How to Scrape Cryptocurrency Market Data with Web Scraping
Published: 2021-06-23 12:52:27

Even though Blockchain technology was initially revealed in 1991, it became very popular only when Bitcoin had blown away the market by crossing the pricing of one ounce of gold during March 2017. Recently, we have observed some popular figures in Silicon Valley including Jack Dorsey and Elon Musk promoting Cryptocurrencies. Other Cryptocurrencies including Etherium have also reached new heights. Also, Dogecoin that started as a joke, was recently in the news when it reached a record high as well as crashed immediately. Whereas in the early days, the only way of using Cryptocurrency was to initially convert that into fiat, today a lot of companies are accepting payments directly in Cryptocurrency. It includes big companies like Tesla, Twitch, Microsoft, Shopify, and Expedia. Companies like Apple, Spotify, Uber, Google Play, and Amazon allow users to purchase gift cards with Cryptocurrency.

Let’s understand Crypto data scraping in detail.

Cryptocurrency vs. Fiat Currency

Before we understand Crypto data scraping, let’s observe how Cryptocurrency is different from the paper currency we are using. The key difference is, Cryptocurrency is not supported by the Central Banks of any country. It’s not tied with any physical source like Gold. Therefore, tracking the growth of the fall of the international market might not give much light to the performance of various Cryptocurrencies.

Fiat Currency

- It is supported by central banks and governments.
- This currency needs intermediaries.	
- It is legal and recognized worldwide.	
- It can be utilized in physical formats like notes and coins.	
- It is safe and more reliable because of government backing.	

Cryptocurrency

- It is a digitally encrypted and decentralized currency.
- This currency needs no intermediaries. Any transaction means updates in the ledger.
- It is illegal in many countries and recognized by a few companies in pre-specified limits.
- It doesn’t exist in any physical format. You need to keep it in the digital wallet.
- It can be wobbly as they are only supported by the public’s acceptance and trust.

These currencies aren’t supported by a central system or are they secured to some geographical locations. A distributed ledger depending on the Blockchain technology, which powers them is generally maintained by the networks of machines and if any updates are done in a database, all the systems apply that.

Even purchasing or selling them does not need a commercial entity or a mediator. You would require a wallet given by the companies like Coinbase to purchase or sell coins. As there are no customary institutions or banks involved, not like currency transfers, there are no ways of tracking Cryptocurrency.

Why Cryptocurrencies Rise or Fall?

To recognize which data points could help track the pricing of Cryptocurrencies including Ethereum or Bitcoin, we initially require to analyze all the key events, which caused their pricing to fluctuate sharply.

Whereas overall there is a huge growth in the prices for major Cryptocurrencies, you also have certain unexpected price changes. Here are a few of the key external factors, which affected the Crypto-prices:

Fall in the pricing of Bitcoin during March 2021 while India was reassessing a ban as well as during April 2021, while Turkey had issued a comprehensive ban on Cryptocurrency use.
Increase in Dogecoin pricing because of Elon Musk’s support.
Subsequent fall once the markets have realized that it was high-priced.

The increase in Bitcoin pricing because of Cryptocurrency investments from institutions like MicroStrategy and Tesla, together with better adoption because of businesses like Paypal.
The pandemic trailed by inflation affected more and more people to invest in different Cryptocurrencies and growing their market caps.

What Data You Can Extract?

When comes to Cryptocurrencies, ample public data is available, which can assist you in deciding whether to purchase, sell, or hold the coins. However, one has to take calculated options to minimize the losses. Decrypting data as well as understanding how precisely it would shake the Cryptocurrency market will take some time as well as required to get handled cautiously. Detailed risk analysis requires to be made before making any key decisions and that is where the data has a role to play.

Monitoring Key Cryptocurrency Prices

Generally, Cryptocurrencies including Etherium and Bitcoin show general trends in investor’s sentiment about Cryptocurrencies. Tracking pricing of the best 5-10 Cryptocurrencies could be a wonderful way of finding the nice spot about when to invest money or find a downward or upward trend.

Follow Government’s Decisions About Cryptocurrency

As many countries have debarred Cryptocurrencies, some countries have publicized that they are thinking about a ban. Any announcement or news regarding this causes the media angry and it leads to investor mistrust, which in turn makes pricing drop. As the majority of these declarations are unexpected, you can track them for placing a purchase order when the pricing falls after a ban, as they generally scrape back up quickly.

Tracking Companies, Which Accept Cryptocurrency Payments
Companies accepting Cryptocurrency payment is generally big news as well as pushes pricing upwards. Companies generally announce if they would be receiving Bitcoin or different Cryptocurrencies. Tracking all these can give you deeper insights into the general acceptance rate of every Cryptocurrency as well as can also assist you in selling and making profits as these generally cause the pricing to rise quickly.

Scraping News Articles and Media Coverage

Cryptocurrency media coverage can result in market changes. Investment news by government or public entities in Crypto-market or companies transforming their cash savings into Crypto-coins could have positive effects and assist rise in pricing. Such multiple events may push pricing to their maximum level over a long period and therefore, needs to get tracked.

Use Alternative Data Resources

Cryptocurrencies like Etherium or Bitcoin are not associated with any noticeable assets. Their pricing relies on user trust and acceptance. Depending on the 2018 report, during one day, the pricing of Bitcoin had a chance of 0.4% for falling to zero. However, there could be a steady fall, if the investor sentiments dither or in case a more progressive technology reduces it outdated. As it does have any fundamental value, in case, the demand for that falls, the pricing would also be falling, and ultimately, it might lose its whole value. That is where extracting data from alternate data resources as well as observing user sentiments play the biggest role when comes to Crypto data scraping.

Crypto Data Scraping – Where to Extract Data from?

Tracking the pricing of every Cryptocurrency needs to be easy. You can extract data from all websites that show collective values for different Cryptocurrencies. You would require to extract historical data initially and create the cronjob, which might extract data associated with the pricing regularly. This interval needs to be minutes or seconds at max as Cryptocurrency prices have increased or fallen suddenly in the past.

While comes to extracting data associated with the newest happenings in Cryptocurrency and Blockchain, you can extract data from different websites, which keep updating news on various activities across the world. You may select from different websites like CoinDesk, TodayOnChain, CCN, and CoinTelegraph. You may use keywords related to recognizing which Cryptocurrency to be dealt with and then utilize sentiment analysis for determining if this is negative or positive. Some physical efforts might be needed however, you may use an automatic system to do initial filtering.

Cryptocurrency has always seen key disturbances as well as sudden increase and fall, just because of social media. Using non-conventional resources like tweets and Reddit channels in which discussion about Cryptocurrencies are regular and it’s absolutely must to get such anomalies as well as use them for your benefits.

While extracting data as well as using data for making your path clear to win the Crypto-Market, you would need to remember some important points:

Certain limitations are there, which require you to get factored in while you are writing your DIY code for scraping such data. Pausing and IP rotation before different hits to not overload the server are merely two of these.

Not all the data might influence on the prices. You would have to analyze fresh and historical data to find out false positives.
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many people to turn towards Cryptocurrency for investing their savings because of fear of the fall of traditional instruments. However, this should be considered that except you have the right data as well as you have done suitable risk analysis, you can end up being the losers of the game. Crypto data scraping together with analytical skills could help you make the most of new-age money-making instruments.
With data scraping, you would need to ensure that you consider the legal restraints as well as stand by the laws of the country you live in.

For more information about Crypto data scraping, you can contact X-Byte or ask for a free quote!