How do we calculate crypto prices?
Our pricing data is sourced from hundreds of cryptocurrency exchanges. These exchanges are integral to our data collection process, and the drivers for these sources are open-source, allowing transparency and scrutiny. You can explore our open-source drivers on our GitHub repository: Coinranking Exchanges GitHub.
To maintain real-time accuracy, we regularly request new price data from these exchanges. Our data collection intervals vary depending on the exchange's popularity and market dynamics. For most exchanges, we update data every ten minutes, ensuring that our users have the most recent information at their fingertips. However, for the most popular exchanges, we take it a step further, requesting data every minute to reflect the fast-paced nature of the cryptocurrency market.
What do we ask exchanges?
For those technically inclined, you can delve into the specifics of what we request from exchanges by exploring our code base: Coinranking Ticker Code.
However, for those who prefer a simpler explanation, we ask exchanges for "tickers." These tickers are similar to the scrolling stock prices you see on financial TV shows. In the world of cryptocurrencies, tickers provide information about the latest trade price (referred to as "close") and the trading volume over the last 24 hours.
With nearly 40,000 markets on Coinranking, these tickers are vital for tracking the performance of a wide range of cryptocurrencies.
What happens once we get the tickers?
One of the key challenges in our price calculation process is matching symbols provided by exchanges to the correct cryptocurrencies. This task is not always straightforward, as exchanges often provide only the symbols of coins. For example, you may know that "BTC" stands for Bitcoin and "USD" stands for US Dollar. However, with over 30,000 coins in our database, it's common for multiple coins to share the same symbol.
Conversely, the same coin may have different symbols on different exchanges. To address this complexity, we utilize both automated systems and a dedicated team to accurately match symbols with their respective coins.
Once symbols are matched, each ticker undergoes our ticker algorithm. This algorithm calculates both the price and volume in US Dollars and applies several filters to identify and exclude unreliable or suspicious data.
Only the most reliable market data makes it to the top twenty for each cryptocurrency. This selection is based on various factors, including trading volume, exchange recommendations, and the ability of the ticker data to pass through our rigorous filtering process. These top twenty markets are instrumental in accurately representing a cryptocurrency's market value.
Every ticker, whether or not it makes it to the top twenty, is meticulously stored in our database. This data serves as the foundation for creating informative graphs on our website and is accessible through our API for users to utilize as well.
The role of filters
Filters play a critical role in our process, as not all data received is accurate.
Particularly for smaller coins with limited trading volume, prices can experience significant fluctuations. Some exchanges may even send incorrect data, either due to technical issues or for malicious reasons (a lot of exchanges especially exaggerated the volume in order to gain more popularity).
To address these challenges, we employ a variety of filters to identify issues, such as checking for price anomalies, applying statistical analysis to filter out outliers in markets with multiple listings, and identifying unrealistic trading volumes.