How to Build a Cryptocurrency Price Tracker in Python

A continuous Python script that fetches real-time cryptocurrency prices from the CoinGecko API and displays them on a loop.

Medium Python 3.9+ Jun 27, 2026 Automation & scripting 1 views 0 copies

crypto api automation requests web scraping prices

Requires third-party packages — install first

pip install requests

Python code

30 lines

Python 3.9+

import requests
import time

def get_crypto_prices(coin_ids=["bitcoin", "ethereum", "solana"]):
    url = "https://api.coingecko.com/api/v3/simple/price"
    params = {
        "ids": ",".join(coin_ids),
        "vs_currencies": "usd"
    }
    try:
        response = requests.get(url, params=params, timeout=10)
        response.raise_for_status()
        return response.json()
    except requests.exceptions.RequestException as e:
        print(f"Error fetching prices: {e}")
        return {}

def main():
    print("Cryptocurrency Price Tracker")
    print("-" * 30)
    while True:
        prices = get_crypto_prices()
        if prices:
            for coin, data in prices.items():
                print(f"{coin.title()}: ${data['usd']:.2f}")
            print("-" * 30)
        time.sleep(60)

if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()

Output

stdout

Cryptocurrency Price Tracker
------------------------------
Bitcoin: $67543.21
Ethereum: $3452.89
Solana: $143.56
------------------------------
Bitcoin: $67540.15
Ethereum: $3453.12
Solana: $143.44
------------------------------

How it works

The script uses the requests library to call CoinGecko's free API endpoint /simple/price. The get_crypto_prices function builds query parameters with comma-separated coin IDs and the target currency (USD). It includes error handling with raise_for_status() and a try/except block to gracefully handle network issues or API failures. The main loop runs indefinitely, printing formatted prices every 60 seconds using time.sleep(). The .title() method beautifies coin names, and f-string formatting ensures prices display with two decimal places.

Common mistakes

Forgetting to install the `requests` library with `pip install requests` before running the script.
Exceeding CoinGecko's free API rate limits by calling the API too frequently (more than 10-30 calls per minute).
Not handling API errors or network failures, causing the script to crash on connectivity issues.

Variations

Use `asyncio` and `aiohttp` for asynchronous API calls to track multiple cryptocurrencies without blocking.
Add Telegram or email notifications using `python-telegram-bot` or `smtplib` to alert on price thresholds.

Real-world use cases

Running on a Raspberry Pi to display live crypto prices on an LED screen or dashboard.
Powering a notification bot that texts you when Bitcoin drops below a certain price.
Collecting price data into a CSV or database for historical analysis and trend detection.

How to Build a Cryptocurrency Price Tracker in Python

Python code

Output

How it works

Common mistakes

Variations

Real-world use cases

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Python code

Output

How it works

Common mistakes

Variations

Real-world use cases

More from Automation & scripting

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Tutorials

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