Overview

This tutorial will teach you how to:

1. Set up your CoinAPI account and get your personal API key.
2. Build a simple API call to get live exchange rates using the Market Data API or the Exchange Rates API.
3. Use Google Sheets’ IMPORTDATA() function to display that data.
4. Troubleshoot common issues and refresh your data safely.

Skill level: Beginner

Estimated time: 10–15 minutes

Tools needed: Google Sheets, web browser, CoinAPI account

Prerequisite: Get Your API Key

Before starting this tutorial, make sure you have a valid API key.

👉 Getting Started: How to Create Your API Key

Once you have your API key ready, continue to Step 1 below.

Step 1: Open a New Google Sheet

1. Go to docs.google.com.
2. Create a new blank spreadsheet.
3. Name it something like: “Crypto Exchange Rates (CoinAPI)”

Step 2: Understanding the CoinAPI Endpoints

Market Data API:

This is how the endpoint would look when using the Market Data API.

Example endpoint:

1<https://rest.coinapi.io/v1/exchangerate/USD?apikey=YOUR_API_KEY&invert=true&output_format=csv>

Explanation of parameters:

🔗 Link to the full documentation: https://docs.coinapi.io/market-data/rest-api/exchange-rates/get-all-current-rates

Exchange Rates API:

This is how the endpoint would look when using the Exchange Rates API.

1<https://api-realtime.exrates.coinapi.io/v1/exchangerate/USD?apikey=YOUR_API_KEY&invert=true&output_format=csv>

Explanation of parameters:

🔗 Link to the full documentation: https://docs.coinapi.io/exchange-rates-api/rest-api-realtime/get-all-current-rates

Step 3: Use IMPORTDATA() in Google Sheets

Choose one of the products above before continuing to this step. The example below is using the Market Data API. You may adjust the URL if you decide to use the Exchange Rates API instead.

In your Google Sheet:

1. Click on cell A1.
2. Paste the following formula:

1=IMPORTDATA("<https://rest.coinapi.io/v1/exchangerate/USD?apikey=YOUR_API_KEY&invert=true&output_format=csv>")

1. Replace YOUR_API_KEY with your actual key.
2. Press Enter.
   1. After a few seconds, you’ll see the exchange rate table appear, including timestamps, asset IDs, and conversion values.

About the “External access” warning

When you first enter the formula, you might see a yellow banner like this:

Warning: Some formulas are trying to send and receive data from external parties.
[Allow access]

1. Why this appears: Google Sheets is notifying you that your formula is trying to fetch live data from an external website (CoinAPI) — this is a built-in safety check to ensure you approve any outbound connections from your sheet. What to do: Click Allow access to let the sheet connect to CoinAPI. Once allowed, the data will automatically load and continue refreshing normally.

Step 4: Transform the Imported Data into a Table

1. In an empty cell (for example, B1), enter:

1=ARRAYFORMULA(SPLIT(A:A, ";"))

1. You may now optionally hide column A as your helper column.
2. Final Result:

1. You now have a structured table like:

Step 5: Troubleshooting Common Issues

Summary

You’ve successfully:

• Connected Google Sheets to CoinAPI
• Imported real-time exchange rates
• Displayed and formatted them directly in your spreadsheet

1. You can now use this same approach to track multiple cryptocurrencies, compare assets, or integrate CoinAPI data with other Sheets formulas!