Building Your Blockchain Idea with Cryptocurrency Price Data
Introduction
Cryptocurrencies have seen an astronomical rise in value since their inception. Bitcoin, the first cryptocurrency, soared to an all-time high of $65,000 in November 2021, a significant leap from its $222 value in January 2015, and a mere fraction of the cost of a pizza back in 2010.
Back then, Lazlo Hanyecz famously bought two pizzas for 10,000 BTC, which at peak prices, equates to two pizzas for $650 million USD. Other cryptocurrencies like Ethereum, Solana, and Dogecoin have also seen similar exponential growth.
If you’re like me, you may have considered how you can leverage cryptocurrency data to develop a new blockchain-related project. Perhaps, a product that tracks cryptocurrency prices. As an initial step in this journey, I decided to explore how to download historical price data using Python and visualize it on my local machine.
Why Python?
Python is a versatile programming language widely used for web development, data analysis, and machine learning. It powers the backend of major applications, including Instagram, which utilizes Python and the Django framework. If you’re new to programming, don’t worry. These step-by-step instructions are designed to be beginner-friendly. If you encounter any difficulties, feel free to ask questions in the comments below.
Finding an API
To begin, we’ll need an API (application programming interface) to facilitate communication between your Python program and a data provider, such as a cryptocurrency exchange.
Binance is currently the most popular cryptocurrency exchange, boasting a 24-hour trading volume of $17 billion USD and 1,388 trading pairs, according to CoinGecko.
However, Binance requires a lengthy identity verification process before granting access to its data.
