Crypto APIs Explained: How Businesses Integrate Web3 Into Existing Platforms

Many companies use crypto APIs to deliver faster, secure, and borderless payment solutions. Visa claims that it has already processed $225 million in stablecoin transactions across participating clients to date, which shows a growing trend that involves the integration of Web3 tools in everyday solutions. 

The greater adoption of crypto around the world has made the APIs more appealing for businesses looking to provide smoother transactions. Some companies even include blockchain features and APIs in existing apps, platforms, and services. 

Crypto APIs have quickly become a connection between blockchain tools and traditional business workflows, from identity verifications to loyalty programs and KYC compliance. Discover how and why businesses integrate Web3 into existing platforms.

Redefined Loyalty Programs

Customer rewards based on traditional points, coupons, or cash-backs are outdated. Instead, crypto APIs add new layers to a familiar experience. Users can earn crypto, NFTs, or stablecoins directly through the apps they interact with often, rather than being locked into perks from a specific brand.

Take online entertainment as a common example of crypto API integration that works. Access to the much-loved Roobet online casino isn’t possible from the US because of geolocation restrictions. However, locals turn to the best Roobet alternatives, some of which have integrated crypto APIs that offer generous sign-up rewards, while others give players access to exclusive VIP perks automatically triggered after certain actions. Crypto players can instantly withdraw their balance to spend anywhere, even a balance they earned for loyalty or through gameplay. Crypto APIs automatically calculate and send rewards based on predetermined protocols. The same tech could work in restaurant apps, and e-commerce stores. The business appeal lies in flexibility because crypto rewards are immune to inflation, relevant across borders, and portable from one ecosystem to another.

Web3 Identity Integration

One of the greatest use cases for crypto APIs is the integration of identity verification. Some projects like Civic and Polygon ID offer decentralized ID verification services that allow users to provide credentials without exposing any sensitive data. 

For instance, a cryptocurrency trading app that wants to verify whether users are over 18 or residents in specific countries can use the API for ID verification to gather proof from the user’s wallet without requesting information that could be exposed on the internet. The wallet uses a zero-knowledge proof (ZKP) technology that simply returns a yes or no confirmation.

This type of integration doesn’t require extensive redevelopment. The Civic API provides endpoints for requesting, issuing, and checking ID claims. Any business platform can treat these protocols like standard authentication calls to allow users to own and control their identity.

Borderless, Real-Time Payments

Every company needs a business plan, and part of designing the plan is to know your audience and competition to redefine your marketing strategies based on what consumers want. There’s a growing need for faster and more affordable payment systems, especially across borders. Traditional payment systems are slow, cost too much, and sometimes have restrictions in certain jurisdictions. Crypto APIs can change the entire business plan.

For example, Bitpay is one of the earliest crypto payment processors. Using the API on an e-commerce platform to accept Ethereum, Bitcoin, and other stablecoins like USDC can improve how you deliver services to your clients anywhere in the world. Shopify already integrated APIs to unlock new opportunities. 

Meanwhile, a business doesn’t need to worry about volatility or manage keys directly. The API manages conversion rates, addresses, transaction validations, and automatic fiat settlements. What’s even better is that the business chooses to handle these processes or not. Any business operating in cross-border marketplaces or within high-fee regions can benefit from reduced overheads, improved cash flows, and new customers. 

Keep KYC Compliance Clean

Know-Your-Customer or KYC processes are standard in almost every sector that moves money. Crypto APIs align with those regulations but reinvent how the process works. 

Some examples of KYC API integrations include Fractal ID and Sumsub, which now offer Web3-native KYC solutions using APIs. Their services enable businesses to integrate ID checks, risk scoring, and AML screening with just one API call. These services also enable wallet-level checks to link blockchain addresses and verified users without collecting unnecessary data. 

A decentralized exchange (DEX) may not wish to handle user data directly, plugging into the KYC API to verify users one time through the third-party services to receive only a credential confirmation or hash. The platform remains compliant without building a massive database. This is common in regions where regulatory pressures are tightening.

Blockchain-based KYC solutions are an emerging trend in KYC automation within other industries like FinTech. The sector is experimenting with smoother onboarding and KYC compliance through crypto-driven KYC integration solutions. Crypto APIs simply remove the middleman to make sure businesses don’t have to develop entire systems. 

Membership Access and Token Gating

Crypto APIs also manage access controls, which is often used in NFT-based communities and paid platforms that offer premium access based on the ownership of specific tokens.

Unlock Protocol is a platform providing APIs that automatically compare wallet contents to the acceptance criteria. A software service provider, learning platform, or Discord server could call the API to see if the user’s wallet contains specific NFTs, granting access once confirmed.

Bankless DAO is a community-driven platform that allows users holding specific tokens to submit proposals, vote, and access exclusive content or media. Access is based on wallet holdings, not passwords or subscriptions. Businesses that could implement this model include coaching platforms, events companies, and newsletters. 

The integration of this API turns crypto wallets into actual keys for exclusive online or real-world experiences. The API listens for proof while the front-end technology responds based on the output. 

Wallet Connections

The ability to connect crypto wallets to platforms and business providers has become integral to the user journey for any Web3-driven service. APIs simply reduce the friction by creating a standard process. Integrating cryptocurrency payments into your business creates seamless onboarding, attracts new tech-savvy customers, and improves accessibility. Allowing customers to seamlessly connect wallets is taking it another step forward.

Tools like RainbowKit and WalletConnect provide APIs that allow apps and websites to connect to different wallets like MetaMask or Coinbase with just a few lines of code. The wallet becomes the user’s profile once connected, and it manages everything from messages to transactions.

A standout example is Lens Protocol, which is a Web3 social graph. Users seamlessly connect wallets as the system builds their user ID around on-chain activities. The process runs through wallet APIs and GraphQL, providing comment histories, logins, and profile features based on blockchain information.