
- Fees / Earnings – Crypto APIs have different fee structures attached to them. We analyzed their fee models to see which ones were the lowest and which ones offer custom commission margins to help businesses generate the earnings they want.
Comparison Table
| Provider | Assets & Liquidity | Performance | Fees / Earnings |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChangeNOW | Over 1,500 digital coins and more than 110 blockchain networks | 99.99% uptime, 350ms response | Highly customizable commissions, earn 0.4% per trade |
| Binance API | More than 350 coins, global liquidity | Reliable performance; plenty of features | 0.10% trading fee, with high-volume discounts available |
| Coinbase Advanced | More than 250 coins in over 550 markets | Excellent documentation and regulatory compliance | Higher fees than others |
| Kraken API | More than 650 coins | Great security | Volume-based fee structure |
| KuCoin API | More than 1,000 digital coins | Good stability and speed | Trading fee starts at 0.1% |
| CoinMarketCap | Retrieve data on more than two million coins | Standard REST API | Subscription model (free service available) |
Below are the top 6 most recommended crypto APIs:
1) ChangeNOW
ChangeNOW Crypto API is the best crypto API for instant swaps. It supports more than 1,500 digital coins on over 110 different blockchain networks, with assets sourced from both centralized and decentralized exchanges for deep liquidity. Cross-chain swaps are allowed since all assets are inter-exchangeable. You can easily integrate standard and fixed-rate exchange flows by utilizing the vast API documentation provided to expand your client base and offer flexibility in exchanges. The best market rates are available with each option.
It is easy to integrate the ChangeNOW API into any existing crypto platform or project. It works flawlessly with both mobile apps and web-based platforms. Once you have set everything up, your online business can earn a minimum of 0.4% from every transaction. There is also the ability to customize the commissions based on each asset, swap size, or trading pair.
The performance metrics are rather impressive with a 99.99% availability rate, 350ms response time, and 10-minute accident warning time. And if you ever need any assistance in operating the API, you can request comprehensive support from a personal manager and support team 24/7 to assist you. They can help you with crypto exchange issues like duplicate transactions or wrong network deposits.
2) Binance
Binance is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world by trading volume. It offers an API with access to more than 350 frequently traded cryptocurrencies. Even though the API offers fewer coin options than ChangeNOW, it does have centralized liquidity to ensure trades are executed with minimal slippage on the price.
The Binance API is easy for novice developers to install and integrate into their crypto project. It can handle high-frequency trading and multiple simultaneous requests without lagging or slowing down. The standard trading fee is 0.10% per trade for both makers and takers. High-volume enterprise crypto projects are entitled to bigger discounts on fees.
3) Coinbase
The Coinbase Developer Platform has an Advanced Trade API to help you automate your trades in minutes. Coinbase is obviously one of the most recognizable and trusted names in the crypto exchange sector. It can bring all sorts of benefits to your crypto project, including advanced security, regulatory compliance, fiat-to-crypto onboarding, and support for nearly 250 digital assets and cryptocurrencies.
Your business can enjoy deep liquidity in over 550 markets and world-class security features like mobile biometrics, two-factor authentication, YubiKey, and more. Enterprise crypto API developers will appreciate the clean and direct documentation that ensures a smooth integration. Unfortunately, Coinbase carries higher trading fees than most other platforms, but you might find their high level of regulatory compliance to be worth the extra cost.
4) Kraken
Kraken is another respected brand name in the crypto universe. Its reliable crypto trading API features award-winning security features, low latency, real-time market data access, automated trading, spot trading, and more. You can expect 99% uptime 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
Depending on your location, Kraken supports trading over 650 cryptocurrencies and many traditional assets like stocks, ETFs, and futures. Some crypto platform developers might appreciate this diversity if they want to offer both traditional and modern asset trading options to a diverse target audience. Kraken uses a volume-based fee structure that progressively lowers trading fees when there is consistently high-volume activity on the platform.
5) KuCoin
The KuCoin API gives you everything you need to integrate it into your crypto project quickly. Once you generate your API key and review the API documentation, you may choose your preferred programming language and download an official sample code to help you get started.
KuCoin currently supports more than 1,000 digital coins and assets, including over 1,100 trading pairs and altcoins. If you wish for your crypto platform to trade low-cap altcoins with stability and speed, you will want the liquidity that comes from the KuCoin API integration. KuCoin’s base trading fee rates start at 0.1%.
6) CoinMarketCap
The CoinMarketCap API operates differently from the abovementioned crypto APIs because it focuses more on data aggregation than executing trades. For instance, if your crypto project requires displaying live crypto prices or tracking historical market trends, then you can benefit from integrating CoinMarketCap API into it. This API is one of the most comprehensive and well-recognized data feeds for crypto platform developers.
The CoinMarketCap API can track the data of millions of different digital coins, tokens, cryptocurrencies, and smart contracts. This deep market data also includes 24-hour trading volume, market capitalization, liquidity scores, and historical pricing. It can even pull data from entire crypto exchanges, such as Binance or Kraken, and retrieve global metrics on things like total market cap.
Conclusion
All these crypto APIs have something unique to offer crypto projects, but the ChangeNOW API stands out as the number one crypto API available. One of its most attractive features is its revenue-sharing model, where businesses can set their own custom commission rates to profit from the transactions. The fast and free integration comes with 24/7 support and maintenance to ensure you have a hassle-free experience running your crypto platform.
