Nowadays, there are many analytics platforms for the crypto market and on-chain activities.
Many of these are available online for free, although they often offer advanced analytics only for a fee.
Their use is very important if one wants to analyze what is happening in the crypto sector and the cryptocurrency market, making them particularly useful for those operating in this world.
Although in theory they should be distinguished into two different types (market data and on-chain data), these platforms often handle both types of data, with some exceptions.
The Aggregators
The most well-known and widely used analytics platforms for the crypto market are the so-called aggregators.
These are platforms focused exclusively on market data (i.e., prices), although they add some important data directly from the blockchains, such as those related to supply.
The most well-known are certainly CoinMarketCap and CoinGecko, but rather than being analysis platforms, they are indeed data aggregators concerning prices and sourced from almost all known crypto markets.
These are not specialized tools for tracking and analyzing fundamental on-chain metrics, but rather websites or apps where anyone can freely find the updated prices of all major well-known cryptocurrencies.
True crypto analytics platforms indeed also display many on-chain metrics essential for conducting fundamental analysis, beyond the mere technical price analysis that can also be performed directly on TradingView.
Coinglass
One of the most widely used crypto analytics platforms is undoubtedly Coinglass.
This is the go-to platform for those operating in crypto derivatives markets, as it specializes in perpetual futures, options, and spot trading. It provides metrics such as open interest, funding rate, liquidations, liquidation heatmaps, and long/short ratios aggregated from dozens of exchanges.
One of its most appreciated features is the large amount of data that is publicly and freely accessible, although, of course, there are many metrics available only for a fee, thanks to the inclusion of numerous macro indicators, such as the Fear&Greed Index, and basic on-chain data.
Its primary purpose is to assist traders in managing risk in leveraged positions by monitoring divergences in funding rates, aiming to anticipate squeezes, or to identify on heatmaps the price levels where liquidation cascades might occur.
Therefore, it is particularly used by retail and quantitative traders operating on perpetual contracts.
Glassnode
A somewhat similar platform is Glassnode, which, however, excels in classic and institutional on-chain metrics, thanks to hundreds of indicators on Bitcoin, Ethereum, and the main altcoins. Among the most well-known of these indicators are MVRV, SOPR, NUPL, realized cap, exchange flows, and holder behavior (long-term vs short-term).
Its primary purpose is to enable analysts to understand market cycles, and the phases of accumulation or distribution, as well as the network’s health status.
It is a tool primarily used for long-term fundamental analysis, such as monitoring whether long-term holders are selling or accumulating during a bear market.
It is primarily used by institutional investors, hedge funds, and researchers, also because it offers intuitive dashboards and weekly reports.
DefiLlama
In the DeFi sector, the most well-known is certainly DefiLlama.
This is the most reliable and neutral aggregator for the TVL of various blockchains and DeFi protocols, with thousands of protocols tracked across hundreds of chains. In addition to TVL (Total Value Locked), it also tracks yield, DEX volume, fees, revenue, stablecoin supply, and bridge flows.
Its primary use is to compare DeFi ecosystems, to understand, for example, which ones are growing the most, or which protocols offer the best real yields.
It is open-source, without ads or paid listings, to ensure maximum transparency.
It is used by almost all DeFi analysts, but particularly by yield farmers, liquidity providers, and anyone monitoring the health of decentralized finance.
Nansen
The Nansen platform is also very well-known.
This is the leading platform for advanced on-chain analysis, with a particular focus on wallet labeling.
In fact, it is capable of labeling over 500 million crypto wallets (funds, whale, exchanges, smart money), allowing for real-time tracking of capital flows across dozens of chains.
Its specific use is to identify patterns early: who is buying or selling among the top performers, which tokens institutional funds are accumulating, etc.
Additionally, features like Smart Alerts notify significant movements, while Token God Mode provides comprehensive views on individual assets (holders, flows, performance).
Ideal for professional traders, crypto funds, and analysts seeking market signals before they become mainstream. Unfortunately, the freely available data is very limited.
Messari
Messari is also well-known, to the extent that someone has called it the “Bloomberg of the crypto market”.
It indeed combines quantitative data with qualitative research, and offers detailed reports on assets, governance, tokenomics, fundraising, as well as advanced screeners and metrics such as protocol revenue and valuation.
The primary purpose is to provide data for due diligence and fundamental research, for instance, to evaluate a project before investing, monitor governance proposals, or analyze sectors (DeFi, AI crypto, memecoin).
It is primarily used by professional investors and by, with some metrics available for free, but the majority only accessible through a paid subscription.
Dune
A useful but not very well-known platform is Dune.
This is a tool that allows for customized on-chain analysis by writing SQL queries that directly read raw data on the blockchain.
It is a community-driven platform hosting millions of user-created dashboards across over 100 chains, covering DeFi, NFT, DEX, bridges, and much more.
Its specific use is precisely to enable the creation of custom analyses, such as the actual volume of a specific DEX on a particular chain, excluding wash trading, or the evolution of the TVL of a forked protocol.
It is primarily used by technical analysts, developers, and researchers who require flexibility. It is free, but with some limitations on more complex queries.
Which to Choose?
In reality, there is no single platform that can be defined as the absolute best.
Each, in fact, has specific purposes and tools suitable for different types of analysis, so much so that many professional analysts often use more than one simultaneously.
Moreover, with the continuous increase in chains and complexity, these tools are becoming increasingly indispensable for understanding the crypto market and analyzing it based on reliable data rather than hype.
Source: https://en.cryptonomist.ch/2025/12/29/the-best-analytics-platforms-for-crypto/