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Key Concepts

Essential concepts for working with the Fathom(x) Multi-Currency Crypto Data API

Understanding these core concepts will help you effectively use the Fathom(x) API to access cryptocurrency data across multiple blockchains.

Currency

A currency represents a supported cryptocurrency or blockchain network in our system. Each currency has:

  • Ticker: Short identifier (e.g., BTC, ETH, LTC)
  • Name: Full name (e.g., Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin)
  • Decimal: Number of decimal places for the currency
  • Asset: Unique asset identifier in format CHAIN.TOKEN

Supported Currencies

  • BTC (Bitcoin) - 8 decimals
  • ETH (Ethereum) - 18 decimals
  • LTC (Litecoin) - 8 decimals
  • DOGE (Dogecoin) - 8 decimals
  • ZEC (Zcash) - 8 decimals
  • RUNE (THORChain) - 8 decimals
  • BASE (Base) - 18 decimals
  • BCH (Bitcoin Cash) - 8 decimals

Address

A cryptocurrency address is a unique identifier that represents a destination on a blockchain where cryptocurrency can be sent. Addresses vary in format depending on the blockchain:

  • Bitcoin: bc1qxy2kgdygjrsqtzq2n0yrf2493p83kkfjhx0wlh
  • Ethereum: 0x742d35Cc6634C0532925a3b8D0C9C0E0C0C0C0C0
  • Litecoin: ltc1qxy2kgdygjrsqtzq2n0yrf2493p83kkfjhx0wlh

Transaction

A transaction represents the movement of cryptocurrency from one or more addresses to one or more addresses. Each transaction contains:

  • TXID: Unique transaction identifier/hash
  • Date: ISO 8601 timestamp of when the transaction was processed
  • Asset: The cryptocurrency being transferred
  • From: Array of source addresses and amounts
  • To: Array of destination addresses and amounts

Transaction Flow

Transaction: e4b2db653fbdee60839834a89a336edd29c0fe20de2d7b39b64ccb2285608933
├── From: 3N2wg53Hg2grX6An6ws2yAJptF6zsM5Mbw (0.00012679 BTC)
├── From: bc1q6r8n6fzk68yh8a0m55m0k999p7cwkm9t6dksvnkqqpa9l2a8czysjsy034 (0.00012676 BTC)
├── To: bc1qxy2kgdygjrsqtzq2n0yrf2493p83kkfjhx0wlh (0.00050875 BTC)
└── To: bc1qktfe5e2aesvf62xu6xsk76h545wvpevv2ty2er7kt3ft25jk633qde5cjz (0.01011655 BTC)

Balance

A balance represents the current amount of cryptocurrency held at a specific address. Balances include:

  • Asset: The cryptocurrency type
  • Amount: Current balance as a string to preserve precision

Multi-Asset Support

Some addresses (particularly on Ethereum and Base) may hold multiple different tokens. The balance endpoint returns an array of all assets held at the address.

Networks

Currently, all endpoints operate on mainnet networks only. Testnet support may be added in future versions.

Pagination

Transaction history endpoints support pagination through:

  • Limit: Number of transactions to return (1-100, default 10)
  • Offset: Number of transactions to skip (default 0)
  • Total: Total number of transactions available

Rate Limiting

  • Unauthenticated: Lower rate limits
  • Bearer Token: Higher rate limits for authenticated requests
  • JWT Format: Use Bearer authentication with JWT tokens