22 Apr 2025
Fintech GitHub

a historical forex data api for developers, that returns clean data ...

...from central banks

Confidence
Engagement
Net use signal
Net buy signal

Idea type: Swamp

The market has seen several mediocre solutions that nobody loves. Unless you can offer something fundamentally different, you’ll likely struggle to stand out or make money.

Should You Build It?

Don't build it.


Your are here

You're entering a "Swamp" category, which means there are already several solutions in the market for historical forex data APIs, but none of them have really taken off. With only 3 similar products found, competition isn't fierce, but engagement is also very low (0 average comments). There aren't any strong signals for users wanting to use or buy similar products. This indicates the existing solutions may be mediocre and not meeting the core needs of developers, or the marketing is completely off and nobody cares about these products. You'll need to deeply understand why existing solutions haven't gained traction before investing further. Tread carefully!

Recommendations

  1. Start with extensive market research to understand why existing historical forex data APIs haven't fully succeeded. Talk to developers who need this data and find out what their pain points are. Look beyond surface-level features and try to uncover fundamental unmet needs or frustrations with current offerings. Understand how they are building financial models now and what they would change.
  2. If you decide to proceed, identify a specific niche or user group within the developer community that is underserved by existing APIs. This could be developers working on a specific type of financial model, those needing data for a particular set of currencies, or those with unique requirements around data delivery or integration. Sphere Rates, for example, got the suggestion to add purchasing power parity data, showcasing potential niche features.
  3. Instead of directly competing with existing API providers, consider building tools or services that enhance or complement their offerings. This could involve creating libraries or wrappers that simplify data access, providing data visualization tools, or offering specialized analytics services on top of the existing data. This allows you to leverage the existing infrastructure and customer base while still offering value.
  4. Explore adjacent problems related to financial data that might be more promising. This could involve providing real-time forex data, offering APIs for other types of financial instruments, or building tools for analyzing and visualizing financial data. Focus on areas where there is clear demand and less competition. Talk to investment bankers, hedge funds, or other trading firms.
  5. Given the "Swamp" category, it might be wise to save your energy and resources for a better opportunity. Carefully evaluate the potential risks and rewards before investing significant time and money into this idea. Consider whether your unique skills and experience could be better applied to a different problem with greater potential for success. Are there better problems in the financial sector to solve?

Questions

  1. What are the specific limitations or shortcomings of existing historical forex data APIs that prevent developers from fully adopting them?
  2. What untapped needs or pain points do developers have when working with forex data that your API could uniquely address?
  3. How can you differentiate your API in terms of data quality, delivery speed, or integration capabilities to gain a competitive edge in a crowded market?

Your are here

You're entering a "Swamp" category, which means there are already several solutions in the market for historical forex data APIs, but none of them have really taken off. With only 3 similar products found, competition isn't fierce, but engagement is also very low (0 average comments). There aren't any strong signals for users wanting to use or buy similar products. This indicates the existing solutions may be mediocre and not meeting the core needs of developers, or the marketing is completely off and nobody cares about these products. You'll need to deeply understand why existing solutions haven't gained traction before investing further. Tread carefully!

Recommendations

  1. Start with extensive market research to understand why existing historical forex data APIs haven't fully succeeded. Talk to developers who need this data and find out what their pain points are. Look beyond surface-level features and try to uncover fundamental unmet needs or frustrations with current offerings. Understand how they are building financial models now and what they would change.
  2. If you decide to proceed, identify a specific niche or user group within the developer community that is underserved by existing APIs. This could be developers working on a specific type of financial model, those needing data for a particular set of currencies, or those with unique requirements around data delivery or integration. Sphere Rates, for example, got the suggestion to add purchasing power parity data, showcasing potential niche features.
  3. Instead of directly competing with existing API providers, consider building tools or services that enhance or complement their offerings. This could involve creating libraries or wrappers that simplify data access, providing data visualization tools, or offering specialized analytics services on top of the existing data. This allows you to leverage the existing infrastructure and customer base while still offering value.
  4. Explore adjacent problems related to financial data that might be more promising. This could involve providing real-time forex data, offering APIs for other types of financial instruments, or building tools for analyzing and visualizing financial data. Focus on areas where there is clear demand and less competition. Talk to investment bankers, hedge funds, or other trading firms.
  5. Given the "Swamp" category, it might be wise to save your energy and resources for a better opportunity. Carefully evaluate the potential risks and rewards before investing significant time and money into this idea. Consider whether your unique skills and experience could be better applied to a different problem with greater potential for success. Are there better problems in the financial sector to solve?

Questions

  1. What are the specific limitations or shortcomings of existing historical forex data APIs that prevent developers from fully adopting them?
  2. What untapped needs or pain points do developers have when working with forex data that your API could uniquely address?
  3. How can you differentiate your API in terms of data quality, delivery speed, or integration capabilities to gain a competitive edge in a crowded market?

  • Confidence: Medium
    • Number of similar products: 3
  • Engagement: Low
    • Average number of comments: 0
  • Net use signal: 0.0%
    • Positive use signal: 0.0%
    • Negative use signal: 0.0%
  • Net buy signal: 0.0%
    • Positive buy signal: 0.0%
    • Negative buy signal: 0.0%

This chart summarizes all the similar products we found for your idea in a single plot.

The x-axis represents the overall feedback each product received. This is calculated from the net use and buy signals that were expressed in the comments. The maximum is +1, which means all comments (across all similar products) were positive, expressed a willingness to use & buy said product. The minimum is -1 and it means the exact opposite.

The y-axis captures the strength of the signal, i.e. how many people commented and how does this rank against other products in this category. The maximum is +1, which means these products were the most liked, upvoted and talked about launches recently. The minimum is 0, meaning zero engagement or feedback was received.

The sizes of the product dots are determined by the relevance to your idea, where 10 is the maximum.

Your idea is the big blueish dot, which should lie somewhere in the polygon defined by these products. It can be off-center because we use custom weighting to summarize these metrics.

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