CryptoExcel Concepts
This page explains the key CryptoExcel concepts you need to understand before using the Add-in. These ideas will help you make sense of the functions, templates, and tutorials in the documentation.
1. How CryptoExcel Connects to Exchanges
CryptoExcel acts as a bridge between Microsoft Excel and your crypto exchange.
Most exchanges include a section called API (Application Programming Interface), which allows external apps to communicate with your account.
With CryptoExcel, you can use APIs to connect Excel to 100+ exchanges and fetch different types of data.
1A. Public vs Private Data
Public data = prices, order books, trade history.
Private data = balances, positions, account info.
Public data is available to everyone without authentication.
To use private data, you must create an API key on your exchange. With CryptoExcel, your API keys stay securely on your PC.
2. Functions as Building Blocks
Every feature of CryptoExcel is exposed as an Excel function (UDF).
These work just like built-in Excel formulas and can be combined with macros, charts, and pivot tables.
Examples:
=st_book("binance","BTC/USDT") pulls the BTC/USDT real time book into excel
=st_balance("coinbase","MY_key","My_secret") fetches your coinbase balance.
With these building blocks, you can create custom dashboards, automated reports, and advanced crypto trackers directly in Excel.
3. Excel as a Crypto Tracker
By combining functions, you can build your personal sheet to monitor and trade your coins. amongst the most common use we have:
A portfolio tracker that aggregates all balances.
A trading journal that logs every transaction.
A dashboard that visualizes performance.
4. Security Philosophy
Unlike cloud-based tools, CryptoExcel is a locally installed add-in.
Your API keys never leave your computer
Encrypted connections link Excel directly to the exchange
Can be installed on local servers for professional or institutional use
This makes CryptoExcel one of the most secure solutions for managing digital asset data inside Excel.
5. Naming convention
The following naming convention is used troughout our docs
symbol: the crypto pair traded like BTC/USDT. The slash ( / ) separates the base currency from the quote currency in a trading pair.
- coin: single coin
trh tthottle time. time between consecutive calls to the exchange in seconds
update time: time when data is refreshed in seconds
- credentials: what you need to acces your wallet private data. Usually API key and APi secret