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Crypto Excel » How CryptoExcel Works: APIs & Excel Functions

How CryptoExcel Works: Core Concepts

This guide explains how CryptoExcel works, from connecting Microsoft Excel to cryptocurrency exchanges through APIs to retrieving market data, using custom Excel functions, and managing portfolio information. Understanding these core concepts will help you use the add-in and follow the technical documentation.

1. Connecting Excel to Crypto Exchanges

CryptoExcel connects Microsoft Excel directly to cryptocurrency exchanges, allowing you to retrieve market data and access supported account information without leaving your spreadsheet.

Cryptocurrency exchanges provide APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) that allow external applications to communicate with their services. CryptoExcel uses these APIs to connect Excel to more than 100 supported exchanges and retrieve different types of cryptocurrency data.

1A. Public vs Private Exchange API Data

  • Public data: cryptocurrency prices, order books, and recent trades.
  • Private data: account balances, open positions, and other account-specific information.

Public API data can generally be accessed without authentication. Private API data requires credentials generated through your cryptocurrency exchange, usually an API key and API secret. CryptoExcel operates locally, allowing you to manage your API credentials on your own computer without storing them in a third-party cloud service.

2. Understanding CryptoExcel Functions (UDFs)

CryptoExcel provides custom Excel functions, also known as User-Defined Functions (UDFs), that allow you to retrieve cryptocurrency market data and exchange account information directly into spreadsheet cells. These functions can be combined with standard Excel formulas, charts, pivot tables, and macros.

Examples:

  • =st_book("binance","BTC/USDT") — Retrieves the BTC/USDT order book from Binance directly into Excel.
  • =st_balance("coinbase","MY_key","My_secret") — Retrieves account balance information from Coinbase using the required API credentials.

By combining CryptoExcel functions with standard spreadsheet tools, you can build custom crypto dashboards, automate data retrieval, analyze exchange information, and create personalized financial reports.

3. Building a Crypto Portfolio Tracker in Excel

CryptoExcel functions can be combined to create a customized crypto portfolio tracker in Excel. You can organize exchange balances, monitor cryptocurrency holdings, and analyze portfolio information using your own spreadsheet formulas.

  • Portfolio tracking: consolidate cryptocurrency balances across supported exchanges.
  • Trading journals: organize and analyze cryptocurrency transactions.
  • Performance dashboards: visualize portfolio data using Excel charts and formulas.

4. Local Installation and API Security

CryptoExcel is a locally installed Microsoft Excel add-in. Unlike cloud-based portfolio management platforms, it runs on your computer and connects directly to supported cryptocurrency exchange APIs.

  • API credentials are managed locally on your computer.
  • Exchange API connections use encrypted HTTPS communication.
  • CryptoExcel can also be installed in supported local server environments for professional applications.

This local architecture gives users greater control over their cryptocurrency data and API credentials. As with any exchange API integration, security also depends on properly managing API permissions and protecting your computer and credentials.

5. CryptoExcel Naming Conventions

The following terms are used throughout the CryptoExcel documentation to describe cryptocurrency trading pairs, API parameters, and data refresh settings.

  • Symbol: a cryptocurrency trading pair, such as BTC/USDT. The first asset is the base currency, while the second is the quote currency.
  • Coin: an individual cryptocurrency, such as BTC or ETH.
  • trh: throttle time, expressed in seconds, used to control the interval between consecutive API requests to an exchange.
  • Update time: the refresh interval, expressed in seconds, used to update retrieved data.
  • Credentials: authentication information required to access private exchange API endpoints, typically an API key and API secret.