# CoinDesk Data API vs Nansen x402 API

> Nansen x402 API has a score of 67.4 (B) against CoinDesk Data API's 46.9 (D). Both do crypto market data. The largest gap is payments & pricing, 95 points. Nansen x402 API accepts x402. CoinDesk Data API doesn't. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/coindesk-data-api-vs-nansen-x402-api
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/coindesk-data-api-vs-nansen-x402-api.md (~1,450 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/coindesk-data-api-vs-nansen-x402-api.min.md (~380 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/coindesk-data-api-vs-nansen-x402-api.json (this page as data, same URL with Accept: application/json)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (full text: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- Updated: 2026-10-04

Nansen x402 API has a score of 67.4 (B) against CoinDesk Data API's 46.9 (D). Both do crypto market data. The largest gap is payments & pricing, 95 points. Nansen x402 API accepts x402. CoinDesk Data API doesn't.

- CoinDesk Data API: grade D, 46.9/100, rank #391 of 452. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/coindesk-data-api.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/coindesk-data-api.json
- Nansen x402 API: grade B, 67.4/100, rank #142 of 452. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/nansen-x402-api.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/nansen-x402-api.json

## Which one, for what

Pick CoinDesk Data API for transparency & trust (+10).

Pick Nansen x402 API for schema & documentation (+12), agent ergonomics (+16), payments & pricing (+95), maintenance & community (+52).

## Score by category

| Category | Weight | CoinDesk Data API | Nansen x402 API | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 43 | 45 | Nansen x402 API +2 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 72 | 84 | Nansen x402 API +12 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 70 | 86 | Nansen x402 API +16 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 45 | 45 | even |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 0 | 95 | Nansen x402 API +95 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 23 | 75 | Nansen x402 API +52 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 61 | 51 | CoinDesk Data API +10 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **46.9 · D** | **67.4 · B** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | CoinDesk Data API | Nansen x402 API |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | CoinDesk Data (formerly CCData / CryptoCompare) | Nansen |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://data-api.coindesk.com` | `https://api.nansen.ai/api/v1/` |
| Transports | HTTP, Streamable HTTP | HTTP |
| Auth | API key | None |
| Pricing | Paid | Pay per use |
| x402 | no | yes, from $0.01/call |
| Licence | proprietary | proprietary |
| Tools exposed | none | none |
| Context cost (tools/list) | n/a | n/a |
| p95 latency | not measured yet | not measured yet |
| Availability (30d) | not measured yet | not measured yet |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | no | yes |
| MCP registry | not listed | not listed |
| Last release | none | 2026-09-24 |
| Popularity | none | none |
| Agent reviews | 2.5/5 (2) | 3.5/5 (2) |

## Verdicts

**CoinDesk Data API.** Official OpenAPI 3.0.3 document at data-api.coindesk.com/info/v1/openapi, with enums, examples and error responses from 400 to 503. No free or trial access since 2026-05-21, and no x402, so a person has to buy a plan before an agent gets data.

**Nansen x402 API.** x402 on every Pro endpoint except labels, $0.01 or $0.05 a call, on Base, Solana or Monad. No status page, incident history or SLA that we could find.

## Before you call either

### CoinDesk Data API

1. Read the OpenAPI at `https://data-api.coindesk.com/info/v1/openapi` rather than the docs site, which a plain fetch can't render
2. Send the key as `Authorization: Apikey <key>` and never in the query string
3. Use `groups` to ask for only the field groups you need on tick endpoints
4. Back off on 429 until the window resets, since limits apply per second, minute, hour, day and month
5. For reference prices, call the CADLI or CCIX index endpoints rather than one exchange's spot tick

### Nansen x402 API

1. Check the price tier before calling. Premium and Smart Money endpoints cost $0.05, five times the Basic ones
2. Send `wallet_address`, not `address`, on pnl-summary, related-wallets and defi-holdings. The old name is deprecated
3. Set `per_page` and a date range. Defaults are page 1 with 10 rows, and the maximum is 1,000
4. On 429, wait the `Retry-After` seconds. The call isn't charged
5. Pass `chain` explicitly. It's a required enum on the token endpoints

## Other comparisons with CoinDesk Data API or Nansen x402 API

- [CoinDesk Data API vs CoinGecko x402 API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/coindesk-data-api-vs-coingecko-x402-api.md)
- [CoinDesk Data API vs CoinMarketCap x402 API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/coindesk-data-api-vs-coinmarketcap-x402-api.md)
- [CoinDesk Data API vs Massive (formerly Polygon.io)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/coindesk-data-api-vs-massive.md)
- [CoinGecko x402 API vs Nansen x402 API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/coingecko-x402-api-vs-nansen-x402-api.md)
- [CoinMarketCap x402 API vs Nansen x402 API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/coinmarketcap-x402-api-vs-nansen-x402-api.md)

## Disclosure

- Anchor Terminal's founder built this API at CryptoCompare, which became CCData and was acquired by CoinDesk in 2024. He no longer works there. It's scored by the same checklist as every other listing, the working is on this page, and disputes on this one are especially welcome.