API3’s current price stands at $0.6056**, with a 24-hour trading volume of **$9.12 million. Over the past day, API3 has shown stable performance, recording a 0.00% change. The token has a circulating supply of 86.42 million API3, with a maximum supply capped at 149.21 million API3, indicating room for future distribution while maintaining scarcity dynamics.
What Is API3?
API3 is redefining the role of oracles in blockchain ecosystems by introducing first-party oracles—a paradigm shift from traditional third-party data intermediaries. Instead of relying on external aggregators, API3 enables real-world data providers to operate their own on-chain oracles, ensuring direct, transparent, and secure data delivery to smart contracts.
This architecture eliminates middlemen, reduces attack vectors, and enhances data provenance—making it ideal for decentralized applications (dApps) that demand high integrity and reliability. But API3 goes beyond secure data transmission: it introduces economic innovation by reclaiming Oracle Extractable Value (OEV)—a portion of value typically siphoned off by MEV (Miner Extractable Value) bots during transaction processing.
With API3, this value is captured at the oracle level and returned directly to dApp builders, aligning incentives and creating a more equitable Web3 ecosystem.
👉 Discover how decentralized oracles are transforming dApp economics
Core Features of API3
First-Party Oracles
Unlike conventional oracle models where third parties fetch and relay data, API3 empowers data providers themselves—such as financial institutions, weather services, or IoT networks—to run their own oracles. This first-party approach ensures:
- Enhanced transparency: Data origin is verifiable on-chain.
- Improved security: No reliance on untrusted intermediaries.
- Reduced latency: Direct integration streamlines data flow.
By cutting out the middle layer, API3 minimizes trust assumptions and strengthens the foundation upon which dApps operate.
dAPIs (Decentralized APIs)
API3 aggregates first-party oracle feeds into dAPIs—decentralized, self-updating API services that are natively accessible on-chain. These dAPIs offer:
- Tamper-resistant data feeds
- Automated node rotation and uptime monitoring
- Easy integration via standard smart contract interfaces
Developers can deploy dAPIs across multiple chains with minimal configuration, accelerating development cycles and reducing maintenance overhead.
The OEV Network
At the heart of API3’s innovation is the OEV Network, a decentralized infrastructure designed to capture and redistribute Oracle Extractable Value. When dApps use traditional oracles, they often lose value to arbitrageurs and MEV bots exploiting price discrepancies.
The OEV Network intercepts this leakage by:
- Detecting profitable data queries before execution
- Executing them through trusted nodes
- Returning the generated value to the integrating dApp
Currently supporting over 43 blockchain networks and more than 150 asset price feeds, the OEV Network unlocks new revenue streams for protocols while improving market efficiency.
👉 Learn how OEV rewards can boost your dApp’s profitability
DAO Governance
API3 operates as a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), giving token holders full control over protocol upgrades, funding allocations, and strategic direction. Governance proposals are submitted, debated, and voted on-chain, ensuring transparency and community-driven evolution.
Holders of the API3 token participate in decision-making and benefit from the protocol’s long-term growth through increased utility and potential staking rewards.
Getting Started with API3
Explore the API3 Market
The API3 Market serves as a centralized hub for discovering live oracle feeds. Developers can browse available dAPIs, review performance metrics, and integrate them into their projects using just a few lines of code. Each feed is backed by first-party data sources and secured through decentralized node operation.
Read the Documentation
Comprehensive developer documentation provides step-by-step guides for:
- Integrating dAPIs
- Setting up custom oracle nodes
- Configuring OEV reward mechanisms
- Participating in DAO governance
Whether you're building on Ethereum, Polygon, or emerging Layer 2 solutions, API3 offers chain-agnostic tooling for seamless deployment.
Enable OEV Rewards
One of API3’s most compelling advantages is its ability to generate passive income for dApps. By integrating with the OEV Network, protocols can reclaim value that would otherwise be lost to external extractors.
For example:
- A lending platform using API3 price feeds can earn OEV rewards every time a liquidation occurs due to accurate, timely data.
- Prediction markets can monetize data usage without sacrificing decentralization.
This model transforms oracles from cost centers into revenue-generating components.
Join the DAO
Active contributors and stakeholders are encouraged to join the API3 DAO. Participation includes:
- Submitting improvement proposals (APIPs)
- Voting on funding requests
- Shaping roadmap priorities
Community involvement ensures the protocol evolves in alignment with real-world needs and technological advancements.
Key Use Cases
DeFi Lending & CDP Protocols
In decentralized finance (DeFi), accurate price feeds are critical for collateral valuation and liquidation mechanisms. Traditional oracles introduce risks such as manipulation, latency, and MEV exploitation.
API3 mitigates these issues by providing:
- Native, tamper-proof price updates
- Reduced slippage in high-volatility scenarios
- Direct OEV reward distribution to protocol treasuries
Protocols like Aave or MakerDAO equivalents benefit from enhanced security and improved economic sustainability.
Prediction Markets
Platforms relying on real-world outcomes—such as sports results, election data, or economic indicators—require trustworthy off-chain inputs. API3’s first-party oracle model ensures that event resolution data comes directly from authoritative sources (e.g., official sports leagues), minimizing dispute risks and increasing user confidence.
Synthetic Asset Platforms
Issuing tokenized versions of real-world assets (stocks, commodities, currencies) demands reliable pricing and low latency. API3’s dAPIs deliver continuous, auditable data streams that support dynamic rebalancing and accurate valuation.
Automated Smart Contracts
From insurance payouts triggered by weather events to supply chain automation based on shipment tracking, any system depending on external triggers benefits from API3’s secure and verifiable data delivery.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: How does API3 differ from Chainlink or other oracle providers?
A: While most oracle networks rely on third-party aggregators, API3 uses first-party oracles—meaning data providers run their own nodes. This reduces trust assumptions and improves transparency. Additionally, API3 uniquely recaptures Oracle Extractable Value (OEV) and returns it to dApps.
Q: Can I earn rewards by using API3?
A: Yes. When your dApp integrates with the OEV Network, it can earn rewards from value that would otherwise be captured by MEV bots. These rewards are automatically distributed based on usage patterns.
Q: Is API3 compatible with multiple blockchains?
A: Absolutely. API3 supports over 43 chains, including Ethereum, BNB Chain, Polygon, Avalanche, and various Layer 2 solutions, enabling cross-chain interoperability.
Q: What is the role of the API3 token?
A: The API3 token enables governance participation, secures the network through staking (in certain configurations), and aligns incentives among data providers, developers, and users.
Q: How do I start integrating API3 into my project?
A: Visit the API3 Market to explore available dAPIs, then follow the integration guides in the official documentation. Most integrations require only a few lines of Solidity or Vyper code.
Q: Is there a risk of centralization with first-party oracles?
A: While individual oracles are operated by specific entities, the overall network remains decentralized through diverse data sources, DAO governance, and cryptographic verification mechanisms that ensure data authenticity.
👉 Start building with first-party oracles today
Conclusion
API3 is more than an oracle solution—it’s a foundational shift in how blockchain applications access and benefit from real-world data. By combining first-party oracles, decentralized APIs (dAPIs), and OEV recapture mechanisms, API3 empowers developers to build smarter, safer, and more profitable dApps.
With strong support across major blockchains, active community governance, and a clear focus on economic fairness, API3 is positioning itself as a leader in the next generation of Web3 infrastructure.
Whether you're developing in DeFi, gaming, insurance, or enterprise automation, integrating API3 means gaining access to trustworthy data—and turning your oracle layer into a value-generating asset.