Coinbase Chat

You can run a secure MCP server that exposes real-time Coinbase data and a simulated wallet for learning. This server integrates with AI agents and clients via the Model Context Protocol, giving you access to live prices, market stats, historical data, and a playful circular economy that includes a beer inventory simulated in the system.

How to use

Interact with the CoinBase MCP Server through an MCP client to query prices, fetch market data, search assets, and run simulated wallet transactions. Use the built-in chat interface for natural language questions, or call the API explorer to test individual endpoints. When you want to run the server locally, point your MCP client at the local server and activate the 13 available tools, including real-time prices and the beer transaction workflow.

How to install

Follow these concrete steps to set up the CoinBase MCP Server locally and run the supporting services.

# 1. Prepare your environment
# Ensure you have Node.js 18+ and npm 9+ installed
node -v
npm -v

# 2. Clone the project
git clone https://github.com/your-username/coinbase-chat-mcp.git
cd coinbase-chat-mcp

# 3. Install dependencies for all workspaces
npm install
cd mcp-server && npm install && cd ..
cd frontend && npm install && cd ..
cd api-server && npm install && cd ..

# 4. Configure environment variables for AI features (optional)
cd frontend
echo "VITE_OPENAI_API_KEY=your_openai_api_key_here" > .env
cd ..

# 5. Build the MCP server assets
cd mcp-server
npm run build
cd ..

# 6. Start development servers
# API server (port 3002)
cdd api-server && npm run dev &

# Frontend (port 5173)
cdd frontend && npm run dev &

Configuration and runtime details

The server can be launched locally via a standard stdio configuration that runs the MCP server as a node process. The setup shown below includes the command and arguments needed to start the MCP server, along with environment variables for Coinbase API access and logging.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "coinbase_mcp": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "name": "coinbase_mcp",
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/coinbase-chat-mcp/mcp-server/dist/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "COINBASE_API_URL": "https://api.coinbase.com/v2",
        "LOG_LEVEL": "info"
      }
    }
  }
}

Additional notes

Open the MCP client you are using (Cursor IDE or Claude Desktop) and ensure the MCP endpoint coinbase_mcp is configured. The server provides 13 tools, including market data and simulated wallet functionality, and is designed to be fast and secure with rate limiting and caching. If you want to test the integration quickly, you can run the provided commands and then ask simple questions like the current Bitcoin price, or try a simulated beer purchase flow to see the complete USD → Crypto → Beer sequence in action.

Appendix: Tools overview

This MCP server exposes tools for real-time market data, asset search, and a set of demo wallet actions. The following tools are available: get_spot_price, get_historical_prices, get_exchange_rates, search_assets, get_asset_details, get_market_stats, get_popular_pairs, analyze_price_data, calculate_beer_cost, simulate_btc_purchase, buy_virtual_beer, get_virtual_wallet, get_transaction_history.

Available tools

get_spot_price

Fetches the current price for a given cryptocurrency pair (e.g., BTC-USD).

get_historical_prices

Retrieves historical price data for a specified time range and interval.

get_exchange_rates

Returns fiat exchange rates relative to a base currency.

search_assets

Searches for cryptocurrencies and assets by name or symbol.

get_asset_details

Provides detailed information about a specific asset.

get_market_stats

Returns 24-hour market statistics for selected assets.

get_popular_pairs

Lists popular trading pairs for quick access.

analyze_price_data

Performs technical analysis on price data, including volatility and trends.

calculate_beer_cost

Converts a given amount of USD into crypto equivalents for the beer economy.

simulate_btc_purchase

Simulates buying cryptocurrency with USD in the demo wallet.

buy_virtual_beer

Purchases a virtual beer using cryptocurrency within the circular economy.

get_virtual_wallet

Shows the demo wallet balances and stats.

get_transaction_history

Returns the simulated transaction history.