Methodology

This page explains where TBN Express market data comes from, how often it refreshes, how our calculators work, and how we approach any model-based analysis. It supports the standards in our Editorial Policy.

Market-data sources

Live prices, market capitalisation, trading volume and 24-hour and 7-day changes are retrieved from public market-data APIs. CoinGecko is our primary source, with CoinPaprika as an automatic fallback when the primary source is rate-limited or unavailable. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index is sourced from alternative.me.

How often data refreshes

To respect provider rate limits and keep pages fast, responses are cached for a short interval, so a figure can be up to that interval old. These are the cache windows we use across the site:

If a provider is temporarily throttled, we briefly serve the last good response and back off rather than hammer the API. When no data is available at all, we render nothing — never a zero, a dash or an estimated placeholder.

How our calculators work

Our free tools run your inputs against the same live or historical data described above. None of them invent results.

The DCA backtest samples actual historical prices and is not a projection of future results.

Model-based analysis and forecasts

Where we publish forward-looking, model-based scenarios, they are clearly labelled, describe the model and its assumptions, and present ranges rather than single guaranteed targets. We never publish invented price targets. Past performance and historical trends do not predict future prices.

Data integrity and limitations

Market data is supplied by third parties and may occasionally be delayed, revised or incomplete. Cached figures can lag the live market by the intervals shown above. Definitions for the terms used across our data and tools are in the glossary. If you believe a figure is wrong, please tell us via our Contact page.

Aggregation and currency conversion

There is no single official price for any crypto asset, so market figures are aggregated from data providers that themselves draw on many exchanges. Small differences between our numbers and those shown elsewhere are normal and reflect different sources, refresh timing and calculation methods rather than errors. Where we display a value converted into another currency, that conversion is applied to the latest retrieved figure at the time of display; like the underlying price, it represents a moment in time and can change immediately afterwards.

How we present historical data

Charts and historical figures are intended to show context, not to imply a forecast. A timeframe is always identifiable, because the same asset can look very different over a day, a year, or its full history. We do not crop or rescale historical data to suggest a trend that the full picture would contradict, and we avoid presenting past performance as a guide to future results, which it is not.

Not financial advice

Our data, tools and analysis are provided for information and education only. Nothing on TBN Express is a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any asset, and we do not provide personalised investment, legal or tax advice. Model-based outputs and any forward-looking figures are illustrative scenarios built on stated assumptions, not predictions; real outcomes routinely differ. Decisions, and their consequences, rest with the reader.

Limitations and feedback

No data pipeline is perfect. Providers can experience outages, a figure can lag during periods of heavy market activity, and cached values may briefly trail the live market. Where we are aware of a material limitation, we would rather disclose it than paper over it. If you believe a figure is wrong rather than simply cached, our corrections process is the fastest way to flag it for review.

Tools give estimates, not guarantees

Our calculators and any model-based outputs are designed to illustrate, not to predict. A profit-and-loss or conversion result reflects the inputs and the latest retrieved figures at the moment you run it; change the inputs or wait a few minutes and the answer changes too. Forward-looking scenarios rest on stated assumptions that may not hold, and they are never a forecast of what an asset will actually do. We document these limits openly so the numbers are used for what they are — a way to explore possibilities and understand mechanics — rather than mistaken for certainty about the future.

Frequently asked questions