Best Real-Time Market Data Initiative: Barchart

With huge gains for some early investors in cryptocurrencies, this space is no longer solely for evangelists, and in recent times the market has started seeing crypto-fund launches. To service this increased demand for exposure to cryptocurrencies, vendors have begun to respond. One of these early responders, Barchart, has this year earned the title of Best Real‑Time Market Data Initiative for its efforts in this space.

In September 2017, Barchart launched a comprehensive real-time and historical cryptocurrency market data feed, which is designed to make it easy and affordable to process crypto data. Barchart CEO Mark Haraburda says customers have been asking for data on cryptocurrencies. “Cryptocurrencies were all the rage last year, and we saw a great opportunity to jump on this and offer it to the marketplace,” he says.

Haraburda says that, before the introduction of the Barchart feed, “there were places to get cryptocurrency feeds, but no one really knew about them and they lacked the credibility of an established provider.”  

The way Barchart has plugged a gap in the market also won the judges over, who praised it for being well positioned and creating a “flexible system that seems to integrate well in a relevant area of the market, filling a niche where such a service is needed.”

Customers can now access streaming, on-demand and historical data through Barchart’s cryptocurrency datafeed, which includes major cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, ethereum, ripple and litecoin, as well as emerging ones such as augur, bitconnect, dash, etherereum classic and monero. According to Haraburda, the cryptocurrency feed complements Barchart’s other market data content coverage of equities, futures, options and traditional currencies. “The cryptocurrency feed is another feather in our cap,” he says.

Next, Barchart will continue to focus on the alternative data space, further diversifying its offerings. “We’re trying to make more data ourselves,” says Haraburda, adding that the initial focus has been on commodities—particularly the agricultural market with corn and soybeans. Barchart is building indexes and references from spot market data. Haraburda explains that in Iowa, for example, there are thousands of spot markets, and Barchart will aggregate data for smaller segments of the state, allowing users to examine all of the pricing at a high or low level by geography. “Offering alternative data will broaden our horizons,” he says.

Read more about the IMD/IRD Awards 2018 winners