Building a Crypto app with Live Data

As crypto enthusiasts, we know firsthand the challenges of keeping up with the fast-paced world of cryptocurrencies. Existing tracking solutions often fall short, lacking real-time data, comprehensive market insights, and intuitive portfolio management tools. That's why we set out to build a proof of concept for a crypto dashboard that addresses these pain points head-on.

Overcoming API Limitations

One of the biggest hurdles we faced was implementing live updates, especially for price data and portfolio charts. We quickly realized that all the most popular APIs available out there didn't quite meet our needs for real-time functionality. Undeterred, we dug deeper and discovered the power of WebSockets for streaming live price data from exchanges. By leveraging this technology, we were able to create a dashboard that displays real-time price updates for top cryptocurrencies, giving users the most up-to-date information at a glance.

From Prices to Exchanges

But we didn't stop at just live prices. We wanted to provide a comprehensive view of the crypto market. On our markets page, users can explore a list of top currencies with real-time prices, while the exchanges page showcases the top exchanges by volume and market share. The crown jewel of our app is the portfolio page. Here, users can track their holdings, view coin dynamics and volume, and make informed decisions with the help of live charts for buying and selling. Implementing these features was no small feat, as we found limited API support for the level of interactivity and real-time data we envisioned.

Creating Live Buy/Sell Charts

While integrating real-time data was a hurdle, the true challenge was creating live buy/sell charts for our portfolio page. We needed historical trade data to generate these charts, but the APIs we explored fell short.

We had access to incoming trade data from the CoinCap WebSocket, but that wasn't enough. After much back and forth, we came up with a solution: converting our project to a monorepo and creating a small backend server to save trades from the WebSocket. It wasn't the most straightforward path, but it allowed us to bring the live buy/sell charts to life.

Just the Beginning

We're thrilled with how our crypto dashboard app turned out, but we're not stopping here. If you have an idea for a project that could benefit from our expertise in real-time data integration, UI/UX design, or innovative problem-solving, reach out to us. Together, we can make magic happen!