Price Calculation Methodology

1. Data Sources

2.1 Exchange Integration

CoinPaprika integrates with cryptocurrency exchanges via their public APIs. Each exchange must provide market pair identifiers (e.g., BTC/USD, ETH/BTC), last traded price for each market pair, and 24-hour trading volume for each market pair.

2.2 Scope

Only spot markets are included in the price calculation pipeline. Derivative markets (futures, perpetual swaps, options) are excluded, as their prices can diverge significantly from the underlying spot price due to funding rates, expiry mechanics, and leverage dynamics.

2.3 External Reference Data

Fiat exchange rates are sourced from Open Exchange Rates to convert between fiat currencies (EUR, GBP, JPY, etc.) and USD. Stablecoin peg rates — USDT, USDC, and other major stablecoins — are converted to USD using a volume-weighted index derived from their USD on-ramp markets.

2. Price Calculation Pipeline

The algorithm is designed to calculate prices based solely on the current state of the market, with no dependency on prices from previous algorithm runs. Each execution starts from scratch, bootstrapping its own conversion rates from live market data, and converges on accurate prices through multiple iterations. The entire pipeline executes every 60 seconds.

1. Data Collection

   From every integrated exchange, CoinPaprika fetches all available spot markets. Each market provides: market pair name (e.g., BTC/USD), last traded price in the quote currency, and 24-hour trading volume in the quote currency.

2. Establish BTC/USD Reference Rate

   The algorithm starts with zero assumed prices. The first calculation is the BTC/USD weighted average price, derived directly from all BTC/USD spot markets. Bitcoin is chosen because BTC markets are typically the most liquid across exchanges.

   BTC_USD = Σ(Price_i × Volume_i) / Σ(Volume_i)
   where i = each BTC/USD market across all exchanges

3. First Pass: BTC and Fiat Markets Only

   Using the BTC/USD rate, the algorithm processes markets where one side of the pair is either BTC or a fiat currency. BTC-denominated markets (e.g., ETH/BTC, SOL/BTC):

   Price_USD = Price_BTC × BTC_USD

   Fiat-denominated markets (e.g., ETH/EUR, BTC/JPY):

   Price_BTC = Price_USD / BTC_USD

4. Subsequent Passes: Incorporate All Markets

   Many cryptocurrencies also trade against other cryptocurrencies. The algorithm uses conversion rates from the previous pass to resolve these markets iteratively.

   Pass 1: BTC/USD markets → BTC_USD rate
   Pass 2: BTC + fiat markets → conversion rates for major coins
   Pass 3: All markets using Pass 2 rates → refined rates, more coins covered
   Pass N: Repeat until convergence → all reachable coins have prices

5. Outlier Detection and Removal

   Before final aggregation, anomalous market prices are identified and excluded. Markets excluded upfront include those with zero trading fees, transaction mining incentives, stale data (>30 min), and blacklisted pairs. Statistical outlier detection uses median-based bounds adjusted for liquidity depth.

6. Final Price: Volume-Weighted Average

   After outlier removal, the final price is the volume-weighted average of all remaining valid markets:

   Price_USD = Σ(Price_i_USD × Volume_i_USD) / Σ(Volume_i_USD)

   Higher-liquidity markets naturally carry more weight, ensuring the aggregated price reflects where the majority of real trading activity occurs.

3. Trading Volume Calculation

4.1 Per-Exchange Volume

The 24-hour trading volume for each exchange is the sum of USD-converted volumes across all its active, non-blacklisted trading pairs. Pairs that have not updated within 30 minutes are excluded.

Exchange_Volume = Σ(Volume_pair_i × Price_pair_i_USD)

4.2 Per-Asset Volume

The 24-hour trading volume for an individual asset is the sum of volumes across all its valid market pairs on all integrated exchanges.

4.3 Global Volume

The global cryptocurrency trading volume is the sum of all per-exchange volumes.

4. Exchange Confidence Score

Each exchange receives a Confidence Score on a 0–100 scale, reflecting the reliability and quality of its reported data. The Confidence Score influences how the exchange's data is weighted and filtered in the price calculation pipeline.

5.1 Evaluation Criteria

5.2 Confidence Score Application

• Exchanges under review are excluded entirely from price and volume calculations.
• Confidence Scores are reviewed and updated periodically, and may change immediately in response to significant events (hacks, regulatory action, prolonged API outages, etc.).
• Exchange data is subject to additional scrutiny through the Market Pair Liquidity Indicator (see Section 5).

5.3 Estimated Real Volume (ERV)

Estimated Real Volume is a measure introduced in 2019 to combat fake volume and wash trading. ERV is derived from the Liquidity Indicators of all markets on a given exchange. Each market's reported 24-hour volume is adjusted using weights assigned to its liquidity indicator category (Good, Average, or Bad).

5. Market Pair Liquidity Indicator (Dots)

Individual market pairs receive a real-time liquidity assessment based on orderbook spread (percentage difference between best bid and ask), orderbook depth (value within ±1% and ±10% of mid-price), volume consistency, and outlier checks.

6.1 Indicator Categories

• Good — Strong liquidity and normal market conditions.
• Average — Constrained or fluctuating market conditions; liquidity is lower than the reported volume suggests.
• Bad — Inadequate liquidity relative to reported volume, or severely unbalanced market conditions.

Market pairs that fail liquidity checks are down-weighted in the VWAP calculation. If no other source exists to calculate an asset's price and volume, the pair is still used — with a clear indication that liquidity could not be verified.

6. Circulating Supply

7.1 Proof-of-Work Coins

For PoW-based cryptocurrencies (e.g., Bitcoin, Litecoin), circulating supply is queried directly from block explorer APIs. Values are verified against multiple independent block explorers and updated automatically as new blocks are mined.

7.2 Tokens (Smart Contract-Based)

For ERC-20 and similar tokens, circulating supply is calculated as:

Circulating Supply = Total Supply - Locked Tokens

Locked Tokens includes:
  - Team/founder vesting wallets
  - Treasury or reserve wallets
  - Burn addresses
  - Locked staking contracts

7.3 Verification

Circulating supply figures are cross-referenced with data disclosed by project teams and updated when unlock events, token burns, or other supply-affecting events occur. Specific thresholds are intentionally withheld to prevent gaming.

7. Derived Metrics

8.1 Market Capitalization

Per-asset:  Market Cap = Current Price (USD) × Circulating Supply
Global:     Global Market Cap = Σ(Market Cap of all tracked assets)

8.2 All-Time High (ATH)

For each asset, CoinPaprika tracks the highest aggregated price ever recorded, the date it occurred, and the current distance from ATH:

ATH Distance (%) = (ATH Price − Current Price) / ATH Price × 100%

8. Listing Criteria

9.1 Cryptocurrency Assets

To be listed on CoinPaprika, a cryptocurrency must meet the following requirements:

• A functional, project-owned website with clear project information
• A working block explorer with verifiable on-chain data
• Active trading on at least one CoinPaprika-integrated exchange
• Transparent communication — the project maintains public channels (X/Twitter, Telegram, Discord) with timely updates and responsiveness to community issues

9.2 Exchanges

To be integrated as a data source, an exchange must:

• Operate a functional website with verifiable trading activity
• Provide a public REST API that meets CoinPaprika's data standards (market pairs, prices, volumes)
• Maintain up-to-date API documentation
• Provide a dedicated point of contact for data quality issues

9. Update Frequency