Introduction

Introduction

Chainalysis Market Intel provides the unique insights you need to make cryptocurrency research and investment decisions.

Market Intel is built on the Chainalysis data set, which means you get industry-leading accuracy and coverage of cryptocurrency activity. Chainalysis traces all the funds flowing on the blockchain and tracks the cryptocurrency activity of over 3,300 businesses. This translates into intelligence on over 95% of the cryptocurrencies traded on the market. Our data is trusted by hundreds of customers who use it every day to make research, investment, compliance, and law enforcement decisions.

We provide on-chain data, that is the transfer of cryptocurrency recorded on the blockchain. We structure on-chain data, by combining it with our own proprietary data and techniques, to show how cryptocurrency is transferred and held by real-world entities. This means our metrics describe tangible, real-world activity rather than technical blockchain metrics.

As all transfers are recorded on the blockchain in real-time, on-chain data, once mapped to real-world entities, is a powerful dataset. It is a complete and real-time description of how cryptocurrency is being used and held. This offers new ways to value cryptocurrencies, and understand the market and the broader crypto-economy, as we can see how assets move in response, or to cause, events. This is impossible to do in the traditional economy.

Subscriptions

Chainalysis Market Intel is available via a data subscription, delivered via API and CSV flat files.

We offer three subscriptions:

• Core: essential metrics to understand cryptocurrency use over the last 365 days rolling.
• Advanced: Core + comprehensive metrics on cryptocurrency usage, from the genesis of the assets, for those actively investing in cryptocurrency or the industry.
• Premium: Advanced + exclusive data on the blockchain activity of over 3,300 individual businesses, from the genesis of the assets, for unparalleled insights. The Premium and Advanced subscriptions provide more metrics, for a longer historical time window, compared to the Core subscription.

To learn more and purchase a subscription please contact us at marketintel@chainalysis.com.

You can also view a selection of our metrics at https://markets.chainalysis.com.

Definitions

General definitions

Some general terms benefit from definition:

• Asset: an asset is a cryptocurrency. Assets have an asset value and a USD value. For example if one bitcoin is sent then the asset value that is sent is one bitcoin, and the USD value of the asset that is sent is the USD price of the bitcoin at the time it is sent.
  
• Entity: an entity is the set of blockchain addresses controlled by a person or service. At Chainalysis we aggregate addresses to the largest set we are certain is controlled by a single entity. Entities are people (who are anonymous) and services (which are mostly identified). Services are essentially businesses, such as an exchange or an online shop, but can include entities that are not traditional businesses, such as a smart contract. An entity can hold assets, and send and receive assets via transfers with another entity.
  
• Time: data is provided in UTC time periods in ISO 8601 format. We record data on transfers in the time period that a block containing the transfer is broadcast to the network. That is to say when a transfer is first included in the blockchain. This can be different from the time that a transfer is broadcast to the network, however this difference is typically only important when analysing data in time periods of less than day.
  
• Time periods: data is provided in time periods, for example per day or per week. Daily and weekly time periods contain data generated between 00:00:00Z at the start of the time period and 23:59:59Z at the end of the time period. A week starts at 00:00:00Z on a Monday and ends at 23:59:59Z on a Sunday. When days of the week are numbered, Monday is 1 and Sunday is 7. Variables that describe a flow, such as assets transferred, give data on the flow occurring within the time period. For example, daily data on assets transferred on 2020-01-01 describes the assets transferred during the UTC day of 2020-01-01, that is between 2020-01-01T00:00:00Z and 2020-01-01T23:59:59Z. Variables that describe a state, such as assets held or market cap, give data on the state at the end of the time period. For example, daily data on assets held on 2020-01-01 describes the assets held at the end of the UTC day of 2020-01-01, that is as of 2020-01-01T23:59:59Z.

Assets

Metrics are provided for the following core assets:

Tether (UDST) is Tether combined across Bitcoin and Ethereum blockchains (USDT_BTC and USDT_ETH). Tether metrics are calculated as the sum of values on each blockchain. It does not include metrics that measure distributions, such as quartiles, as the sum of distributions may be misleading if an entity holds USDT on different blockchains but these holdings are not combined.

A limited number of metrics are only available for specific assets. When this is the case it is described in the notes of the metric.

Premium and Advanced subscribers can also request other mature assets to be included in their subscription.

If you are interested in metrics for other assets, please make a request to marketintel@chainalysis.com.

Entity categories

Entities are people (who are anonymous) and services (which are mostly identified). Services are essentially businesses, such as an exchange or an online shop, but can include entities that are not traditional businesses, such as a smart contract.

Entities are grouped into the following categories, depending on whether they are people, so self-host their cryptocurrency activity in a personal wallet, or services, in which case they are categorised by their type of business:

Self-hosted entities are essentially all entities that have not been identified as services. Some entities included in the self-hosted entity data will be service entities that Chainalysis has not yet identified as services with certainty. This means that data on self-hosted entities is an upper bound while data on all other categories, defi, exchanges, etc., which are composed of services, is a lower bound.

Fast spent entities are self-hosted entities that hold assets for less than 24 hours. This means they receive their first transfer and send their last transfer within 24 hours, and have a zero balance at the start and end of the 24 hours. Fast spent entities are typically created by other entities to manage the transfer of assets so do not represent distinct users. Fast spent entities and their transfers are removed from relevant metrics to better reflect activity between distinct users.

Exchange categories

Exchanges are venues for the buying, selling, and trading of cryptocurrencies. Currently exchanges are the largest cryptocurrency businesses.

Exchanges are grouped into the following categories, depending on the type of assets that can be traded and whether trading is centralized or decentralized:

Illicit entity categories

Cryptocurrency is sometimes used by illicit entities. Currently, the largest illicit entities are darknet markets, scams, and stolen funds.

Illicit entities are grouped into the following categories, depending on the nature of the illicit activity:

Geographic categories

Cryptocurrency activity can be assigned to geographic regions based on the location of web visitors to a service and combining this with the on-chain flows between services. For example, if service A sends 10 bitcoin to service B, and service A has 50% of its web visits from the USA and service B has 50% of its web visits from the UK, then 25% (50% of 50%) of the 10 bitcoin is sent from the USA to the UK.

This provides an estimate of the geography of cryptocurrency flows, and this estimate is only provided for the flows between services. Services are responsible for the majority of cryptocurrency flows and web visit data is available for thousands of services. As a result, we provide an estimate of the geography of the majority of cryptocurrency flows. Geographic data is not provided for private entities or for cryptocurrency holdings.

Country definitions follow the ISO 3166 standard and countries can be aggregated into sub-regions and regions, which follow the UNSD M49 standard. Flows to unknown are flows to a service that we do not have web visit data for.

Whale categories

A whale is an entity that has held a large amount of assets within its lifetime, that is not a service and is not a fast spent entity (so the entity has held assets for more than 24 hours).

The threshold for the amount of assets that must be held to be a whale varies across cryptocurrencies. The threshold depends on the price of the cryptocurrency at the end of the last calendar year and are described in the table below.

Whales are grouped into the following categories, depending on when the asset was created.

For assets that were created before 2014:

For assets that were created after 2017:

Whales are a different set of entities to entities with wealth above the same threshold in the Wealth metric. In the Wealth metric, entities belong to a wealth bin only when they hold assets within that bin within the time period. An entity belongs to the set of whales if they have ever held assets above the threshold.

So, for example, the Wealth metric group of entities that hold 1,000+ bitcoin gives data on entities that will be in the set of whales, but only gives data in time periods when these entities hold 1,000+ bitcoin. In contrast, metrics for whales give data on entities that have held 1,000+ bitcoin even if they do not hold 1,000+ bitcoin in the time period of the data.

Flow categories

The transfer of assets via the blockchain creates a flow of assets moving between a source and destination.

Flows are measured in connection-based metrics, such as total flows, inter-service flows, and self-hosted service flows. These metrics quantify how entities are connected to businesses by the flow of assets between source and destination services via self-hosted entities.

Flows are grouped into two categories:

• Direct flows: a transfer of assets where the source and destination services are both counterparties to the transfer.
• Indirect flows: a transfer of assets where at least one counterparty to the transfer is a self-hosted entity but where the ultimate source or destination of the transfer is described.

When a service has a direct flow to or from self-hosted entities, this can be replaced with the indirect flow to give the services that are the ultimate source or destination of assets transferred via self-hosted entities. So direct flows excluding flows to/from self-hosted entities plus indirect flows equals the sum of direct flows including flows to/from self-hosted entities. When there is an indirect flow to self-hosted entities this represents assets sent from a source service that have not been received by a destination service by the latest time period, and instead these assets are held by self-hosted entities.

Indirect flows are calculated with no limit to the number of self-hosted entities that assets flow between, thereby providing a complete analysis of how entities are connected to businesses. Some optimisations are made in the calculation that means indirect flows have lower precision than direct flows but this is typically less than 1%.

Flows between services can also be in transit from source to destination services. This is positive when a source has sent assets to a destination but these assets are not received by the destination within the time period - although they will be received prior to the latest time period thereby enabling us to calculate an eventual flow between the source and destination. These assets that have been sent from the source but not yet received by the destination are held by self-hosted entities but are 'in transit' between the source and destination. In transit is negative when the destination receives more assets than the source sends in the time period.

The sum of assets in transit over time between a source and destination equals zero, with some allowance for the lower precision described above. This is because by the current time period all assets must have completed their transit and be received by the destination service. Assets sent from a source service that have not been received by a destination service are described as an indirect flow to self-hosted entities. This quantity typically increases closer to the current time period as the ultimate destination of assets held by self-hosted entities has not yet been chosen by those entities.

Direct, indirect, and in transit flows between a source and destination service, and indirect flows between a source service and self-hosted entities, are described in the diagram below.

Net flows between a source and destination are also provided. This is the asset amount received directly and indirectly by a destination service from a source service, minus the asset amount received directly and indirectly by the source service from the destination service. This is positive when the destination receives more assets than it sends to the source, so the destination is a net receiver. It is negative when the destination sends more assets than it receives from the source, so the destination is a net sender. Net flows are negative when the source and destination are switched, that is to say the net flow from service A to service B is the negative of the net flow from service B to service A.

Numerical accuracy

All metrics are calculated at floating point precision, then exported to four decimal places.

Data delivery

Data structure

Data is delivered via API or CSV flat files delivered to your cloud storage bucket. The API provides the last 365 days of data rolling, while flat files provide the last 365 days of data rolling for Core subscribers, or data for the entire history of an asset since its genesis for Advanced and Premium subscribers.

Two Advanced subscription metrics, the Properties and Whale properties metrics, and all Per service metrics are only delivered via flat file.

Each Market Intel metric is a panel dataset. The panel is composed of dimensions, such as time and in some cases other dimensions such as category, and variables. Variables contain the data of the metric. That is to say each metric contains variables that have data by dimensions, such as over time and by category.

If no value is observed for an entry then the value of the entry is set to zero. That is to say the panel is balanced as empty entries are filled with zeroes. This is the case for all metrics except for the Properties, Whale properties, and Per service metrics, where zeroes are not filled to make delivery of these large datasets more efficient.

Each dimension and variable has a description. Variables also have a time aggregation. This describes the method that should be used to aggregate the variable across time periods.

Data vintages

Our data has vintages. This is because our knowledge of how to aggregate and attribute a blockchain improves over time. For example we attribute a service today, which identifies a set of addresses that have been active far in the past, or we may add new, or improve existing, aggregation algorithms, which aggregate addresses throughout the blockchain. These improvements can be significant as we add tens to hundreds of new services a week and are constantly developing our aggregation algorithms.

The consequence of this is that we may know more about what happens on a particular date at different points in time. For example on the 1 February 2018 we may know more about the entities on the blockchain on 1 January 2018 than we did on 2 January 2018. So as time progresses, we do not just add data for new dates, but we improve all historical data.

Therefore our data has vintages, depending on when it was observed. For example data about 1 January 2018 has a 2 January 2018 vintage and a 1 February 2018 vintage. Another way of describing this is to say that on-chain data is not append-only over time.

Due to this, we update the entire history of each metric every vintage. A new vintage is created with every new time period. For example daily metrics have a new vintage every day. We only provide the latest vintage. So you should always download the entire time series of a metric and not just append the latest time period, and you should analyse metrics from the same vintage.

Data latency

Latency is the time elapsed between the end of a time period and the delivery of data about that time period. Data for most metrics is typically delivered within 6 hours of 23:59:59Z of the time period. Data for more complex metrics is typically delivered within 24 hours of 23:59:59Z of the time period.

We do not provide guarantees on latency. The nature of blockchain data, and our mapping of it to real world activity, mean that unpredictable delays can occur. These rarely significantly affect latency but they make guarantees expensive to maintain.

Latency in our data is a function of the data pipeline that applies Chainalysis' proprietary mapping of blockchain data to real world activity plus the type of calculations that are then applied to this data on real world activity. As our mapping of blockchain data to real world activity is constantly improving, we recalculate the entire history of all our metrics for every data delivery. This adds latency compared to append-only data delivery but it ensures accurate and consistent metrics.

Latency varies by the type of calculations that are applied to the data. These can be grouped into three types:

• Connection-based metrics, which quantify how entities are connected to businesses by the flow of assets between source and destination businesses via self-hosted entities. These metrics typically have 24 hours latency, as we trace how entities are connected to services through the entire history of the blockchain for every daily data delivery.
• Properties-based metrics, which quantify the behaviour of every entity on the blockchain, for example their age, gain, liquidity, and wealth. These metrics typically have 24 hours latency, as we recalculate properties for every entity through the entire history of the blockchain for every data delivery, which is currently weekly.
• Transfer-based metrics, which quantify the transfers in and out, and balance, of entities. These metrics typically have low latency, delivered within a few hours at most but often within minutes.

Flat file authentication

AWS S3

To set up permissions:

1. Create a new bucket with a unique name, for example: chainalysis-markets-your-organisation-name
2. Leave all properties on default, and select your preferred location
3. After creating the bucket, navigate to its Permissions tab, Access control list (ACL) section and click Edit
4. Under Access for other AWS accounts click Add Grantee
5. Add grantee with our canonical ID: (provided by the customer success team), and check all the boxes: Objects: List, Write and Bucket ACL: Read, Write, then click Save changes
6. Share the bucket name used in the first step with Chainalysis, and you are all set up.

Google Cloud Storage

To set up permissions:

1. Create a new bucket with a unique name, for example: chainalysis-markets-your-organisation-name
2. Leave all properties on default, and select your preferred location
3. After creating the bucket, navigate to its Permissions tab and click Add
4. Under New principals add the Chainalysis service account and from under Select a role > Cloud Storage select the Storage Object Admin, this is the minimal role which allows us to write and update data in the bucket.
5. Save and share the bucket name used in the first step with Chainalysis, and you are all set up.

Other cloud providers

Please contact us at marketintel@chainalysis.com.

API authentication

To authorize, use this code:

# With shell, you can just pass the correct header with each request
curl "https://api.markets.chainalysis.com/v1/{category}/{metric}?asset={asset}"
  -H "token: 948cf07be9c989d637"

Make sure to replace 948cf07be9c989d637 with your API key.

The Market Intel API expects your API key to be included in all API requests to the server in a header that looks like the following:

Token: 948cf07be9c989d637

API errors

The Market Intel API uses the following error codes:

Demand

How cryptocurrency is used. Our demand metrics describe how assets are sent and received between different types of users, businesses, and geographic regions.

Total flows

curl "https://api.markets.chainalysis.com/v1/demand/total-flows?asset=BTC"
  -H "token: 948cf07be9c989d637"

The above command returns JSON structured like this:

[
  {
    "time": "2022-05-29",
    "source_category": "unnamed services",
    "destination_category": "other exchanges",
    "asset_amount": 237.8603,
    "usd_amount": 6936184.5624
  },
  {
    "time": "2022-03-23",
    "source_category": "defi",
    "destination_category": "crypto-to-fiat exchanges",
    "asset_amount": 0.0,
    "usd_amount": 0.0734
  }
]

Relevance

People and businesses transfer assets on the blockchain for different use cases, for example to trade, invest, or purchase goods and services. These flows show the overall level of asset use and how assets flow between use cases. Most flows on the blockchain are assets in transit between services, moving via self-hosted entities.

Definition

The value of assets transferred on the blockchain between types of entity. Entities are businesses, such as exchanges, and transfers via self-hosted entities, often in transit to services. Self-hosted entities are typically people and private businesses who self-host their cryptocurrency activity in a wallet that they control the private keys for.

Dimensions

Variables

Notes

The transfer of assets between fast spent entities, entities that hold assets for less than 24 hours, is excluded from this metric.

The total flows sourced from a category of services and sent to all service categories and self-hosted destinations is equal to the total outflow from the source category.

The total flows destined to a category of services received from all service category sources but excluding flows from self-hosted sources is equal to the total inflow to the destination category.

Inter category flows

curl "https://api.markets.chainalysis.com/v1/demand/inter-category-flows?asset=BTC"
  -H "token: 948cf07be9c989d637"

The above command returns JSON structured like this:

[
  {
    "time": "2022-03-31",
    "source_category": "unnamed services",
    "destination_category": "decentralized exchanges",
    "asset_amount_direct": 0.0,
    "asset_amount_indirect": 0.1643,
    "asset_amount_in_transit": 0.0486,
    "asset_amount_net": 0.1602,
    "usd_amount_direct": 0.0,
    "usd_amount_indirect": 7777.4437,
    "usd_amount_in_transit": 2206.6467,
    "usd_amount_net": 7292.8952
  },
  {
    "time": "2022-04-29",
    "source_category": "merchant services",
    "destination_category": "merchant services",
    "asset_amount_direct": 1.7362,
    "asset_amount_indirect": 97.7602,
    "asset_amount_in_transit": 118.8641,
    "asset_amount_net": 0.0,
    "usd_amount_direct": 66565.8152,
    "usd_amount_indirect": 3824117.0719,
    "usd_amount_in_transit": 4646521.107,
    "usd_amount_net": 0.0
  }
]

Relevance

Cryptocurrency is transferred between businesses as customers switch to providers with more competitive offerings, or traders balance assets across venues, or businesses make payments to other businesses to cover the costs of the goods and services they provide.

As inter category flows describes the source of inflows and the destination of outflows for categories of services, it quantifies which categories of businesses are succeeding and the consequences of this for competing categories of businesses. For example flows to crypto-to-fiat exchanges from crypto-to-crypto exchanges suggest people are interested in cashing out to fiat, while flows from exchanges to DeFi suggest people are interested in the broader set of opportunities typically available in DeFi relative to exchanges.

Definition

The amount of assets transferred via the blockchain between categories of services. Inter category flows describes the categories of services that are the source of inflows to a category of service and the category of services that are the destination of outflows from a category of service.

Direct flows between categories of services and counterparties are provided, plus indirect flows between categories of services when the direct counterparty is self-hosted.

The flow that is in transit between a source and destination category describes the difference within a time period of assets sent by the source to the destination versus assets received by the destination from the source. The difference is assets currently held by self-hosted entities that were sourced from the source category and are destined to be received by the destination category.

Net flows between a source and destination are also provided. The net flow is the direct plus indirect flow between a source and destination.

The flow categories are described in more detail here.

Dimensions

Variables

Notes

This metric is only delivered via flat file.

Inter category flows provides more detail on the flow categories compared to total flows, but inter category flows excludes self-hosted to self-hosted flows that are included in total flows.

Self-hosted category flows

curl "https://api.markets.chainalysis.com/v1/demand/self-hosted-category-flows?asset=BTC"
  -H "token: 948cf07be9c989d637"

The above command returns JSON structured like this:

[
  {
    "time": "2022-05-22",
    "category": "merchant services",
    "asset_flow_sourced": 537.0904,
    "asset_flow_destined": 712.3561,
    "transfers_sourced": 29852,
    "transfers_destined": 58548,
    "usd_flow_sourced": 15996664.1714,
    "usd_flow_destined": 21151423.23
  },
  {
    "time": "2022-05-17",
    "category": "crypto-to-fiat exchanges",
    "asset_flow_sourced": 176609.0085,
    "asset_flow_destined": 51992.1083,
    "transfers_sourced": 272615,
    "transfers_destined": 162646,
    "usd_flow_sourced": 5330718705.5924,
    "usd_flow_destined": 1566347357.2749
  }
]

Relevance

Most flows on the blockchain are assets in transit between services, moving via self-hosted entities.

Self-hosted category flows describes the categories of services that these self-hosted flows were ultimately sourced from or are ultimately destined to. This quantifies which categories of businesses are ultimately generating the largest amount of activity on the blockchain, outside of their platforms.

Definition

The amount of assets transferred via the blockchain between self-hosted entities, described by the category of service that the assets were ultimately sourced from or are ultimately destined to. Self-hosted entities are typically people and private businesses who self-host their cryptocurrency activity in a wallet that they control the private keys for.

Dimensions

Variables

Notes

The transfer of assets between fast spent entities, entities that hold assets for less than 24 hours, is currently included in this metric. This is in contrast to the total flows metric, where these are removed.

Country flows

curl "https://api.markets.chainalysis.com/v1/demand/country-flows?asset=BTC"
  -H "token: 948cf07be9c989d637"

The above command returns JSON structured like this:

[
  {
    "time": "2022-03-15",
    "source_country_name": "Tajikistan",
    "source_country_code": "TJK",
    "source_region": "Asia",
    "source_sub_region": "Central Asia",
    "destination_country_name": "Nicaragua",
    "destination_country_code": "NIC",
    "destination_region": "Americas",
    "destination_sub_region": "Latin America and the Caribbean",
    "asset_amount_direct": 0.0002,
    "asset_amount_indirect": 0.0004,
    "asset_amount_net": 0.0,
    "usd_amount_direct": 6.9845,
    "usd_amount_indirect": 16.8865,
    "usd_amount_net": -0.9501
  },
  {
    "time": "2022-04-21",
    "source_country_name": "Saint Lucia",
    "source_country_code": "LCA",
    "source_region": "Americas",
    "source_sub_region": "Latin America and the Caribbean",
    "destination_country_name": "R\u00e9union",
    "destination_country_code": "REU",
    "destination_region": "Africa",
    "destination_sub_region": "Sub-Saharan Africa",
    "asset_amount_direct": 0.002,
    "asset_amount_indirect": 0.0428,
    "asset_amount_net": 0.0005,
    "usd_amount_direct": 84.6855,
    "usd_amount_indirect": 1781.3249,
    "usd_amount_net": 19.3654
  }
]

Relevance

Assets flow within and between countries as customers of businesses in one country transfer assets to businesses used by customers in other countries. Flows of assets between countries reflect differences in demand, or responses to regulatory concerns, geopolitical changes, or significant market price variations.

Definition

An estimate of the value of assets transferred on the blockchain between countries, based on the location of web visitors to services and the on-chain flows between these services.

Dimensions

Variables

Notes

Not all cryptocurrency flows can be assigned a country, so the country flows metric provides a lower bound. Flows to unknown are flows to a service that we do not have web visit data for.

Regional flows

curl "https://api.markets.chainalysis.com/v1/demand/regional-flows?asset=BTC"
  -H "token: 948cf07be9c989d637"

The above command returns JSON structured like this:

[
  {
    "time": "2022-04-24",
    "source_region": "Oceania",
    "source_sub_region": "Australia and New Zealand",
    "destination_region": "Europe",
    "destination_sub_region": "Southern Europe",
    "asset_amount_direct": 6.3371,
    "asset_amount_indirect": 4.1554,
    "asset_amount_net": 1.0628,
    "usd_amount_direct": 250933.5098,
    "usd_amount_indirect": 164591.1504,
    "usd_amount_net": 41955.0289
  },
  {
    "time": "2022-04-21",
    "source_region": "Unknown",
    "source_sub_region": "Unknown",
    "destination_region": "Africa",
    "destination_sub_region": "Sub-Saharan Africa",
    "asset_amount_direct": 597.8436,
    "asset_amount_indirect": 27.4138,
    "asset_amount_net": 44.9404,
    "usd_amount_direct": 24923305.7381,
    "usd_amount_indirect": 1140748.6307,
    "usd_amount_net": 1821567.0337
  }
]

Relevance

Assets flow within and between geographic regions as customers of businesses in one region transfer assets to businesses used by customers in other regions. Flows of assets between regions reflect differences in demand, or responses to regulatory concerns, geopolitical changes, or significant market price variations.

Definition

An estimate of the value of assets transferred on the blockchain between geographic regions, based on the location of web visitors to services and the on-chain flows between these services.

Dimensions

Variables

Notes

Not all cryptocurrency flows can be assigned a region, so the regional flows metric provides a lower bound. Flows to unknown are flows to a service that we do not have web visit data for.

Regional category flows

curl "https://api.markets.chainalysis.com/v1/demand/regional-category-flows?asset=BTC"
  -H "token: 948cf07be9c989d637"

The above command returns JSON structured like this:

[
  {
    "time": "2022-05-11",
    "source_category": "merchant services",
    "source_region": "Asia",
    "source_sub_region": "Western Asia",
    "destination_category": "merchant services",
    "destination_region": "Europe",
    "destination_sub_region": "Northern Europe",
    "asset_amount_direct": 0.004,
    "asset_amount_indirect": 2.2945,
    "asset_amount_net": -0.0056,
    "usd_amount_direct": 124.9083,
    "usd_amount_indirect": 72600.7583,
    "usd_amount_net": -161.7116
  },
  {
    "time": "2022-03-27",
    "source_category": "high risk jurisdiction",
    "source_region": "Europe",
    "source_sub_region": "Southern Europe",
    "destination_category": "gambling",
    "destination_region": "Asia",
    "destination_sub_region": "Western Asia",
    "asset_amount_direct": 0.0,
    "asset_amount_indirect": 0.0,
    "asset_amount_net": 0.0,
    "usd_amount_direct": 0.0,
    "usd_amount_indirect": 0.0006,
    "usd_amount_net": -0.0231
  }
]

Relevance

Assets flow between categories of businesses in different geographic regions as customers of a category of business in one region transfer assets to a different category of business used by customers in other regions. Flows of assets between the combination of categories and regions reflect differences in demand for types of businesses or demand between countries, or responses to regulatory concerns, geopolitical changes, or significant market price variations.

Definition

An estimate of the value of assets transferred on the blockchain between categories of services in geographic regions, based on the location of web visitors to services and the on-chain flows between these services.

Dimensions

Variables

Notes

Not all cryptocurrency flows can be assigned a region, so the regional flows metric provides a lower bound. Flows to unknown are flows to a service that we do not have web visit data for.

Supply

How cryptocurrency is held. Our supply metrics describe the age, USD cost and gain, liquidity, and wealth of cryptocurrency holders, and the assets they send and receive.

Age

curl "https://api.markets.chainalysis.com/v1/supply/age?asset=BTC"
  -H "token: 948cf07be9c989d637"

The above command returns JSON structured like this:

[
  {
    "time": "2022-03-14",
    "group": "[2, 52)",
    "assets_held": 7121738.4197,
    "assets_sent": 297090.0699,
    "assets_received": 242147.9948,
    "entities_held": 12265561,
    "entities_sent": 48614,
    "entities_received": 118905,
    "transfers_sent": 399795,
    "transfers_received": 1217289,
    "total_held": 160617163.6983,
    "total_sent": 2791424.0051,
    "total_received": 2161096.3436
  },
  {
    "time": "2022-02-14",
    "group": "[0, 2)",
    "assets_held": 319576.3312,
    "assets_sent": 630178.615,
    "assets_received": 585201.7197,
    "entities_held": 633460,
    "entities_sent": 476174,
    "entities_received": 857897,
    "transfers_sent": 2261327,
    "transfers_received": 3071836,
    "total_held": 406637.6227,
    "total_sent": 389684.3179,
    "total_received": 579524.4572
  }
]

Relevance

Age is the amount of time an asset is held by an entity.

The amount of assets held, sent and received by entities of different age describes the properties of holders of supply. For example, if the majority of assets have been held for a long time then holders are likely using the asset as a store of value, or when assets are sent by entities that have held those assets for a long time then it suggests long term holders are losing conviction in the asset.

Definition

The number of weeks an entity has held assets on average, across all addresses controlled by the entity, weighted by the amount of assets received and sent over time.

Dimensions

Variables

Notes

Data is grouped into the following groups (units are weeks): [0, 2), [2, 4), [4, 13), [13, 26), [26, 52), [52, 78), [78, 104), [104, 156), [156, 208), [208, 260), [260, 312), [312, 364), [364, 416), [416, 468), [468, 520), [520, 572), 572+.

That is to say group [0, 2) contains data on entities that have held assets for a weighted average of more than or equal to 0 weeks and strictly less than 2 weeks.

Groups are truncated for more recent assets, that is to say an asset that has not existed for more than 260 weeks will only have groups up to and including [208, 260) weeks.

The weighted average age of holdings across groups can be calculated (within a time period) by summing, across groups, total_held and, separately, assets_held, then dividing the sum of total_held by the sum of assets_held. This can be applied equivalently to sent and received variables.

The age of assets sent is the age of assets held by the entities that send assets in a time period, while the age of assets received is the age of the assets held by the entities that receive assets in a time period. So comparing the groups that send versus receive indicates how the properties of the supply are changing.

Fast spent entities, entities that hold assets for less than 24 hours, are excluded from this metric.

Data is weekly, so it contains data generated between 00:00:00Z on a Monday and ends at 23:59:59Z on a Sunday. Variables that describe a flow, such as assets sent or received, give data on the flow occurring between the start and the end of the week. For example, data for the week of 2020-01-06 describes the assets sent or received between 2020-01-06T00:00:00Z and 2020-01-12T23:59:59Z. Variables that describe a state, such as assets held, give data on the state at the end of the week. For example, data for the week of 2020-01-06 describes the assets held as of 2020-01-12T23:59:59Z.

Gain

curl "https://api.markets.chainalysis.com/v1/supply/gain?asset=BTC"
  -H "token: 948cf07be9c989d637"

The above command returns JSON structured like this:

[
  {
    "time": "2021-12-27",
    "group": "[-25, -5)%",
    "assets_held": 3128152.5463,
    "assets_sent": 195684.2601,
    "assets_received": 123828.5189,
    "entities_held": 4506991,
    "entities_sent": 105249,
    "entities_received": 129396,
    "transfers_sent": 369539,
    "transfers_received": 784267,
    "total_usd_cost_held": 175380214521.9117,
    "total_usd_cost_sent": 10531642445.4468,
    "total_usd_cost_received": 6470702178.8939,
    "total_usd_value_held": 150211066977.0377,
    "total_usd_value_sent": 9396581868.1386,
    "total_usd_value_received": 5946133916.9809
  },
  {
    "time": "2022-01-03",
    "group": "100%+",
    "assets_held": 9637329.5905,
    "assets_sent": 27152.6562,
    "assets_received": 892.7276,
    "entities_held": 22128505,
    "entities_sent": 15976,
    "entities_received": 2849,
    "transfers_sent": 25798,
    "transfers_received": 4062,
    "total_usd_cost_held": 48098388382.0114,
    "total_usd_cost_sent": 306195905.62,
    "total_usd_cost_received": 13250829.7492,
    "total_usd_value_held": 424747290891.9941,
    "total_usd_value_sent": 1196702579.5733,
    "total_usd_value_received": 39345301.0471
  }
]

Relevance

Gain is the USD gain or loss of assets held by an entity, comparing the current USD value of the assets to the value when the entity received them.

The amount of assets held, sent and received by entities with different levels of USD gain describes the properties of holders of supply. For example, if there is an increase in assets held by entities with a large USD gain then these assets may soon be sold to realize the gain, potentially lowering prices, or when assets are sent by entities with a large loss then it suggests that holders are accepting losses and exiting the market.

Definition

Cost is the weighted average USD value of assets when received by an entity, accounting for assets sent, across all addresses controlled by the entity.

Gain is the cost relative to current price.

Dimensions

Variables

Notes

Data is grouped in the following groups: (units are %): [-100, -75), [-75, -50), [-50, -25), [-25, -5), [-5, 0), [0, 5), [5, 25), [25, 50), [50, 75), [75, 100), [100, 1000), 1000+.

That is to say group [-100, -75) contains data on entities that have experienced a 100% to 75% USD loss on the current value of their assets relative to value when they received their assets.

For stablecoins, data is grouped in the following bins (units are %): <-1, [-1, -0.1), [-0.1, 0), [0, 0.1), [0.1, 1), 1+.

The weighted average cost of holdings across groups can be calculated (within a time period) by summing, across groups, total_usd_cost_held and, separately, assets_held, then dividing the sum of total_usd_cost_held by the sum of assets_held. This can be applied equivalently to sent and received variables. It can also be applied equivalently for the average gain, using total_usd_value_held minus total_usd_cost_held.

The weighted average gain of holdings across groups can be calculated (within a time period) by summing, across groups, total_usd_value_held minus total_usd_cost_held and, separately, assets_held, then dividing the sum of total_usd_value_held minus total_usd_cost_held by the sum of assets_held. This can be applied equivalently to sent and received variables.

Fast spent entities, entities that hold assets for less than 24 hours, are excluded from this metric.

The cost and gain of assets sent is the cost and gain of assets held by the entities that send assets in a time period, while the cost and gain of assets received is the cost and gain of the assets held by the entities that receive assets in a time period. So comparing the groups that send versus receive indicates how the properties of the supply are changing.

Data is weekly, so it contains data generated between 00:00:00Z on a Monday and ends at 23:59:59Z on a Sunday. Variables that describe a flow, such as assets sent or received, give data on the flow occurring between the start and the end of the week. For example, data for the week of 2020-01-06 describes the assets sent or received between 2020-01-06T00:00:00Z and 2020-01-12T23:59:59Z. Variables that describe a state, such as assets held, give data on the state at the end of the week. For example, data for the week of 2020-01-06 describes the assets held as of 2020-01-12T23:59:59Z.

Liquidity

curl "https://api.markets.chainalysis.com/v1/supply/liquidity?asset=BTC"
  -H "token: 948cf07be9c989d637"

The above command returns JSON structured like this:

[
  {
    "time": "2021-12-27",
    "group": "Highly liquid",
    "assets_held": 1595559.6682,
    "assets_sent": 552576.0506,
    "assets_received": 548740.9945,
    "entities_held": 2988423,
    "entities_sent": 231558,
    "entities_received": 237064,
    "transfers_sent": 1609155,
    "transfers_received": 2806115,
    "total_held": 1504203.5094,
    "total_sent": 535847.5719,
    "total_received": 531869.5176
  },
  {
    "time": "2022-03-07",
    "group": "Liquid",
    "assets_held": 1833810.8737,
    "assets_sent": 303599.1137,
    "assets_received": 117638.3201,
    "entities_held": 770816,
    "entities_sent": 135761,
    "entities_received": 71536,
    "transfers_sent": 530186,
    "transfers_received": 535612,
    "total_held": 1185478.744,
    "total_sent": 179053.4658,
    "total_received": 79684.4376
  }
]

Relevance

Liquidity is the likelihood that an entity sends on assets it receives or continues to hold them. Illiquid entities act as sinks, reducing the number of assets available to buy, so can be characterised as investors. Liquid and highly liquid entities are sources, as their assets keep circulating, so can be characterised as traders.

The amount of assets held, sent and received by entities of different liquidity describes the properties of holders of supply. For example, if there is an increase in assets held by liquid entities then there is an increase in the assets available to buy, potentially lowering prices, or when assets are sent by illiquid entities then it suggests that investors are reducing their positions.

Definition

The average ratio of net to gross flows of assets of an entity over the lifetime of the entity, across all addresses controlled by the entity.

A highly liquid entity sends on average all to ⅔ of the assets it receives, a liquid entity sends ⅔ to ¼ of the assets it receives, and an illiquid entity sends ¼ to none of the assets it receives.

Dimensions

Variables

Notes

Liquidity is calculated per entity as 1 minus the average ratio of net to gross flows, averaged over the lifetime of the entity.

Liquidity is measured between 0 and 1. A measure of 0 shows that an asset is completely illiquid, as this occurs only if assets are never sent once they are generated. A measure of 1 shows that an asset is completely liquid, as this occurs only if all assets that are received are immediately sent.

A highly liquid entity sends on average all to ⅔ of the assets it receives. This is equal to a liquidity value of 1 to 0.8.

A liquid entity sends ⅔ to ¼ of the assets it receives. This is equal to a liquidity value of 0.8 to 0.4.

An illiquid entity sends ¼ to none of the assets it receives. This is equal to a liquidity value of 0.4 to 0.

The weighted average liquidity of holdings across groups can be calculated (within a time period) by summing, across groups, total_held and, separately, assets_held, then dividing the sum of total_held by the sum of assets_held. This can be applied equivalently to sent and received variables.

The liquidity of assets sent is the liquidity of assets held by the entities that send assets in a time period, while the liquidity of assets received is the liquidity of the assets held by the entities that receive assets in a time period. So comparing the groups that send versus receive indicates how the properties of the supply are changing.

Fast spent entities, entities that hold assets for less than 24 hours, are excluded from this metric.

Data is weekly, so it contains data generated between 00:00:00Z on a Monday and ends at 23:59:59Z on a Sunday. Variables that describe a flow, such as assets sent or received, give data on the flow occurring between the start and the end of the week. For example, data for the week of 2020-01-06 describes the assets sent or received between 2020-01-06T00:00:00Z and 2020-01-12T23:59:59Z. Variables that describe a state, such as assets held, give data on the state at the end of the week. For example, data for the week of 2020-01-06 describes the assets held as of 2020-01-12T23:59:59Z.

Wealth

curl "https://api.markets.chainalysis.com/v1/supply/wealth?asset=BTC"
  -H "token: 948cf07be9c989d637"

The above command returns JSON structured like this:

[
  {
    "time": "2022-02-14",
    "group": "[100, 1k)",
    "assets_held": 3802018.2542,
    "assets_sent": 89400.2609,
    "assets_received": 124513.4366,
    "entities_held": 13186,
    "entities_sent": 241,
    "entities_received": 540,
    "transfers_sent": 356852,
    "transfers_received": 745379
  },
  {
    "time": "2022-03-14",
    "group": "[1k, 10k)",
    "assets_held": 4604603.3208,
    "assets_sent": 86828.1784,
    "assets_received": 284993.9378,
    "entities_held": 2072,
    "entities_sent": 83,
    "entities_received": 182,
    "transfers_sent": 99054,
    "transfers_received": 80403
  }
]

Relevance

Wealth is the amount of an asset held by an entity, that is the balance of the entity.

The amount of assets held, sent and received by entities with different levels of wealth describes the properties of holders of supply. For example, if there is an increase in assets held by wealthy entities then this indicates that institutions are acquiring the asset, or when assets are sent by entities with low wealth then it suggests retail investors are selling.

Definition

The amount of an asset held by an entity, across all addresses controlled by the entity. That is to say the balance of an entity.

Dimensions

Variables

Notes

Data is grouped in the following groups (units are assets held): [0, 0.1), [0.1, 1), [1, 10), [10, 100), [100, 1k), [1k, 10k), 10k+.

That is to say group [0, 0.1) contains data on entities that hold more than or equal to 0 of the asset and strictly less than 0.1 of the asset.

For stablecoins, data is grouped in the following bins (units are assets held): [0, 1), [1, 100), [100, 1k), [1k, 10k), [10k, 100k), [100k, 1M), [1M, 10M), 10M+.

k represents thousands, so 1k is 1,000. M represents millions, so 1M is 1,000,000.

The weighted average holdings across groups can be calculated (within a time period) by summing, across groups, assets_held and, separately, entities_held, then dividing the sum of assets_held by the sum of entities_held. This can be applied equivalently to sent and received variables.

The wealth of sending entities is the wealth of entities that send assets in a time period, while the wealth of receiving entities is the wealth of entities that receive assets in a time period. So comparing the groups that send versus receive indicates how the properties of the supply are changing.

Fast spent entities, entities that hold assets for less than 24 hours, are excluded from this metric.

Data is weekly, so it contains data generated between 00:00:00Z on a Monday and ends at 23:59:59Z on a Sunday. Variables that describe a flow, such as assets sent or received, give data on the flow occurring between the start and the end of the week. For example, data for the week of 2020-01-06 describes the assets sent or received between 2020-01-06T00:00:00Z and 2020-01-12T23:59:59Z. Variables that describe a state, such as assets held, give data on the state at the end of the week. For example, data for the week of 2020-01-06 describes the assets held as of 2020-01-12T23:59:59Z.

Properties

curl "https://api.markets.chainalysis.com/v1/supply/properties?asset=BTC"
  -H "token: 948cf07be9c989d637"

The above command returns JSON structured like this:

[
  {
    "time": "2022-02-21",
    "category": "self-hosted",
    "age_group": "[520, 572)",
    "gain_group": "1000+",
    "liquidity_group": "highly liquid",
    "wealth_group": "[0, 0.1)",
    "assets_held": 52.1608,
    "assets_sent": 0.0,
    "assets_received": 0.0,
    "entities_held": 3331,
    "entities_sent": 0,
    "entities_received": 0,
    "transfers_sent": 0,
    "transfers_received": 0,
    "total_age_held": 28544.8819,
    "total_age_sent": 0.0,
    "total_age_received": 0.0,
    "total_liquidity_held": 49.8199,
    "total_liquidity_sent": 0.0,
    "total_liquidity_received": 0.0,
    "total_usd_cost_held": 579.103,
    "total_usd_cost_sent": 0.0,
    "total_usd_cost_received": 0.0,
    "total_usd_value_held": 1990207.7199,
    "total_usd_value_sent": 0.0,
    "total_usd_value_received": 0.0
  },
  {
    "time": "2022-02-21",
    "category": "self-hosted",
    "age_group": "[52, 78)",
    "gain_group": "[-25, -5)",
    "liquidity_group": "illiquid",
    "wealth_group": "[0.1, 1)",
    "assets_held": 18422.8548,
    "assets_sent": 7.3039,
    "assets_received": 0.0827,
    "entities_held": 58154,
    "entities_sent": 15,
    "entities_received": 10,
    "transfers_sent": 18,
    "transfers_received": 12,
    "total_age_held": 999007.6913,
    "total_age_sent": 394.6798,
    "total_age_received": 4.4824,
    "total_liquidity_held": 60.1351,
    "total_liquidity_sent": 0.1731,
    "total_liquidity_received": 0.0018,
    "total_usd_cost_held": 865228623.5536,
    "total_usd_cost_sent": 330092.7025,
    "total_usd_cost_received": 3377.407,
    "total_usd_value_held": 702927815.7875,
    "total_usd_value_sent": 278682.1575,
    "total_usd_value_received": 3155.8743
  }
]

Relevance

Properties describes entities by the combination of their category, age, gain, liquidity, and wealth. For example it describes the amount of assets held by self-hosted entities that are 2 to 4 weeks old, have experienced a 10 to 25% USD gain, are illiquid, and have a balance of 10 to 100 units of the asset.

This combination of the age, gain, liquidity, and wealth metrics gives a more detailed description of the holders of supply than separately considering their age, or gain, or liquidity, or wealth. For example, it can be used to analyse the amount of cryptocurrency acquired over time by self-hosted investors of different wealth and age groups and their cost of acquisition, which indicates the level of demand at different price levels.

Definition

Properties is the joint distribution of variables across the four dimensions of age, gain, liquidity and wealth.

Age is the number of weeks an entity has held assets on average, across all addresses controlled by the entity, weighted by the amount of assets received and sent over time.

Gain is the weighted average USD value of assets when received by an entity relative to current price, accounting for assets sent, across all addresses controlled by the entity.

Liquidity is the average ratio of net to gross flows of assets of an entity over the lifetime of the entity, across all addresses controlled by the entity. A highly liquid entity sends on average all to ⅔ of the assets it receives, a liquid entity sends ⅔ to ¼ of the assets it receives, and an illiquid entity sends ¼ to none of the assets it receives.

Wealth is the amount of an asset held by an entity, across all addresses controlled by the entity. That is to say the balance of an entity.

Dimensions

Variables

Notes

This metric is only delivered via flat file.

Data is grouped in the groups of the Age, Gain, Liquidity, and Wealth metrics. In addition, data is grouped by entity category. So, for example, it describes the amount of assets held by self-hosted entities that are 2 to 4 weeks old, have experienced a 10 to 25% USD gain, are illiquid, and have a balance of 10 to 100 units of the asset.

The weighted average age of holdings across groups can be calculated (within a time period) by summing, across groups, total_age_held and, separately, assets_held, then dividing the sum of total_age_held by the sum of assets_held. This can be applied equivalently to sent and received variables. It can also be applied equivalently for the average cost, using total_usd_cost_held, gain, using total_usd_value_held minus total_usd_cost_held, and liquidity, using total_liquidity_held.

The weighted average holdings across groups can be calculated (within a time period) by summing, across groups, assets_held and, separately, entities_held, then dividing the sum of assets_held by the sum of entities_held. This can be applied equivalently to sent and received variables.

The properties of assets sent are the properties of assets held by the entities that send assets in a time period, while the properties of assets received are the properties of the assets held by the entities that receive assets in a time period. So comparing the groups that send versus receive indicates how the properties of the supply are changing.

Fast spent entities, entities that hold assets for less than 24 hours, are excluded from this metric.

Data is weekly, so it contains data generated between 00:00:00Z on a Monday and ends at 23:59:59Z on a Sunday. Variables that describe a flow, such as assets sent or received, give data on the flow occurring between the start and the end of the week. For example, data for the week of 2020-01-06 describes the assets sent or received between 2020-01-06T00:00:00Z and 2020-01-12T23:59:59Z. Variables that describe a state, such as assets held, give data on the state at the end of the week. For example, data for the week of 2020-01-06 describes the assets held as of 2020-01-12T23:59:59Z.

Category balance

curl "https://api.markets.chainalysis.com/v1/supply/category-balance?asset=BTC"
  -H "token: 948cf07be9c989d637"

The above command returns JSON structured like this:

[
  {
    "time": "2022-05-02",
    "category": "crypto-to-fiat exchanges",
    "asset_amount_held": 1217306.2872,
    "usd_amount_held": 46882129210.1428,
    "btc_amount_held": 1217306.2872,
    "asset_amount_sourced": 5781578.9896,
    "usd_amount_sourced": 222666009440.8432,
    "btc_amount_sourced": 5781578.9896,
    "asset_amount_destined": 316510.1877,
    "usd_amount_destined": 12189760023.499,
    "btc_amount_destined": 316510.1877
  },
  {
    "time": "2022-04-18",
    "category": "crypto-to-fiat exchanges",
    "asset_amount_held": 1256748.3652,
    "usd_amount_held": 51290313739.8345,
    "btc_amount_held": 1256748.3652,
    "asset_amount_sourced": 5757736.5604,
    "usd_amount_sourced": 234984283885.5843,
    "btc_amount_sourced": 5757736.5604,
    "asset_amount_destined": 329985.689,
    "usd_amount_destined": 13467349541.3736,
    "btc_amount_destined": 329985.689
  }
]

Relevance

Businesses hold assets to fund operations, as profits, or on behalf of customers. An increase in balance indicates an increase in demand for the business and that the business controls a greater share of supply.

Self-hosted entities hold assets that are sourced from categories of businesses. An increase in assets sourced from a category of business indicates a growing community of customers who are withdrawing their assets from the category of business but not deposited these assets with other categories of businesses. It also provides an upper bound to the balance of the category of business.

Self-hosted entities also hold assets that are destined to categories of businesses, that is to say the assets will be deposited at the business in a later time period. An increase in assets destined to a category of business indicates a growing community of customers who will ultimately use the category of business.

Definition

The amount of assets on the blockchain held by, sourced from, or destined to, the category of service.

Assets held by a category of service is a lower bound of the category's balance, as all possible outflows are subtracted from the balance. However, some of these outflows may in fact be transfers within the category, for example to more secure storage, that Chainalysis has not yet identified as internal, so these transfers appear as an outflow thereby decreasing the balance.

Assets sourced from a category of service are assets held by self-hosted entities that were last withdrawn from the category and not deposited at another category in the time period. This provides an upper bound to the balance of a category as any outflows that are in fact internal transfers will be assets sourced from the category. So if all assets withdrawn from a category and not deposited at another category are actually assets that have been transferred internally, then the upper bound of a category's balance is the sum of assets held and assets sourced.

Assets destined to a category are assets held by self-hosted entities that will ultimately be deposited at the category.

Dimensions

Variables

Macro

The health of a cryptocurrency. Our macro metrics describe the overall supply of an asset, for example its value, free float and wealth concentration, which can easily be compared across cryptocurrencies.

Supply

curl "https://api.markets.chainalysis.com/v1/macro/supply?asset=BTC"
  -H "token: 948cf07be9c989d637"

The above command returns JSON structured like this:

[
  {
    "time": "2022-03-22",
    "supply": 19246129.9869
  },
  {
    "time": "2022-03-25",
    "supply": 19248940.0984
  }
]

Relevance

Supply is the total quantity of assets created to date. Assets with a lower supply typically have a lower price per asset, although not necessarily a lower market cap.

Definition

The total quantity of assets created to date.

Dimensions

Variables

Price

curl "https://api.markets.chainalysis.com/v1/macro/price?asset=BTC"
  -H "token: 948cf07be9c989d637"

The above command returns JSON structured like this:

[
  {
    "time": "2022-05-22",
    "open": 29410.72,
    "high": 30454.36,
    "low": 29219.51,
    "close": 30264.29,
    "average": null
  },
  {
    "time": "2022-04-05",
    "open": 46609.36,
    "high": 47187.66,
    "low": 45382.83,
    "close": 45508.7,
    "average": null
  }
]

Relevance

Price typically rises when market sentiment is positive, demand for assets increases, and supply of assets available to buy decreases. Price typically falls under opposing conditions.

Definition

Open, high, low, and close prices for the asset, calculated from a basket of exchanges, weighted by trade volume, and excluding outliers.

Average daily close price is provided for weekly and monthly time periods, and is empty for daily time periods.

Dimensions

Variables

Market cap

curl "https://api.markets.chainalysis.com/v1/macro/market-cap?asset=BTC"
  -H "token: 948cf07be9c989d637"

The above command returns JSON structured like this:

[
  {
    "time": "2022-04-17",
    "market_cap": 764784251523.3638
  },
  {
    "time": "2022-04-28",
    "market_cap": 766637550861.1633
  }
]

Relevance

Market cap measures the USD value of all assets if they could be sold at the current price, so reflects the overall value of the asset. Market cap rises when the supply increases or the price increases.

Definition

Market cap is the supply multiplied by the price.

Dimensions

Variables

Thermo cap

curl "https://api.markets.chainalysis.com/v1/macro/thermo-cap?asset=BTC"
  -H "token: 948cf07be9c989d637"

The above command returns JSON structured like this:

[
  {
    "time": "2022-05-26",
    "thermo_cap": 43306012957.5057
  },
  {
    "time": "2022-03-05",
    "thermo_cap": 40368895397.3097
  }
]

Relevance

Thermocap is the total USD value of newly mined or issued assets and fees, accumulated over time, so reflects the overall value earned by those generating the asset. The greater the thermo cap, the greater the historical incentive that miners or asset issuers have had to generate the asset.

Definition

Thermo cap is the total USD value of newly mined or issued assets and fees, valued at the price at the time, accumulated over time.

Dimensions

Variables

Free float

curl "https://api.markets.chainalysis.com/v1/macro/free-float?asset=BTC"
  -H "token: 948cf07be9c989d637"

The above command returns JSON structured like this:

[
  {
    "time": "2022-01-03",
    "free_float_amount": 2746785.9222,
    "free_float_perc": 0.1453
  },
  {
    "time": "2021-12-27",
    "free_float_amount": 2778877.1464,
    "free_float_perc": 0.1471
  }
]

Relevance

Free float is the supply of an asset that is likely to be available for purchase on the market. The greater the free float, the greater the likelihood that large increases in demand can be supplied without significant increases in price.

Definition

The free float is equal to the number of assets held by liquid entities, those that send at least 25% of the assets they receive, and that have held the assets for less than a year. That is to say: the free float is the assets held by entities who are likely to circulate their assets, given their observed characteristics.

Dimensions

Variables

Notes

The free float is equal to the assets held by entities in the liquid and highly liquid groups that are also in age groups of less than 52 weeks in the Properties metric.

Data is weekly and describes the state of the variable at the end of the week. For example, data for the week of 2020-01-06 describes the free float as of 2020-01-12T23:59:59Z.

Percentage data is represented such that 0.999 equals 99.9%.

Wealth concentration

curl "https://api.markets.chainalysis.com/v1/macro/wealth-concentration?asset=BTC"
  -H "token: 948cf07be9c989d637"

The above command returns JSON structured like this:

[
  {
    "time": "2022-04-04",
    "wealth_concentration": 0.002
  },
  {
    "time": "2022-03-21",
    "wealth_concentration": 0.002
  }
]

Relevance

Wealth concentration measures the extent to which some entities hold more of the supply than others. This is measured using a Herfindahl Index. The greater the index, the greater the share of supply that is held by a smaller number of entities.

Definition

Wealth concentration is measured using a Herfindahl Index, which is the sum of the square of the share of supply that is held by each entity.

The Herfindahl Index is measured between 0 and 1. A measure of (close to) 0 shows that wealth is not concentrated, as this occurs only if a very large number of entities each hold a very small share of supply. A measure of 1 shows that wealth is highly concentrated, as this occurs only if a single entity holds all of the supply.

Dimensions

Variables

Notes

Fast spent entities, entities that hold assets for less than 24 hours, are excluded from this metric.

Data is weekly and describes the state of the variable at the end of the week. For example, data for the week of 2020-01-06 describes the wealth concentration as of 2020-01-12T23:59:59Z.

Average age

curl "https://api.markets.chainalysis.com/v1/macro/average-age?asset=BTC"
  -H "token: 948cf07be9c989d637"

The above command returns JSON structured like this:

[
  {
    "time": "2021-12-27",
    "average_age_held": 172.3106,
    "average_age_sent": 6.2618,
    "average_age_received": 2.9997
  },
  {
    "time": "2022-02-14",
    "average_age_held": 175.3021,
    "average_age_sent": 4.1051,
    "average_age_received": 3.239
  }
]

Relevance

Average age summarises, for the entire asset, the average amount of time that assets are held. The greater the average age, the greater the amount of time, on average, that entities tend to hold assets.

Definition

The average number of weeks that entities have held assets, weighted by the number of assets that each entity holds.

Average age is provided for assets held, sent, and received. The average age of held assets is the age of assets held by entities at the time. The age of sent assets is the age of assets before they are sent. The age of received assets is the age of assets held by entities that receive assets.

Dimensions

Variables

Notes

The average age of held assets is equal to the weighted average age of holdings across all groups in the Age metric, and similarly for sent and received assets.

The age of assets sent is the age of assets held by the entities that send assets in a time period, while the age of assets received is the age of the assets held by the entities that receive assets in a time period. So comparing the average age of assets sent versus received indicates how the properties of the supply are changing.

Fast spent entities, entities that hold assets for less than 24 hours, are excluded from this metric.

Data is weekly, so it contains data generated between 00:00:00Z on a Monday and ends at 23:59:59Z on a Sunday. Variables that describe a flow, such as assets sent or received, give data on the flow occurring between the start and the end of the week. For example, data for the week of 2020-01-06 describes the assets sent or received between 2020-01-06T00:00:00Z and 2020-01-12T23:59:59Z. Variables that describe a state, such as assets held, give data on the state at the end of the week. For example, data for the week of 2020-01-06 describes the assets held as of 2020-01-12T23:59:59Z.

Average cost

curl "https://api.markets.chainalysis.com/v1/macro/average-cost?asset=BTC"
  -H "token: 948cf07be9c989d637"

The above command returns JSON structured like this:

[
  {
    "time": "2022-03-07",
    "average_cost_held": 25034.9062,
    "average_cost_sent": 40281.5888,
    "average_cost_received": 39958.307
  },
  {
    "time": "2022-01-17",
    "average_cost_held": 25114.6273,
    "average_cost_sent": 42997.6857,
    "average_cost_received": 41672.7514
  }
]

Relevance

Average cost summarises, for the entire asset, the average USD cost of acquisition of assets by the entity that last acquired the assets. The greater the average cost, the greater the amount spent, on average, by entities that last acquired assets.

Definition

The average USD value of assets when received by an entity, weighted by the number of assets that each entity holds.

Average cost is provided for assets held, sent, and received. The average cost of held assets is the cost of assets held by entities at the time. The cost of sent assets is the cost of the assets when entities sending assets last acquired them. The cost of received assets is the cost of assets held by entities that receive assets.

Dimensions

Variables

Notes

The average cost is equal to the weighted average cost of holdings across all groups in the Gain metric, and similarly for sent and received assets.

The cost of assets sent is the cost of assets held by the entities that send assets in a time period, while the cost of assets received is the cost of the assets held by the entities that receive assets in a time period. So comparing the average cost of assets sent versus received indicates how the properties of the supply are changing.

Fast spent entities, entities that hold assets for less than 24 hours, are excluded from this metric.

Data is weekly, so it contains data generated between 00:00:00Z on a Monday and ends at 23:59:59Z on a Sunday. Variables that describe a flow, such as assets sent or received, give data on the flow occurring between the start and the end of the week. For example, data for the week of 2020-01-06 describes the assets sent or received between 2020-01-06T00:00:00Z and 2020-01-12T23:59:59Z. Variables that describe a state, such as assets held, give data on the state at the end of the week. For example, data for the week of 2020-01-06 describes the assets held as of 2020-01-12T23:59:59Z.

Average gain

curl "https://api.markets.chainalysis.com/v1/macro/average-gain?asset=BTC"
  -H "token: 948cf07be9c989d637"

The above command returns JSON structured like this:

[
  {
    "time": "2022-03-07",
    "average_gain_held": 14237.554,
    "average_gain_sent": -1009.1286,
    "average_gain_received": -685.8468,
    "average_gain_perc_held": 0.5687,
    "average_gain_perc_sent": -0.0251,
    "average_gain_perc_received": -0.0172
  },
  {
    "time": "2021-12-20",
    "average_gain_held": 23769.1243,
    "average_gain_sent": 447.9741,
    "average_gain_received": -268.599,
    "average_gain_perc_held": 0.9331,
    "average_gain_perc_sent": 0.0092,
    "average_gain_perc_received": -0.0054
  }
]

Relevance

Average gain summarises, for the entire asset, the average USD gain or loss of an asset. The greater the average gain, the greater the USD profits, on average, that entities have made since acquiring assets.

Definition

The average USD value of assets when received by an entity relative to current price, weighted by the number of assets that each entity holds.

Average gain is provided for assets held, sent, and received. The average gain of held assets is the gain of assets held by entities at the time. The gain of sent assets is the gain of the assets since the entities sending assets last acquired them. The gain of received assets is the gain of assets held by entities that receive assets.

Dimensions

Variables

Notes

The average gain is equal to the weighted average value minus cost of holdings across all groups in the Gain metric, and similarly for sent and received assets.

The gain of assets sent is the gain of assets held by the entities that send assets in a time period, while the gain of assets received is the gain of the assets held by the entities that receive assets in a time period. So comparing the average gain of assets sent versus received indicates how the properties of the supply are changing.

Fast spent entities, entities that hold assets for less than 24 hours, are excluded from this metric.

Data is weekly, so it contains data generated between 00:00:00Z on a Monday and ends at 23:59:59Z on a Sunday. Variables that describe a flow, such as assets sent or received, give data on the flow occurring between the start and the end of the week. For example, data for the week of 2020-01-06 describes the assets sent or received between 2020-01-06T00:00:00Z and 2020-01-12T23:59:59Z. Variables that describe a state, such as assets held, give data on the state at the end of the week. For example, data for the week of 2020-01-06 describes the assets held as of 2020-01-12T23:59:59Z.

Percentage data is represented such that 0.999 equals 99.9%.

Average liquidity

curl "https://api.markets.chainalysis.com/v1/macro/average-liquidity?asset=BTC"
  -H "token: 948cf07be9c989d637"

The above command returns JSON structured like this:

[
  {
    "time": "2022-02-28",
    "average_liquidity_held": 0.1481,
    "average_liquidity_sent": 0.6293,
    "average_liquidity_received": 0.5253
  },
  {
    "time": "2022-03-07",
    "average_liquidity_held": 0.1457,
    "average_liquidity_sent": 0.7719,
    "average_liquidity_received": 0.6517
  }
]

Relevance

Average liquidity summarises, for the entire asset, the likelihood that an asset will be sent or continue to be held. The greater the average liquidity, the greater the likelihood, on average, that entities will send on assets rather than hold them.

Definition

The average ratio of net to gross flows of assets of entities, weighted by the number of assets that each entity holds.

Average liquidity is provided for assets held, sent, and received. The average liquidity of held assets is the liquidity of assets held by entities at the time. The liquidity of sent assets is the liquidity of assets before they are sent. The liquidity of received assets is the liquidity of assets held by entities that receive assets.

Average liquidity is measured between 0 and 1. A measure of 0 shows that an asset is completely illiquid, as this occurs only if assets are never sent once they are generated. A measure of 1 shows that an asset is completely liquid, as this occurs only if all assets that are received are immediately sent.

Average liquidity can be interpreted as the percentage of supply that is illiquid and liquid. For example, if an asset has an average liquidity of 0.6, this is equivalent to saying that 60% of the supply is completely illiquid and 40% of the supply is completely liquid.

Dimensions

Variables

Notes

The average liquidity is equal to the weighted average liquidity of holdings across all groups in the Liquidity metric, and similarly for sent and received assets.

The liquidity of assets sent is the liquidity of assets held by the entities that send assets in a time period, while the liquidity of assets received is the liquidity of the assets held by the entities that receive assets in a time period. So comparing the average liquidity of assets sent versus received indicates how the properties of the supply are changing.

Fast spent entities, entities that hold assets for less than 24 hours, are excluded from this metric.

Data is weekly, so it contains data generated between 00:00:00Z on a Monday and ends at 23:59:59Z on a Sunday. Variables that describe a flow, such as assets sent or received, give data on the flow occurring between the start and the end of the week. For example, data for the week of 2020-01-06 describes the assets sent or received between 2020-01-06T00:00:00Z and 2020-01-12T23:59:59Z. Variables that describe a state, such as assets held, give data on the state at the end of the week. For example, data for the week of 2020-01-06 describes the assets held as of 2020-01-12T23:59:59Z.

Average wealth

curl "https://api.markets.chainalysis.com/v1/macro/average-wealth?asset=BTC"
  -H "token: 948cf07be9c989d637"

The above command returns JSON structured like this:

[
  {
    "time": "2022-01-03",
    "average_wealth_held": 0.5453,
    "average_wealth_sent": 2.2402,
    "average_wealth_received": 1.2546
  },
  {
    "time": "2022-02-21",
    "average_wealth_held": 0.5164,
    "average_wealth_sent": 2.0074,
    "average_wealth_received": 1.0416
  }
]

Relevance

Average wealth summarises, for the entire asset, the average amount of assets held by entities, that is the average balance of entities. The greater the average wealth, the greater the amount of assets held by each entity, on average.

Definition

The average amount of an asset held by an entity, that is to say the mean average balance of an entity.

Average wealth is provided for entities that are holding, sending, and receiving. The average wealth of entities holding is the wealth held by entities at the time. The wealth of sending entities is the wealth of entities that send assets. The wealth of receiving entities is the wealth of entities that receive assets.

Dimensions

Variables

Notes

The average wealth is equal to the weighted average holdings across all groups in the Wealth metric, and similarly for sent and received assets.

The wealth of sending entities is the wealth of entities that send assets in a time period, while the wealth of receiving entities is the wealth of entities that receive assets in a time period. So comparing the average wealth of sending versus receiving entities indicates how the properties of the supply are changing.

Fast spent entities, entities that hold assets for less than 24 hours, are excluded from this metric.

Data is weekly, so it contains data generated between 00:00:00Z on a Monday and ends at 23:59:59Z on a Sunday. Variables that describe a flow, such as assets sent or received, give data on the flow occurring between the start and the end of the week. For example, data for the week of 2020-01-06 describes the assets sent or received between 2020-01-06T00:00:00Z and 2020-01-12T23:59:59Z. Variables that describe a state, such as assets held, give data on the state at the end of the week. For example, data for the week of 2020-01-06 describes the assets held as of 2020-01-12T23:59:59Z.

Exchanges

How cryptocurrency is traded. Our exchange metrics describe how assets flow in and out of trading venues, the level of competition in the market, and the level of trading demand relative to supply.

Exchange inflows

curl "https://api.markets.chainalysis.com/v1/exchanges/exchange-inflows?asset=BTC"
  -H "token: 948cf07be9c989d637"

The above command returns JSON structured like this:

[
  {
    "time": "2022-05-20",
    "category": "other exchanges",
    "asset_amount": 21353.8391,
    "usd_amount": 634321234.9811
  },
  {
    "time": "2022-05-12",
    "category": "other exchanges",
    "asset_amount": 30278.5624,
    "usd_amount": 860248552.23
  }
]

Relevance

Inflows to exchanges fluctuate with changes in market sentiment. For instance, an increase in inflows suggests increased selling pressure in the market.

Definition

The amount of assets received via the blockchain by all exchanges known to Chainalysis.

Dimensions

Variables

Exchange outflows

curl "https://api.markets.chainalysis.com/v1/exchanges/exchange-outflows?asset=BTC"
  -H "token: 948cf07be9c989d637"

The above command returns JSON structured like this:

[
  {
    "time": "2022-03-06",
    "category": "decentralized exchanges",
    "asset_amount_lower_bound": 0.8643,
    "asset_amount_upper_bound": 1.0431,
    "usd_amount_lower_bound": 34111.658,
    "usd_amount_upper_bound": 41140.4093
  },
  {
    "time": "2022-04-02",
    "category": "decentralized exchanges",
    "asset_amount_lower_bound": 1.0112,
    "asset_amount_upper_bound": 2.2224,
    "usd_amount_lower_bound": 46933.5446,
    "usd_amount_upper_bound": 103150.8915
  }
]

Relevance

Outflows from exchanges fluctuate with changes in market sentiment. For instance, an increase in outflows suggests reduced selling pressure in the market.

Definition

The amount of assets withdrawn via the blockchain from all exchanges known to Chainalysis. This includes withdrawals to pay fees for transfers on the blockchain. There is uncertainty in the level of outflows from exchanges. We are certain that some outflows are true withdrawals, whereas it is possible that other outflows are internal transfers. So there are lower bound (certain) and upper bound (possible) outflows.

Lower bound outflows are outflows that have been received by other services, thereby leaving exchanges for certain.

Upper bound outflows are all possible outflows. However, some of these outflows may in fact be transfers within an exchange, for example to more secure storage, that Chainalysis has not yet identified as internal, so these transfers appear as an outflow.

Dimensions

Variables

Exchange change in balance

curl "https://api.markets.chainalysis.com/v1/exchanges/exchange-change-in-balance?asset=BTC"
  -H "token: 948cf07be9c989d637"

The above command returns JSON structured like this:

[
  {
    "time": "2022-04-15",
    "category": "decentralized exchanges",
    "change_in_balance_lower_bound": 115.3716,
    "change_in_balance_upper_bound": 115.3716
  },
  {
    "time": "2022-05-11",
    "category": "crypto-to-fiat exchanges",
    "change_in_balance_lower_bound": 13617.4617,
    "change_in_balance_upper_bound": 35742.869
  }
]

Relevance

Assets held on exchanges increase if more market participants want to sell than to buy, and if buyers choose to store their assets on exchanges.

Definition

The difference between asset inflows and outflows on all exchanges known to Chainalysis. There is a range in the change in assets held on exchanges because there is uncertainty in the level of outflows from exchanges. We are certain that some outflows are true withdrawals, whereas it is possible that other outflows are internal transfers. So there is an upper bound (certain) and a lower bound (possible) change in assets held on exchanges.

The upper bound change in assets held is the difference between inflows and lower bound (certain) outflows. These are outflows that have been received by other services, thereby leaving exchanges for certain. As certain outflows are the lower bound of outflows, the certain change in assets held is an upper bound.

The lower bound change in assets held is the difference between inflows and upper bound (possible) outflows. All possible outflows may include transfers within an exchange, for example to more secure storage, that Chainalysis has not yet identified as internal. As possible outflows are the upper bound of outflows, the possible change in assets held is a lower bound.

Dimensions

Variables

Exchange counterparties

curl "https://api.markets.chainalysis.com/v1/exchanges/exchange-counterparties?asset=BTC"
  -H "token: 948cf07be9c989d637"

The above command returns JSON structured like this:

[
  {
    "time": "2022-04-30",
    "category": "decentralized exchanges",
    "counterparties_sent": 2,
    "usd_amount_total_sent": 204543.1376,
    "usd_amount_top_10_sent": 204543.1376,
    "usd_amount_top_5_perc_sent": 204543.1376,
    "counterparties_received": 16,
    "usd_amount_total_received": 738198.0056,
    "usd_amount_top_10_received": 723991.4281,
    "usd_amount_top_5_perc_received": 692099.2577
  },
  {
    "time": "2022-04-16",
    "category": "other exchanges",
    "counterparties_sent": 6170,
    "usd_amount_total_sent": 179283585.862,
    "usd_amount_top_10_sent": 90149322.8213,
    "usd_amount_top_5_perc_sent": 174026000.0966,
    "counterparties_received": 12187,
    "usd_amount_total_received": 218371192.657,
    "usd_amount_top_10_received": 121946988.3012,
    "usd_amount_top_5_perc_received": 213201666.6369
  }
]

Relevance

The number of counterparties sending and receiving assets to and from exchanges, and the dominance of the largest counterparties, measures the diversity of sources and destinations for assets on exchanges. The fewer the counterparties, and the greater the share of assets to and from the largest counterparties, the less diverse the market.

As counterparties includes businesses, such as other exchanges, the number of counterparties is less than the number of individuals sending and receiving assets to and from exchanges. This is because many individuals can send or receive if they are all part of the same counterparty, such as another exchange. The number of individuals sending to or receiving from exchanges is measured by the exchange deposits and withdrawals metrics.

Definition

The number of exchange counterparties is the number of unique businesses and self-hosted entities that directly send and receive assets to and from exchanges.

The top 10 counterparties are the 10 counterparties that send, or receive, the greatest USD value of assets to, or from, exchanges in the time window. Similarly, the top 5% of counterparties are the 5% of counterparties that send, or receive, the greatest USD value of assets to, or from, exchanges in the time window.

The extent to which the market is dominated by a few counterparties can be measured by comparing the total USD value of assets sent or received by the top 10 and top 5% of counterparties to the total USD value of assets sent or received by all counterparties.

Dimensions

Variables

Exchange deposits

curl "https://api.markets.chainalysis.com/v1/exchanges/exchange-deposits?asset=BTC"
  -H "token: 948cf07be9c989d637"

The above command returns JSON structured like this:

[
  {
    "time": "2022-03-05",
    "category": "other exchanges",
    "deposit_addresses": 33194,
    "new_deposit_addresses": 0,
    "usd_amount_total": 145708490.422,
    "usd_amount_top_10": 49493503.4323,
    "usd_amount_top_5_perc": 138089506.9644
  },
  {
    "time": "2022-03-27",
    "category": "crypto-to-crypto exchanges",
    "deposit_addresses": 56309,
    "new_deposit_addresses": 25688,
    "usd_amount_total": 269272251.7665,
    "usd_amount_top_10": 86610312.5595,
    "usd_amount_top_5_perc": 250340407.736
  }
]

Relevance

The number of deposit addresses receiving assets on exchanges indicates the number of individual users of an exchange who are depositing assets, typically to sell them. The total number and dominance of the largest deposit addresses measures the level of competition amongst sellers in the market. The fewer the deposit addresses and the greater the share of assets deposited to the largest deposit addresses, the less competition there is amongst sellers.

Definition

The number of exchange deposits is the number of unique addresses that receive assets deposited to exchanges.

The number of new exchange deposits is the number of unique addresses that receive assets deposited to exchanges for the first time in the time period.

The top 10 deposits are the 10 deposit addresses that receive the greatest USD value of assets in the time window. Similarly, the top 5% of deposits are the 5% of deposit addresses that receive the greatest USD value of assets in the time window.

The extent to which the selling market is dominated by a few deposit addresses can be measured by comparing the total USD value of assets received by the top 10 and top 5% of deposit addresses to the total USD value of assets received by exchanges.

Dimensions

Variables

Exchange withdrawals

curl "https://api.markets.chainalysis.com/v1/exchanges/exchange-withdrawals?asset=BTC"
  -H "token: 948cf07be9c989d637"

The above command returns JSON structured like this:

[
  {
    "time": "2022-04-30",
    "category": "decentralized exchange contract",
    "withdrawal_addresses": 0,
    "new_withdrawal_addresses": 1,
    "usd_amount_total": 0.0,
    "usd_amount_top_10": 0.0,
    "usd_amount_top_5_perc": 0.0
  },
  {
    "time": "2022-03-01",
    "category": "high risk exchange",
    "withdrawal_addresses": 0,
    "new_withdrawal_addresses": 2867,
    "usd_amount_total": 0.0,
    "usd_amount_top_10": 0.0,
    "usd_amount_top_5_perc": 0.0
  }
]

Relevance

The number of addresses receiving assets withdrawn from exchanges indicates the number of individual users of an exchange who are withdrawing assets, typically after they have bought these assets. The total number and dominance of the largest withdrawal addresses measures the level of competition amongst buyers in the market. The fewer the withdrawal addresses and the greater the share of assets withdrawn by the largest withdrawal addresses, the less competition there is amongst buyers.

Definition

The number of exchange withdrawals is the number of unique addresses that receive assets withdrawn from exchanges.

The number of new exchange withdrawals is the number of unique addresses that receive assets withdrawn from exchanges for the first time in the time period.

The top 10 withdrawals are the 10 withdrawal addresses that receive the greatest USD value of assets in the time window. Similarly, the top 5% of withdrawals are the 5% of withdrawal addresses that receive the greatest USD value of assets in the time window.

The extent to which the buying market is dominated by a few withdrawal addresses can be measured by comparing the total USD value of assets received by the top 10 and top 5% of withdrawal addresses to the total USD value of assets sent by exchanges.

Dimensions

Variables

Trade intensity

curl "https://api.markets.chainalysis.com/v1/exchanges/trade-intensity?asset=BTC"
  -H "token: 948cf07be9c989d637"

The above command returns JSON structured like this:

[
  {
    "time": "2022-03-26",
    "mean": 287.2486,
    "first_quartile": 5.5383,
    "median": 8.8353,
    "third_quartile": 16.9213
  },
  {
    "time": "2022-03-13",
    "mean": 263.9858,
    "first_quartile": 6.5282,
    "median": 7.5958,
    "third_quartile": 25.721
  }
]

Relevance

Trade intensity compares the value of order book trades to exchange inflows. An increase in trade intensity suggests more market participants want to buy than to sell.

Definition

The ratio of asset trade volumes to assets received on-chain by top exchanges.

Top exchanges are the up to 15 exchanges that received the most assets in the time period and have spot markets for which we have data. The 1st, 2nd (median), and 3rd quartiles are taken from this set of exchanges. Trade volumes are spot volumes for pairs where the asset is both the quote and the base asset.

Dimensions

Variables

Notes

Trade intensity is only provided for assets that are consistently traded on a sufficient number of exchanges.

Whales

How the largest cryptocurrency holders behave. Our whales metrics describe the source and destination of their assets, and the age, USD cost and gain, and liquidity of the assets they hold, send, and receive.

Whale inflows

curl "https://api.markets.chainalysis.com/v1/whales/whale-inflows?asset=BTC"
  -H "token: 948cf07be9c989d637"

The above command returns JSON structured like this:

[
  {
    "time": "2022-04-08",
    "category": "quick spent whales",
    "source_category": "other exchanges",
    "asset_amount_direct": 0.0,
    "asset_amount_indirect": 0.0,
    "usd_amount_direct": 0.0,
    "usd_amount_indirect": 0.0
  },
  {
    "time": "2022-05-04",
    "category": "illiquid post-2017 whales",
    "source_category": "unnamed services",
    "asset_amount_direct": 156.7372,
    "asset_amount_indirect": 1267.3148,
    "usd_amount_direct": 6098683.3046,
    "usd_amount_indirect": 49456302.0168
  }
]

Relevance

Inflows to whales, large holders of cryptocurrency, from different types of sources, such as types of exchanges, describe the extent to which whales are buying assets and the source of their purchases. For example, an increase in whale inflows from crypto-to-fiat exchanges shows that whales are buying more cryptocurrency with fiat.

Definition

The amount and source, direct and indirect, of assets received via the blockchain by whales, entities that hold large amounts of assets.

A whale is an entity that has held a large amount of assets within its lifetime, that is not a service and is not a fast spent entity (so the entity has held assets for more than 24 hours). The threshold for the amount of assets that must be held to be a whale varies across cryptocurrencies. For example it is 1,000 bitcoin but 5,000 Ethereum. Whales are grouped by category depending on the lifetime, when they first held a large amount of cryptocurrency, and their liquidity.

Inflows can be received directly or indirectly from the source category. Direct flows are when the whale and the source are both counterparties of the transfer. Indirect flows are when value is also received by the whale from the source but via a self-hosted entity.

Dimensions

Variables

Notes

Inflows can be received directly or indirectly from the source category. Direct flows are when the whale and the source are both counterparties of the transfer. Indirect flows are when value is also received by the whale from the source but via a self-hosted entity.

Direct flows are a subset of indirect flows. That is to say any value that flows directly between counterparties is also counted in the data for indirect flows. Indirect inflows adds to direct flows the flows where the direct counterparty is self-hosted. That is to say Chainalysis identifies the ultimate source of inflows where the direct counterparty is self-hosted, then adds these flows to the direct flows of the relevant source.

Chainalysis calculates indirect flows by tracing the flow of value from known sources through self-hosted counterparties until the value is received by a whale. This takes into account valuing splitting into transfers to many counterparties, and it is not limited by the number of self-hosted counterparties that value transfers through.

The total of direct flows and the total of indirect flows are approximately equal. Totals may not be exactly equal as some value is not traced indirectly when it is transferred in amounts below a ‘dust’ level, which are sufficiently low value to not warrant tracing.

Whale outflows

curl "https://api.markets.chainalysis.com/v1/whales/whale-outflows?asset=BTC"
  -H "token: 948cf07be9c989d637"

The above command returns JSON structured like this:

[
  {
    "time": "2022-05-01",
    "category": "illiquid pre-2014 whales",
    "destination_category": "decentralized exchanges",
    "asset_amount_direct": 0.0,
    "asset_amount_indirect": 0.0,
    "usd_amount_direct": 0.0,
    "usd_amount_indirect": 0.0
  },
  {
    "time": "2022-03-07",
    "category": "illiquid 2014-2017 whales",
    "destination_category": "merchant services",
    "asset_amount_direct": 0.0,
    "asset_amount_indirect": 0.0,
    "usd_amount_direct": 0.0,
    "usd_amount_indirect": 0.0
  }
]

Relevance

Outflows from whales, large holders of cryptocurrency, to different types of destinations, such as types of exchanges, describe the extent to which whales are selling assets and the destination of their sales. For example, an increase in whale outflows to crypto-to-fiat exchanges shows that whales are selling more cryptocurrency for fiat.

Definition

The amount and destination, direct and indirect, of assets sent via the blockchain by whales, entities that hold large amounts of assets.

A whale is an entity that has held a large amount of assets within its lifetime, that is not a service and is not a fast spent entity (so the entity has held assets for more than 24 hours). The threshold for the amount of assets that must be held to be a whale varies across cryptocurrencies. For example it is 1,000 bitcoin but 5,000 Ethereum. Whales are grouped by category depending on the lifetime, when they first held a large amount of cryptocurrency, and their liquidity.

Outflows can be sent directly or indirectly to the destination category. Direct flows are when the whale and the destination are both counterparties of the transfer. Indirect flows are when value is also sent to the destination from the whale but via a self-hosted entity.

Dimensions

Variables

Notes

Outflows can be sent directly or indirectly to the destination category. Direct flows are when the whale and the destination are both counterparties of the transfer. Indirect flows are when value is also sent to the destination from the whale but via a self-hosted entity.

Direct flows are a subset of indirect flows. That is to say any value that flows directly between counterparties is also counted in the data for indirect flows. Indirect inflows adds to direct flows the flows where the direct counterparty is self-hosted. That is to say Chainalysis identifies the ultimate destination of outflows where the direct counterparty is self-hosted, then adds these flows to the direct flows of the relevant destination.

Chainalysis calculates indirect flows by tracing the flow of value to known destinations through self-hosted counterparties. This takes into account valuing splitting into transfers to many counterparties, and it is not limited by the number of self-hosted counterparties that value transfers through.

The total of direct flows and the total of indirect flows are approximately equal. Totals may not be exactly equal as some value is not traced indirectly when it is transferred in amounts below a ‘dust’ level, which are sufficiently low value to not warrant tracing.

Whale transfers by size

curl "https://api.markets.chainalysis.com/v1/whales/whale-transfers-by-size?asset=BTC"
  -H "token: 948cf07be9c989d637"

The above command returns JSON structured like this:

[
  {
    "time": "2022-04-04",
    "category": "illiquid pre-2014 whales",
    "transfer_size": "(1, 10]",
    "transfers_sent": 0.0,
    "transfers_received": 0.0,
    "asset_amount_sent": 0.0,
    "asset_amount_received": 0.0,
    "usd_amount_sent": 0.0,
    "usd_amount_received": 0.0
  },
  {
    "time": "2022-05-20",
    "category": "illiquid post-2017 whales",
    "transfer_size": "<1",
    "transfers_sent": 0.0,
    "transfers_received": 0.0,
    "asset_amount_sent": 0.0,
    "asset_amount_received": 0.0,
    "usd_amount_sent": 0.0,
    "usd_amount_received": 0.0
  }
]

Relevance

The number and value of transfers, sent or received by whales, large holders of cryptocurrency, grouped by the magnitude of the USD value of the transfers. This describes how whales send and receive their assets, either as a small number of high value transfers or a large number of low value transfers. If whales sends a large number of low value transfers then the whale may be acting more as an intermediary, such as an OTC broker, while a whale that receives a small number of high value transfers may be a custodian.

Definition

The number and value of transfers, sent or received by whales, large holders of cryptocurrency, grouped by the magnitude of their USD value.

A whale is an entity that has held a large amount of assets within its lifetime, that is not a service and is not a fast spent entity (so the entity has held assets for more than 24 hours). The threshold for the amount of assets that must be held to be a whale varies across cryptocurrencies. For example it is 1,000 bitcoin but 5,000 Ethereum. Whales are grouped by category depending on the lifetime, when they first held a large amount of cryptocurrency, and their liquidity.

Dimensions

Variables

Notes

Data is grouped in the following groups (units are USD per transfer): [0, 1), [1, 10), [10, 100), [100, 1k), [1k, 10k), [10k, 100k), [100k, 1M), 1M+.

That is to say group [0, 1) contains data on transfers that had a USD value of more than or equal to 0 USD and strictly less than 1 USD.

k represents thousands, so 1k is 1,000. M represents millions, so 1M is 1,000,000.

Whale properties

curl "https://api.markets.chainalysis.com/v1/whales/whale-properties?asset=BTC"
  -H "token: 948cf07be9c989d637"

The above command returns JSON structured like this:

[
  {
    "time": "2022-04-18",
    "category": "illiquid post-2017 whales",
    "age_group": "[4, 13)",
    "gain_group": "[-25, -5)",
    "liquidity_group": "highly liquid",
    "wealth_group": "[1, 10)",
    "assets_held": 9.4958,
    "assets_sent": 0.0,
    "assets_received": 0.0,
    "entities_held": 1,
    "entities_sent": 0,
    "entities_received": 0,
    "transfers_sent": 0,
    "transfers_received": 0,
    "total_age_held": 47.4788,
    "total_age_sent": 0.0,
    "total_age_received": 0.0,
    "total_liquidity_held": 7.7419,
    "total_liquidity_sent": 0.0,
    "total_liquidity_received": 0.0,
    "total_usd_cost_held": 422319.3896,
    "total_usd_cost_sent": 0.0,
    "total_usd_cost_received": 0.0,
    "total_usd_value_held": 384453.3004,
    "total_usd_value_sent": 0.0,
    "total_usd_value_received": 0.0
  },
  {
    "time": "2022-03-14",
    "category": "illiquid post-2017 whales",
    "age_group": "[13, 26)",
    "gain_group": "[-50, -25)",
    "liquidity_group": "illiquid",
    "wealth_group": "[1k, 10k)",
    "assets_held": 169220.7259,
    "assets_sent": 0.0,
    "assets_received": 0.0,
    "entities_held": 80,
    "entities_sent": 0,
    "entities_received": 0,
    "transfers_sent": 0,
    "transfers_received": 0,
    "total_age_held": 3158203.523,
    "total_age_sent": 0.0,
    "total_age_received": 0.0,
    "total_liquidity_held": 928.3933,
    "total_liquidity_sent": 0.0,
    "total_liquidity_received": 0.0,
    "total_usd_cost_held": 9979292521.6398,
    "total_usd_cost_sent": 0.0,
    "total_usd_cost_received": 0.0,
    "total_usd_value_held": 6848318051.8873,
    "total_usd_value_sent": 0.0,
    "total_usd_value_received": 0.0
  }
]

Relevance

The age, gain, liquidity, and wealth of whales, large holders of cryptocurrency. For example it describes the amount of assets held by investor whales that acquired their bitcoin post-2017, that are less than 3 months old, have experienced a 10 to 25% USD gain, are illiquid, and have a balance of 10,000 or more of the asset.

This combination of the age, gain, liquidity, and wealth metrics gives a detailed description of the large holders of supply. For example, it can be used to analyse the amount of cryptocurrency acquired over time by whales of different wealth and age groups and their cost of acquisition, which indicates the level of institutional demand at different price levels.

Definition

Properties is the joint distribution of variables across the four dimensions of age, gain, liquidity and wealth. Whale properties describes this for the set of entities defined as whales.

A whale is an entity that has held a large amount of assets within its lifetime, that is not a service and is not a fast spent entity (so the entity has held a balance for more than a day). The threshold for the amount of assets that must be held to be a whale varies across cryptocurrencies. For example it is 1,000 bitcoin but 5,000 Ethereum. Whales are grouped by category depending on the lifetime, when they first held a large amount of cryptocurrency, and their liquidity.

Age is the number of weeks an entity has held assets on average, across all addresses controlled by the entity, weighted by the amount of assets received and sent over time.

Gain is the weighted average USD value of assets when received by an entity relative to current price, accounting for assets sent, across all addresses controlled by the entity.

Liquidity is the average ratio of net to gross flows of assets of an entity over the lifetime of the entity, across all addresses controlled by the entity. A highly liquid entity sends on average all to ⅔ of the assets it receives, a liquid entity sends ⅔ to ¼ of the assets it receives, and an illiquid entity sends ¼ to none of the assets it receives.

Wealth is the amount of an asset held by an entity, across all addresses controlled by the entity. That is to say the balance of an entity.

Dimensions

Variables

Notes

This metric is only delivered via flat file.

Data is grouped in the groups of the Age, Gain, Liquidity, and Wealth metrics. In addition, data is grouped by whale category. So, for example, it describes the amount of assets held by illiquid post-2017 whales that are 2 to 4 weeks old, have experienced a 10 to 25% USD gain, are illiquid, and have a balance of 1,000 to 10,000 units of the asset.

Note that a whale is an entity that has held a large amount of assets within its lifetime. A whale does not necessarily hold a large amount of assets throughout its entire lifetime. So the balance of a whale can, in some time periods, be below the threshold of assets that must be held in at least one time period to be a whale.

The weighted average age of holdings across groups can be calculated (within a time period) by summing, across groups, total_age_held and, separately, assets_held, then dividing the sum of total_age_held by the sum of assets_held. This can be applied equivalently to sent and received variables. It can also be applied equivalently for the average cost, using total_usd_cost_held, gain, using total_usd_value_held minus total_usd_cost_held, and liquidity, using total_liquidity_held.

The weighted average holdings across groups can be calculated (within a time period) by summing, across groups, assets_held and, separately, entities_held, then dividing the sum of assets_held by the sum of entities_held. This can be applied equivalently to sent and received variables.

The properties of assets sent are the properties of assets held by the entities that send assets in a time period, while the properties of assets received are the properties of the assets held by the entities that receive assets in a time period. So comparing the groups that send versus receive indicates how the properties of the supply are changing.

Data is weekly, so it contains data generated between 00:00:00Z on a Monday and ends at 23:59:59Z on a Sunday. Variables that describe a flow, such as assets sent or received, give data on the flow occurring between the start and the end of the week. For example, data for the week of 2020-01-06 describes the assets sent or received between 2020-01-06T00:00:00Z and 2020-01-12T23:59:59Z. Variables that describe a state, such as assets held, give data on the state at the end of the week. For example, data for the week of 2020-01-06 describes the assets held as of 2020-01-12T23:59:59Z.

Generation

The distribution of newly issued cryptocurrencies. Our generation metrics describe who receives new assets, how much mining pools hold, the level and source of fees, plus statistics on blocks.

Destination of new assets

curl "https://api.markets.chainalysis.com/v1/generation/destination-of-new-assets?asset=BTC"
  -H "token: 948cf07be9c989d637"

The above command returns JSON structured like this:

[
  {
    "time": "2022-03-12",
    "category": "merchant services",
    "asset_amount": 0.9634,
    "usd_amount": 37646.8511
  },
  {
    "time": "2022-03-27",
    "category": "unnamed services",
    "asset_amount": 311.0136,
    "usd_amount": 13880459.4204
  }
]

Relevance

For mined assets, such as bitcoin, mining pools typically receive newly mined assets, then distribute these to miners who are members of the pool. Miners may then send assets to other destinations, such as exchanges, where assets may be sold to cover the costs of mining. Mining pools can also receive assets from other sources, and if these assets are sent on by mining pools then the destination of these assets is recorded here.

For issued assets, such as Tether, newly issued assets are distributed from a treasury to partners. Partners may then send assets to other destinations, such as exchanges, where assets may be used in trading.

Definition

The amount of assets received via the blockchain by the first service that assets from mining pools or asset issuers are sent to.

Dimensions

Variables

Minter balances

curl "https://api.markets.chainalysis.com/v1/generation/minter-balances?asset=BTC"
  -H "token: 948cf07be9c989d637"

The above command returns JSON structured like this:

[
  {
    "time": "2022-04-27",
    "category": "self-hosted",
    "asset_amount": 2542913.007,
    "usd_amount": 99818642586.6485
  },
  {
    "time": "2022-03-14",
    "category": "self-hosted",
    "asset_amount": 2544030.4054,
    "usd_amount": 100988543303.2377
  }
]

Relevance

Minters receive newly mined or issued assets, and are either mining pools or self-hosted entities, such as miners.

Mining pools hold assets when they have received newly mined assets but have not yet distributed these to miners in the pool, and both mining pools and miners hold assets if they wish to keep their profits in the asset rather than sell for fiat. An increase in minter balances suggests that mining pools and minters prefer to keep profits in the asset rather than convert profits to fiat.

Definition

The amount of an asset held by all mining pools, across all addresses controlled by mining pools, known to Chainalysis, and the amount of an asset held by self-hosted entities, such as miners, that receive assets directly from asset generation or from mining pools.

The amount of assets held by mining pools is equal to the cumulative difference between asset inflows and outflows on all mining pools known to Chainalysis. Outflows are the maximum possible outflows. Some of these outflows may in fact be transfers within a mining pool, for example to more secure storage, that Chainalysis has not yet identified as internal, so these transfers appear as an outflow. So possible outflows are the upper bound of outflows, and therefore mining pool balances are a lower bound. Transfers within a mining pool that Chainalysis has not yet identified as internal will appear in the assets held by self-hosted entities. So the total assets held by minters is an upper bound on the balances held by mining pools and miners.

Dimensions

Variables

Notes

For issued assets, mining pool balances are typically equal to zero as issued assets are not mined and so do not have mining pools. Mining pool balances can be greater than zero for an issued asset if assets are issued to mining pools or received from sources other than asset generation.

Mining pool source of assets

curl "https://api.markets.chainalysis.com/v1/generation/mining-pool-source-of-assets?asset=BTC"
  -H "token: 948cf07be9c989d637"

The above command returns JSON structured like this:

[
  {
    "time": "2022-05-29",
    "category": "crypto-to-fiat exchanges",
    "asset_amount": 33.0467,
    "usd_amount": 962123.8584
  },
  {
    "time": "2022-04-05",
    "category": "defi",
    "asset_amount": 0.0,
    "usd_amount": 0.0
  }
]

Relevance

Mining pools typically receive newly mined assets but can also receive assets from other sources, such as exchanges. The extent to which mining pools receive assets from other sources describes the extent to which they engage in business beyond mining, for example trading.

Definition

The amount and source of assets received via the blockchain by mining pools. The source of assets is the last service that assets received by mining pools were sent from.

Dimensions

Variables

Notes

Mining pool source of assets is only provided for mined assets as they are mined and so can have mining pools, while issued assets are not mined.

Fee stats

curl "https://api.markets.chainalysis.com/v1/generation/fee-stats?asset=BTC"
  -H "token: 948cf07be9c989d637"

The above command returns JSON structured like this:

[
  {
    "time": "2022-04-20",
    "fees_count": 286352,
    "asset_amount": 8.896209,
    "usd_amount": 368879.89446,
    "fee_ratio_multiple": 113.407429,
    "asset_amount_mean": 3.1e-05,
    "asset_amount_first_quartile": 6e-06,
    "asset_amount_median": 9e-06,
    "asset_amount_third_quartile": 1.7e-05,
    "usd_amount_mean": 1.288204,
    "usd_amount_first_quartile": 0.23298,
    "usd_amount_median": 0.36336,
    "usd_amount_third_quartile": 0.696
  },
  {
    "time": "2022-03-14",
    "fees_count": 260734,
    "asset_amount": 10.31167,
    "usd_amount": 397848.39344,
    "fee_ratio_multiple": 93.734734,
    "asset_amount_mean": 4e-05,
    "asset_amount_first_quartile": 6e-06,
    "asset_amount_median": 1.1e-05,
    "asset_amount_third_quartile": 2.1e-05,
    "usd_amount_mean": 1.525878,
    "usd_amount_first_quartile": 0.2166,
    "usd_amount_median": 0.415,
    "usd_amount_third_quartile": 0.80261
  }
]

Relevance

Fees are paid by entities when they make a transfer on the blockchain, so they indicate the value that entities place on making a transfer relative to the capacity of the blockchain to make transfers. The greater the fees, the more valuable it must be for entities to transfer assets.

Definition

Statistics on the total number and value of fees; and the mean, and 1st, 2nd (median), and 3rd quartile value of fees; and the Fee Ratio Multiple, the ratio of total fees to the total of newly mined or issued assets and fees.

Dimensions

Variables

Notes

Fee stats is provided only for mined assets as fees for issued assets are paid in units of the mined asset that the issued asset is issued on. For example, to transfer Tether on the Bitcoin blockchain, fees are paid in bitcoin.

Fees by category

curl "https://api.markets.chainalysis.com/v1/generation/fees-by-category?asset=BTC"
  -H "token: 948cf07be9c989d637"

The above command returns JSON structured like this:

[
  {
    "time": "2022-04-13",
    "category": "generation",
    "asset_amount": 0.1605,
    "usd_amount": 6500.4107,
    "perc_of_fees": 0.0135
  },
  {
    "time": "2022-05-15",
    "category": "generation",
    "asset_amount": 0.2787,
    "usd_amount": 8376.7745,
    "perc_of_fees": 0.0171
  }
]

Relevance

Fees are paid by entities when they make a transfer on the blockchain. Fees by category shows the extent to which different types of users are paying to transfer assets on the blockchain. The greater the fees paid by a category, the more valuable it must be for entities in the category to transfer assets.

Definition

The total value of fees paid by category of entity.

Dimensions

Variables

Notes

Percentage data is represented such that 0.999 equals 99.9%.

Fees by category is provided only for mined assets as fees for issued assets are paid in units of the mined asset that the issued asset is issued on. For example, to transfer Tether on the Bitcoin blockchain, fees are paid in bitcoin.

Block stats

curl "https://api.markets.chainalysis.com/v1/generation/block-stats?asset=BTC"
  -H "token: 948cf07be9c989d637"

The above command returns JSON structured like this:

[
  {
    "time": "2022-05-24",
    "block_height": 737769,
    "block_production": 120,
    "block_reward": 766.1704,
    "mean": 717.675,
    "first_quartile": 221,
    "median": 514,
    "third_quartile": 1030
  },
  {
    "time": "2022-04-09",
    "block_height": 731189,
    "block_production": 153,
    "block_reward": 964.4005,
    "mean": 562.1895,
    "first_quartile": 123,
    "median": 385,
    "third_quartile": 893
  }
]

Relevance

The number of blocks produced and the time taken to produce blocks gives insight into the ability of a blockchain to settle transactions efficiently, and the incentives of those who generate consensus.

Definition

Statistics on the number of blocks produced and the time intervals between them.

Dimensions

Variables

Notes

A block contains a list of transactions that have occurred, as long as there is consensus that the block should be appended to the canonical blockchain. Consensus is achieved via different methods on different blockchains, for example proof of work or proof of stake. Proof of work is currently the most common method of consensus, for example it is used by Bitcoin.

Block stats for issued assets are for the mined asset that the issued asset is issued on. For example, block stats for Tether on the Bitcoin blockchain are the block stats for bitcoin. As a result, block rewards are not included in the block stats for issued assets as block rewards are in units of the mined asset and accrue to miners of the mined asset.

Risk

The level and nature of illicit activity native to cryptocurrency. Our risk metrics describe the scale of illicit activity, how illicit funds are placed, and the level of assets yet to be laundered.

Illicit flows

curl "https://api.markets.chainalysis.com/v1/risk/illicit-flows?asset=BTC"
  -H "token: 948cf07be9c989d637"

The above command returns JSON structured like this:

[
  {
    "time": "2022-05-24",
    "asset_amount": 135.3759,
    "usd_amount": 3954532.7874,
    "illicit_flows_perc": 0.0001
  },
  {
    "time": "2022-04-29",
    "asset_amount": 461.2839,
    "usd_amount": 18117030.6594,
    "illicit_flows_perc": 0.0021
  }
]

Relevance

The flow of assets to and from illicit entities can be observed due to the transparency of the blockchain. Illicit flows are serious and can be worth significant amounts, but are typically a small minority of total flows.

Definition

The amount of assets received and sent via the blockchain by all illicit entities known to Chainalysis, excluding direct transfers between illicit entities.

Dimensions

Variables

Notes

Chainalysis identifies illicit activity that is native to the blockchain. This data is therefore a lower bound as it covers only illicit activity known to Chainalysis, and it does not include illicit activity involving cryptocurrency that is not native to the blockchain, for example the laundering of fiat currencies via cryptocurrencies.

Percentage data is represented such that 0.999 equals 99.9%.

Illicit flows are currently provided for bitcoin and Ethereum only.

Illicit placement

curl "https://api.markets.chainalysis.com/v1/risk/illicit-placement?asset=BTC"
  -H "token: 948cf07be9c989d637"

The above command returns JSON structured like this:

[
  {
    "time": "2022-04-01",
    "source_category": "darknet markets",
    "destination_category": "unnamed services",
    "asset_amount": 0.6997,
    "usd_amount": 32096.6089
  },
  {
    "time": "2022-05-20",
    "source_category": "ransomware",
    "destination_category": "merchant services",
    "asset_amount": 0.0301,
    "usd_amount": 894.3352
  }
]

Relevance

Illicit funds are placed into legitimate services, as the first stage of money laundering. Different types of illicit entities may favour placing funds into different types of legitimate service.

Definition

The amount of assets received via the blockchain by legitimate services from known illicit entities.

Dimensions

Variables

Notes

Chainalysis identifies illicit activity that is native to the blockchain. This data is therefore a lower bound as it covers only illicit activity known to Chainalysis, and it does not include illicit activity involving cryptocurrency that is not native to the blockchain, for example the laundering of fiat currencies via cryptocurrencies.

Illicit placement is currently provided for bitcoin and Ethereum only.

Illicit balances

curl "https://api.markets.chainalysis.com/v1/risk/illicit-balances?asset=BTC"
  -H "token: 948cf07be9c989d637"

The above command returns JSON structured like this:

[
  {
    "time": "2022-03-13",
    "category": "other illicit entities",
    "asset_amount": 27684.4007
  },
  {
    "time": "2022-03-31",
    "category": "darknet markets",
    "asset_amount": 336802.3596
  }
]