canonical: https://jentic.com/apis/currencybeacon.com/currencybeacon

# CurrencyBeacon API

Jentic publishes the only available OpenAPI specification for CurrencyBeacon API, keeping it validated and agent-ready. CurrencyBeacon (formerly CurrencyScoop) provides real-time and historical foreign exchange rates covering 168+ world currencies and 2,000+ cryptocurrencies, with rates updated every 60 seconds. Endpoints return latest rates, historical rates for a date, currency conversion, time-series data over a window, and the list of supported currencies. Authentication accepts either an api_key query parameter or a bearer token in the Authorization header, suitable for both quick scripting and production agent integrations.

## For AI agents

Pull real-time and historical FX rates, convert currency, and read time-series data via CurrencyBeacon. Useful for AI agents that price multi-currency carts, build FX charts, or normalise transaction data.

## Scope

Does not handle FX execution, hedging, or money movement - use for CurrencyBeacon exchange-rate lookups, conversion, and currency listings only.

## Capabilities

- Pull latest exchange rates for a base currency via GET /latest
- Look up historical exchange rates for a date via GET /historical
- Convert an amount between two currencies via GET /convert
- Pull a time-series window of rates via GET /timeseries
- List the supported fiat and crypto currencies via GET /currencies

## Use cases

### Real-Time Multi-Currency Pricing

An e-commerce or SaaS agent can fetch latest rates for the store's base currency every minute and reprice cart totals on the fly. CurrencyBeacon's 60-second update cadence is fast enough for live displays, and the /currencies endpoint feeds currency-picker UIs. Cache the response per minute to stay under the plan quota.

Example prompt: Call GET /latest with base=USD and symbols=EUR,GBP,JPY then multiply cart totals by the returned rates.

### FX Time-Series Charts

An analytics dashboard can render exchange-rate trend charts using GET /timeseries to retrieve rates across a window in one call. CurrencyBeacon returns each date's rates against the chosen base, so the chart can be built with minimal client-side processing. Pair with /historical for spot lookups when users click on a single date.

Example prompt: Call GET /timeseries with start_date and end_date for the last 90 days and base=USD to populate the chart.

### Transaction Conversion for Audit Reports

A finance agent can use the /convert endpoint to express each transaction in the reporting currency at the rate of the transaction date. By passing date along with from, to, and amount, the agent reproduces audit-grade values without writing its own multiplication logic.

Example prompt: For each transaction, call GET /convert with from, to, amount, and the transaction date and store the converted amount.

### AI Agent Integration via Jentic

An AI assistant that handles money can use Jentic to discover CurrencyBeacon rather than hard-coding the api_key query parameter. The agent searches for an intent like 'convert currency at the latest rate', loads the schema, and runs the call against credentials Jentic stores.

Example prompt: Use Jentic search for 'convert currency at the latest rate' and execute the matching GET /convert operation.

## Key endpoints

| Method | Path | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| GET | /latest | Get latest exchange rates |
| GET | /historical | Get historical exchange rates |
| GET | /convert | Convert an amount between currencies |
| GET | /timeseries | Get a time-series window of rates |
| GET | /currencies | List supported currencies |

## Key resources

- **Latest** — Most recent rates against a chosen base currency.
- **Historical** — Rates for a specific past date.
- **Convert** — Convert an amount between two currencies.
- **Timeseries** — Rates across a date range.
- **Currencies** — List of supported fiat and crypto currencies.

## Why Jentic

- **Setup:** Wiring the CurrencyBeacon API by hand means placing your API key in the query or a bearer token in the header, targeting the api.currencybeacon.com/v1 host, and handling retries around rate lookups yourself. Through Jentic you install once, import the CurrencyBeacon API from the API Directory, store the credential once, and your agent calls it.
- **Permission scoping:** This surface is read-only, with currencies, dates, and amounts passed as query parameters rather than an id in the URL path, so limit the agent to the operations it needs, such as latest rates or conversion. You choose which of those read operations are in scope.
- **Credential handling:** Your CurrencyBeacon API key or bearer token is stored once, encrypted, by your own Jentic One instance and injected at execution time. It never enters the agent's prompt, logs, or context.
- **Discovery method:** Agents search Jentic by intent such as 'convert currency at the latest rate', and Jentic returns the matching CurrencyBeacon operation with its input schema so the agent calls the right endpoint without browsing the reference docs.

## Related APIs

- **CurrencyAPI** — CurrencyAPI provides similar latest, historical, and range FX endpoints.
- **ExchangeRate-API** — ExchangeRate-API has a generous free tier for latest rates.
- **CurrencyFreaks API** — CurrencyFreaks covers latest, historical, time-series, fluctuation, and IP-based conversion.

## FAQ

### Why is there no official OpenAPI spec for CurrencyBeacon API?

CurrencyBeacon does not publish an OpenAPI specification. Jentic generates and maintains this spec so that AI agents and developers can call CurrencyBeacon API via structured tooling. It is validated against the live API and kept up to date. Get started with Jentic One, the self-hosted execution layer.

### What authentication does the CurrencyBeacon API use?

CurrencyBeacon accepts either an api_key query parameter or a bearer token in the Authorization header. Through Jentic the credential is held in your Jentic One instance and applied per request, so the agent never handles the raw key.

### Can I convert a currency amount with the CurrencyBeacon API?

Yes. Call GET /convert with from, to, and amount to get the converted value at the latest rate. Pass an optional date parameter to convert at a historical rate for an audit-grade calculation.

### What are the rate limits for the CurrencyBeacon API?

Rate limits depend on the CurrencyBeacon plan tied to your key, ranging from a low free-tier quota to high commercial limits. Cache rate responses per minute or per day to fit comfortably inside the plan.

### How do I pull a time-series of FX rates with the CurrencyBeacon API through Jentic?

Run pip install jentic, search Jentic for 'pull a time-series of FX rates', load the schema for GET /timeseries, and execute it with start_date, end_date, base, and symbols. Jentic handles the credential and returns the JSON response for charting.

### Which currencies does CurrencyBeacon support?

CurrencyBeacon covers more than 168 fiat currencies and over 2,000 cryptocurrencies. Call GET /currencies to fetch the full machine-readable list, including ISO codes for fiat and ticker symbols for crypto.

### Can I limit what my agent is allowed to do with the CurrencyBeacon API?

Yes. Because you run Jentic One yourself, your own rules decide which CurrencyBeacon operations and credentials the agent may use. This surface is read-only, so you can scope the agent to just the operations it needs, such as GET /latest and GET /convert, and leave GET /historical, GET /timeseries, or GET /currencies out of reach. Since currencies, dates, and amounts are passed as query parameters rather than IDs in the URL path, you control access at the operation level and the stored API key is applied only to the calls you allow.