CoinDesk MCP Server

Official CoinDesk Data MCP server providing real-time and historical crypto market data across spot, futures, options, indices, and news.

Finance by CoinDesk OAuth2 active

Connect (Remote Server) Docs

Overview

The CoinDesk MCP server is the official hosted Model Context Protocol endpoint maintained by CoinDesk Data (formerly CryptoCompare). It exposes the CoinDesk Data API to AI assistants like Claude Desktop and Claude Code, giving agents structured access to institutional-grade cryptocurrency market data including spot prices, indices, derivatives (futures and options), order books, trades, funding rates, open interest, and news.

The server covers roughly 34 tools grouped into four domains: Spot & Index (tick prices, OHLCV, order books, trades, top lists), Futures (tick, OHLCV, open interest, funding rates, hourly aggregates, order books, trades), Options (tick, OHLCV, open interest, order books, trades), and News. Data spans hundreds of exchanges and instruments tracked by CoinDesk Data, making it suitable for market research, portfolio monitoring, and quantitative analysis workflows driven by an AI agent.

Authentication uses OAuth 2.0 with PKCE. On first connection the user is prompted to enter their CoinDesk Data API key, which is encrypted and stored to authenticate subsequent calls. The server is delivered over streamable HTTP, so no local installation is required, just a URL in your MCP client configuration.

Tools

Tool	Description
`fetch_spot_instruments`	List spot trading instruments available across exchanges.
`fetch_spot_instrument_details`	Return metadata and status for a specific spot instrument.
`fetch_spot_tick`	Get the latest spot tick price for an instrument.
`fetch_spot_ohlcv`	Historical OHLCV candles for a spot instrument (minute/hour/day).
`fetch_spot_orderbook_metrics`	Aggregated order book metrics for a spot instrument.
`fetch_spot_orderbook_snapshot`	Full order book snapshot for a spot instrument.
`fetch_spot_trades`	Recent trade prints for a spot instrument.
`fetch_spot_toplist`	Top spot pairs ranked by volume or other criteria.
`fetch_index_tick`	Latest tick for a CoinDesk index.
`fetch_index_ohlcv`	Historical OHLCV for a CoinDesk index.
`fetch_futures_instruments`	List futures instruments by exchange.
`fetch_futures_instrument_details`	Details/metadata for a specific futures instrument.
`fetch_futures_tick`	Latest futures tick price.
`fetch_futures_ohlcv`	Historical OHLCV candles for futures.
`fetch_futures_oi_tick`	Latest open interest tick for futures.
`fetch_futures_oi_ohlcv`	Historical OHLCV of open interest for futures.
`fetch_futures_fr_tick`	Latest funding rate tick for perpetual futures.
`fetch_futures_fr_ohlcv`	Historical OHLCV of funding rates.
`fetch_futures_oi_by_hour`	Hourly open interest aggregates for futures.
`fetch_futures_fr_by_hour`	Hourly funding rate aggregates for futures.
`fetch_futures_orderbook_metrics`	Aggregated order book metrics for a futures instrument.
`fetch_futures_orderbook_snapshot`	Full futures order book snapshot.
`fetch_futures_trades`	Recent futures trade prints.
`fetch_options_instruments`	List options instruments by exchange.
`fetch_options_instrument_details`	Details/metadata for a specific options contract.
`fetch_options_tick`	Latest options tick price.
`fetch_options_ohlcv`	Historical OHLCV candles for an options contract.
`fetch_options_oi_tick`	Latest open interest tick for options.
`fetch_options_oi_ohlcv`	Historical OHLCV of options open interest.
`fetch_options_oi_by_hour`	Hourly open interest aggregates for options.
`fetch_options_orderbook_metrics`	Aggregated order book metrics for options.
`fetch_options_orderbook_snapshot`	Full options order book snapshot.
`fetch_options_trades`	Recent options trade prints.
`fetch_news`	Retrieve recent cryptocurrency news articles from CoinDesk Data.

Setup Guide

Prerequisites

A CoinDesk Data API key (sign up at the CoinDesk Data developer portal). New users may need to register interest first.
An MCP-capable client such as Claude Code or Claude Desktop.

Install in Claude Code

claude mcp add coindesk --transport http https://mcp.coindesk.com/mcp

Install in Claude Desktop

Add the following to claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "coindesk": {
      "type": "streamable-http",
      "url": "https://mcp.coindesk.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}

On first connection, the client will trigger the OAuth 2.0 (PKCE) flow. You will be asked to paste your CoinDesk Data API key, which is encrypted and reused for subsequent requests.

Use Cases

Pull current spot prices and daily OHLCV for BTC/ETH across multiple exchanges to brief a morning trading note.
Monitor perpetual futures funding rates and open interest changes to detect crowded long/short positioning.
Compare options open interest by strike and expiry to spot dealer gamma exposure and large positioning.
Generate top-mover lists by 24h volume or price for a daily crypto market digest.
Summarize the latest CoinDesk crypto news with citations alongside live market context.

Example Prompts

"Get the latest BTC/USDT spot tick on Binance and Coinbase, and show me daily OHLCV for the last 30 days."
"What is the current funding rate for BTC perpetual on Bybit, and how has it trended over the last 24 hours?"
"Compare open interest for ETH options expiring this Friday across Deribit strikes."
"List the top 10 spot pairs by 24h volume quoted in USDT."
"Summarize the top 5 CoinDesk news stories from the past 12 hours and link them to current BTC price action."

Pros

Official server maintained by CoinDesk Data, sourcing the same feeds as their commercial API.
Broad coverage of spot, indices, futures, options, and news in a single MCP endpoint.
Hosted over streamable HTTP, no local install or runtime needed.
OAuth 2.0 with PKCE plus encrypted storage of your API key.

Limitations

Requires a CoinDesk Data API key; tier limits and pricing apply to the underlying API.
Read-only market data, no trade execution or portfolio management tools.
Public documentation of per-tool parameters is limited; some discovery happens via the client.

Alternatives

CoinGecko MCP server for free-tier coin prices and metadata.
Chainlink or on-chain RPC MCP servers for blockchain-native data.
Community Binance/Bybit MCP servers for exchange-specific market and trading endpoints.