In the crypto world, it seems that exchanges get most of the credit. Sure, that’s where you buy the crypto, but how do you track it? Crypto is money, but knowledge is power, and CoinMarketCap has all the information you could need.
So what is CoinMarketCap and how does it work?
What is CoinMarketCap
CoinMarketCap is a free service with many features that you can use without creating an account. How is it possible? You cannot buy, sell or trade cryptocurrencies through CoinMarketCap. Instead, the platform is a hub for price data, trading volumes, and other metrics for thousands of cryptocurrencies and hundreds of exchanges.
The platform is accessible through a web interface as well as through lightweight free apps.
To download: CoinMarketCap for iOS | android (Free)
What can you do with CoinMarketCap?
The CoinMarketCap homepage is a live price ticker of thousands of cryptocurrency coins and tokens listed in order of market capitalization. Typically, Bitcoin and Ethereum are always the top two (due to their market capitalization), but below that the projects mix, making the homepage itself a living record of the crypto industry. .
Scroll down this page to check prices at a glance, or click on an individual piece for live responsive price charts, project details, previews of what people are saying on social media, and more.
From the homepage, click on the crepes menu at the top of the page to display a drop-down menu and select Some products. Here there are a number of different buttons, all of which are worth exploring. But, the two you really need to know about are the crypto converter tool and the blockchain explorer.
The conversion tool is handy but doesn’t require much explanation: it gives conversion rates for cryptocurrency coins and tokens to different fiat currencies or other coins and tokens. A blockchain explorer is a blockchain research tool that can be used, among other things, to verify cryptocurrency transactions.
How (and why) to create a CoinMarketCap account
Everything discussed so far can be accessed through the web interface or on the app, all without creating an account. You might be wondering why create an account if you can do all of this without an account and can’t buy, sell, trade or store cryptocurrency with CoinMarketCap anyway?
Depending on your relationship with cryptocurrencies, you may not need an account. But, you can customize the information you get at a glance through CoinMarketCap with an account.
An account stores this personalized information just for you. It also keeps information safe. The information on your wallet is not as sensitive as the wallet itself, but it is still.
Because it’s not the coins themselves, you don’t need the codes and keys you might be used to with crypto wallets; a standard email and password will suffice.
The most important tools available to account holders are the Watchlist and Portfolio features. Both are accessible from the buttons just above the ticker on the main page.
The watchlist collects crypto projects that interest you and organizes their charts on one easy-to-read page. These don’t have to be projects you invest in, just those that interest or interest you.
The portfolio feature allows you to enter all of your crypto holdings, even across multiple different portfolios, so you can see at a glance how much you’ve invested in which projects. You can also change the amount by recording purchases and sales. These transactions aren’t stored, so it’s not a long-lasting trading log, but it does help you keep track.
Stay on top of the leaderboards
CoinMarketCap is not a marketplace or an exchange, but that doesn’t stop you from taking a look. It is just as important as any tool for owning cryptocurrency, but also for understanding cryptocurrency.