Best ask
Updated
What is Best ask?
Best ask is a market-data metric BlackForge measures for every listed pair on nine spot exchanges, once per closed five-minute window. The lowest ask price at the moment the window closed. It reports what the order book or trade tape showed, not what price will do next.
The facts
| Unit | price |
|---|---|
| Family | Book churn |
| Key | bestAsk |
| Quote-relative | No |
| Nullable | No |
| Plottable | Yes |
| Available from | Free plan |
Live across all nine venues
Best ask for BTC-USDT, as measured in the latest closed window on each venue. Observed . A venue with no reading for this window shows an em dash — nothing is invented.
| Venue | Symbol | Best ask |
|---|---|---|
| Binance | BTCUSDT | 76,269 |
| Bitget | BTCUSDT | 76,225 |
| Bybit | BTCUSDT | 76,186 |
| Coinbase | BTC-USDT | 76,227 |
| Gate | BTC_USDT | 76,246 |
| Kraken | BTCUSDT | 76,205 |
| Kucoin | BTC-USDT | 76,191 |
| Mexc | BTCUSDT | 76,181 |
| Okx | BTC-USDT | 76,179 |
Query it
Best ask is one field on the wide row /v1/latest returns for a pair. Set $BF to the API base and read it at .values.bestAsk:
curl -H "x-api-key: $BLACKFORGE_API_KEY" \
"$BF/v1/latest?exchange=binance&symbol=BTCUSDT"
# read the value at: .values.bestAskRelated
Liquidity added and removed, price levels changed, and how long a level survives before it is pulled.
Defined in the glossary: Liquidity added and removed, Resting order lifetime.
← All Book churn and every other metric · Coverage by venue
What is Best ask?
Best ask is a market-data metric BlackForge measures for every listed pair on nine spot exchanges, once per closed five-minute window. The lowest ask price at the moment the window closed. It reports what the order book or trade tape showed, not what price will do next.
How is Best ask measured?
BlackForge computes Best ask from each venue’s own order book and trades for every listed pair, once per closed five-minute window, and records it as price. The value is stored exactly as observed.
Which plan includes Best ask?
Best ask is available from the Free plan upward, and on pay-per-call over x402. See pricing for the full plan ladder.
Does Best ask predict where price will go?
No. Best ask is a measurement of what the order book or trade tape showed in the window. It carries no view on future price, and BlackForge scores nothing — every metric is a measurement, not a call.