Ticker tool reference
This page is the tool reference for retrieving ticker snapshots from the Cryptohopper Market Data MCP.
Tool name
get_ticker
Purpose
Returns a point-in-time summary of the current state of a market for a specified pair on a specified exchange. Includes last traded price, best bid and ask, 24-hour range, 24-hour volume, and 24-hour change.
Arguments
| Argument | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| exchange | string | Yes | Exchange identifier (lowercase). |
| pair | string | Yes | Pair in BASE/QUOTE format (e.g. BTC/USDT). |
Response schema
{
"exchange": "binance",
"pair": "BTC/USDT",
"timestamp": "2026-04-24T14:03:00Z",
"last": 80934.19,
"bid": 80932.50,
"ask": 80936.22,
"bidVolume": 1.10500,
"askVolume": 1.32000,
"high": 81920.00,
"low": 80120.00,
"open": 80214.00,
"close": 80934.19,
"previousClose": 80214.00,
"average": 80574.10,
"vwap": 80651.42,
"baseVolume": 11744.6152,
"quoteVolume": 946812440.18,
"change": 720.19,
"percentage": 0.90
}
Fields
| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| exchange | string | The exchange identifier the data came from. |
| pair | string | The pair, in BASE/QUOTE format. |
| timestamp | string (ISO-8601) | Capture time of the snapshot. |
| last | number | Last traded price. |
| bid | number | Best bid price. |
| ask | number | Best ask price. |
| bidVolume | number | Size resting at the best bid. May be absent on some exchanges. |
| askVolume | number | Size resting at the best ask. May be absent on some exchanges. |
| high | number | Highest trade price in the last 24 hours. |
| low | number | Lowest trade price in the last 24 hours. |
| open | number | Opening price of the current 24-hour window. |
| close | number | Closing price of the current 24-hour window. Typically equal to last. |
| previousClose | number | Closing price of the prior 24-hour window. May be absent on some exchanges. |
| average | number | Average of open and close. May be absent on some exchanges. |
| vwap | number | 24-hour volume-weighted average price. May be absent on some exchanges. |
| baseVolume | number | 24-hour volume in the base asset. |
| quoteVolume | number | 24-hour volume in the quote asset. May be absent on some exchanges. |
| change | number | Absolute price change over the last 24 hours (last ? open). |
| percentage | number | Percentage change over the last 24 hours. |
Prices and sizes are returned as JSON numbers. Clients that require exact precision for execution-related calculations should convert them to a decimal type immediately after parsing. See data model for conventions.
Derived metrics
The ticker schema is intentionally compact. Derived metrics are computed client-side:
| Metric | Computation |
|---|---|
| Spread (absolute) | ask ? bid |
| Spread (basis points) | (ask ? bid) / midpoint × 10_000 |
| Midpoint | (bid + ask) / 2 |
The model or your code performs these calculations after the ticker is returned. No additional tool call is needed.
Freshness
Ticker responses reflect the current state of the upstream exchange at request time. The timestamp field records when the snapshot was captured.
The underlying exchange data updates many times per second. The MCP does not expose a streaming ticker mode; each invocation is a fresh point-in-time fetch. For most AI-agent workflows, refreshing tickers every few seconds to minutes is appropriate. For tick-by-tick data, an exchange websocket is the correct tool — this is not what the MCP is designed for.
Cost
| Aspect | Cost |
|---|---|
| Per invocation | 1 call unit on all tiers |
| Historical variant | Not supported — ticker history is not available through the MCP. For time-series analysis, use get_candles. |
Scaling characteristics
Ticker calls are the cheapest and fastest data type in the MCP. Typical usage patterns:
- Broad scans. Fetching tickers across the top 200 pairs of an exchange consumes 200 call units — well within every tier's weekly quota.
- Multi-exchange comparison. Fetching the same pair across 5 exchanges is 5 call units.
- Watchlist sweeps. A 20-pair watchlist refreshed every hour is 480 calls per day, 3,360 per week — fits comfortably on the Pioneer free tier.
For the design pattern that exploits ticker cheapness, see prompt patterns and a practical guide to ticker data.
Example invocations
Basic snapshot
Prompted in an MCP client:
What is the current BTC/USDT ticker on Binance?
The agent invokes get_ticker(exchange="binance", pair="BTC/USDT") and returns the snapshot.
Cross-exchange comparison
Compare BTC/USDT tickers on Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, and OKX. Which has the tightest spread right now?
The agent invokes get_ticker four times, one per exchange, computes spreads locally, and returns a ranking.
Watchlist sweep
For each of BTC, ETH, SOL, ARB, OP, pull the current ticker from Binance and summarise in a table.
The agent invokes get_ticker five times and presents the results in tabular form.
Errors
| Error code | Cause |
|---|---|
| UNAUTHORIZED | API key invalid or revoked. |
| EXCHANGE_NOT_SUPPORTED | Exchange not available on the active tier. |
| PAIR_NOT_FOUND | Pair does not exist on the specified exchange. |
| INVALID_PARAMETER | Argument failed validation (e.g. malformed pair symbol). |
| EXCHANGE_UNAVAILABLE | Upstream exchange not responding. |
| RATE_LIMIT_EXCEEDED | Short-interval rate limit hit. |
| QUOTA_EXCEEDED | Weekly quota reached. |
Tier access
Ticker queries are available on all tiers (Pioneer, Explorer, Adventurer, Hero).
The exchange-coverage restriction applies: on Pioneer, ticker queries are limited to Binance, Coinbase, and Kraken. On Explorer and above, more exchanges are available. See supported exchanges.
