Here’s Why Api3 (API3) Is Trending

API3, the native cryptocurrency of the decentralized application programming interface (API) provider, Api3, has been trending for the past few hours. As expected, the asset’s popularity has affected its price, driving its value to levels not seen since January.

Data from CoinMarketCap shows API3 climbing over 119% within an hour and its market cap rising over 100% as well. The cryptocurrency is also up by an impressive percentage over the last seven days, while its 24-hour volume has increased by almost 400%.

Although API3 has surged significantly over the last few hours to the $1.65 range, it still hovers close to its all-time low of $0.49. The asset is also far from its all-time high of $10.31 recorded in the middle of the bull cycle four years ago.

Upbit to List API3 Trading Pairs

Api3’s latest performance is attributed to a recent announcement by the largest crypto exchange in South Korea. Upbit disclosed on Tuesday that it would add market support for two API3 trading pairs – Korean won (KRW) and Tether USD (USDT).

Starting from 17:00 KST on August 19, API3/KRW and API3/USDT will be available for trading on Upbit.

With Upbit leading the South Korean crypto market in trading volume and customer base, the development could propel other platforms to list the asset. This has the potential to increase the project’s adoption and utility across several regions. Other global crypto exchanges, including Binance, Coinbase, OKX, Bitget, MEXC, and KuCoin, have already added support for the crypto asset. However, Upbit’s move could facilitate the project’s penetration into the Korean market.

While making the announcement, Upbit noted that trading support for API3 may be delayed from the scheduled time if liquidity does not reach a certain level. The asset’s trading limit price will be determined by the Upbit bitcoin (BTC) market. 

Additionally, the exchange will restrict buy orders for approximately five minutes after trading support commences. The restriction will also apply to sell orders at prices less than 10% of the previous day’s closing price. Users have been asked to exercise caution while executing deposits and withdrawals to avoid using the wrong networks.

What is Api3?

The latest development highlights growing interest in decentralized APIs, a sector to which Api3 has been dedicated. The project believes decentralized applications (dApps) need to have access to web APIs interacting with the real world. However, most interface solutions are intermediary-based, expensive, insecure, and centralized. This issue has plagued dApps, adding to the challenge of being incompatible with most APIs through on-chain integration.

Hence, Api3 has a goal of providing dApps with a decentralized platform, eliminating the need for third parties. Api3’s services help blockchains solve the oracle problem, which entails protocols being unable to get or give data as a built-in functionality. The project establishes a way for smart contracts to be connected with APIs for the latest data. The platform intends to enable APIs to operate their nodes, thereby reducing costs and centralization.

Besides building and managing decentralized APIs and oracles, the platform has introduced a monetizing element – paying dApps for using its data feeds. These incentives encourage Web3 applications to interact with the project’s oracles. 

Api3’s reach is growing and has stretched across at least 40 Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-compatible chains.