Crypto API

The Crypto API provides real-time cryptocurrency pricing in both USD and Ghana Cedi (GHS). It uses CoinGecko for live USD pricing, converts values to GHS through the internal exchange-rates service, and falls back to synthetic data when the upstream provider is unavailable or rate-limited.

Implementation Status: ✅ Fully Implemented - The endpoint is live and includes caching plus upstream fallback behavior.

Overview

The API currently exposes a single REST endpoint for fetching crypto prices:

• Live market pricing from CoinGecko
• Automatic GHS conversion using the internal exchange-rates module
• Short-lived caching to reduce repeated upstream calls
• Fallback response mode when CoinGecko is unavailable

Base Endpoint

https://api.ghana-api.dev/api/v1/crypto

Available Endpoints

1. Get Crypto Prices

Fetch the latest cryptocurrency prices for one or more assets.

Endpoint: GET /crypto

Query Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description	Default
ids	string	No	Comma-separated cryptocurrency IDs such as bitcoin,ethereum,solana.	bitcoin,ethereum

Example Request

curl -X GET "https://api.ghana-api.dev/api/v1/crypto?ids=bitcoin,ethereum,solana" \
  -H "Accept: application/json"

Example Response

{
  "source": "coingecko",
  "data": {
    "bitcoin": {
      "usd": 65000,
      "ghs": 975000
    },
    "ethereum": {
      "usd": 3500,
      "ghs": 52500
    },
    "solana": {
      "usd": 150,
      "ghs": 2250
    }
  },
  "timestamp": "2026-03-19T14:36:59.000Z"
}

JavaScript Example

const getCryptoPrices = async (ids = ["bitcoin", "ethereum"]) => {
  const params = new URLSearchParams({
    ids: ids.join(","),
  });

  const response = await fetch(
    `https://api.ghana-api.dev/api/v1/crypto?${params.toString()}`
  );

  if (!response.ok) {
    throw new Error(`API Error: ${response.status}`);
  }

  return response.json();
};

const prices = await getCryptoPrices(["bitcoin", "solana"]);
console.log(prices.data.bitcoin.ghs);

Response Shape

Field	Type	Description
source	string	coingecko when live upstream data succeeds, or fallback when simulated backup values are used.
data	object	Keyed by crypto ID. Each item includes usd and ghs values.
timestamp	string	ISO 8601 timestamp indicating when the response object was created.

Caching Behavior

• Responses are cached for 60 seconds
• Cache keys are built from the requested IDs after sorting them alphabetically
• Repeated requests for the same ID set within the cache window return the cached payload

Example cache key:

crypto:prices:bitcoin,ethereum,solana

Fallback Behavior

If CoinGecko fails or rate-limits the request, the service automatically switches to fallback mode:

• The response source becomes fallback
• USD values are populated from an internal fallback store
• Supported fallback presets currently include:
  • bitcoin
  • ethereum
  • solana
  • cardano
  • binancecoin
  • ripple
• Unknown IDs in fallback mode receive a default synthetic USD value of 100

GHS Conversion Fallback

After USD prices are fetched, the service converts each amount to GHS through the exchange-rates module. If that conversion fails:

• The service logs a warning
• GHS is approximated with a fallback multiplier of 15.0

Notes and Limitations

• The endpoint currently accepts only a comma-separated ids query string
• Returned objects include only assets that resolve to a USD price during processing
• Fallback values are intended for resilience and continuity, not precise trading or treasury use