4 apps to monitor Bitcoin, cryptocurrency prices

The trickiest skill when trading and investing in cryptocurrencies is keeping track of their violent price fluctuations. Bitcoin is a great example of this, rising to beyond US$13 000 early January, only to tank below the US$10 000 mark on Wednesday evening.

But how can you keep up to speed with the ever-changing world of digital currencies? Simple. Use an app.

Android and iOS users have a choice between a bevy of apps designed to list some of the popular cryptocurrencies around the world. We list four notable examples.

CrypTick (Android)

CrypTick is a newcomer to the Android app space, but that doesn’t mean it lacks polish.

If anything, it’s the simplest, lightest and cleanest app on the list, pulling data from six coin exchanges from across the internet. It then lists fluctuations on a 24-hour graph.

Users can also search for a number of cryptocurrencies, from Bitcoin to Ripple. And if there’s a coin you’d like to keep an eye on, CrypTick lets users pin it to the app’s home page.

More interestingly though, the developer allows users to switch off ads entirely without paying a fee.

Coinbase (Android and iOS)

Coinbase isn’t just a cryptocurrency ticker. It’s also one of the world’s more popular cryptocurrency wallets.

While it does list market price fluctuations, it also allows users to purchase, store and spend Bitcoin all from the app.

But for those simply looking to get into cryptocurrency trading, Coinbase also has an alert feature, which notifies users when Bitcoin’s price dips or rises above a certain threshold.

Its lengthy list of 15 permissions required on Android may however put off staunch privacy advocates.

Drakdoo (Android)

If your ideal death involves drowning in data-heavy graphs, Drakdoo is your app.

The app itself is practically one big chart, and is probably best suited to large Android tablets. Nevertheless, the developer has noted that the app is designed for mobile phones first.

It also boasts a number of oft-seen features: including notifications, the ability to monitor a number of currencies and exchanges at once, and various time frame scales.

But its unique selling point is its “intelligent alerts” system.

“Do you want to be notified when the current trend has a higher-than-normal probability of switching directions? Simply set up Parabolic SAR alert. Or, get notified via a Stochastic RSI alert when the market becomes overbought or oversold,” the developer writes.

Nifty, but these will cost a small penny to unlock. A shame really, but potentially worth it if you’re in cryptocurrency for the long haul.

Investing.com Crypto News (Android and iOS)

Easily the app on this list with the clumsiest name, Investing’s cryptocurrency app borrows a great deal from its other financial app’s UI. This makes it easily navigable, with a much appreciated dark mode to please AMOLED or night-time users.

The app offers real-time updates for cryptocurrency prices, total market cap numbers, and percentage change figures that can scale between a week and a day.

There’s also a news section that lists articles from a number of different sources, in addition to an alert and notification system.

Some users have noted that the Android app is buggy, and it does have in-app purchases, but nonetheless has an overall rating of 4.7 on Google Play. Thankfully, there’s an iOS version too.