Cardano Monitor is a small open source tool for people who want to keep an eye on the price of ADA, the native token of the Cardano network, without checking charts all day. It is aimed at hands-on users comfortable with configuration files and command-line programs, such as traders who set their own thresholds or holders who want a nudge when a price move happens.
The program was built as a personal utility rather than a polished consumer product. It watches market data from the Bittrex exchange and can notify you when the conditions you define are met. Because the project has not received code updates since January 2018, treat it as a reference tool and verify that it still works with current APIs before relying on it.
What Is Cardano Monitor and Why Use It?
Cardano Monitor is a lightweight alerting program. It does not place trades, store your funds or manage a portfolio. Its single job is to watch prices and balances and tell you when something meets a condition you set.
This narrow focus is both its strength and its limit. If you want a quick, transparent alert system for ADA, the tool does the job without requiring an account on a large platform. If you want charts, tax reports or multi-asset dashboards, you will need a different category of software.
Who Benefits Most from a Price Alert Tool?
Several kinds of users tend to find a tool like this useful:
- Holders who want to know when ADA moves sharply, so they can decide whether to review their position.
- Traders waiting for a specific entry or exit level and who do not want to watch a screen continuously.
- Developers and hobbyists who like to build their own monitoring setups and appreciate source code they can read and modify.
- People running a small home server, who can leave the monitor running in Docker and receive alerts by email or SMS.
For casual investors who check prices once a week, a full-featured mobile app may be simpler.
How Price Alerts Work in Practice
A price alert compares a live value against a rule. An absolute rule says: notify me when ADA is above a certain number. A relative rule says: notify me when ADA has moved by a certain percentage since some reference point. Each rule runs on a schedule, reads the latest market data, and sends a message if the condition is met.
Because alerts depend on market data arriving on time, a monitor can miss fast spikes between checks. Set thresholds with some margin, and do not treat an alert as a trade signal. It is only a prompt to look at the market yourself.
Key Terms You Will See in the Settings
Understanding a few terms helps when configuring the tool:
- Market pair: the two assets being compared, such as ADA/BTC or ADA/USDT. The quote currency determines what the price is measured in.
- Threshold: the level at which an alert fires.
- Relative change: the percentage difference from a reference price.
- API key: a credential that lets the program read data from an exchange account. Keep it private and restrict its permissions to read-only if the exchange allows it.
- Polling interval: how often the program checks prices. Shorter intervals react faster but make more requests.
Key features
Bittrex market data
Balance monitor
Price monitor
Relative price monitor
Multiple notification channels
SMS alerts through Twilio
Wallet balance via Daedalus API
Docker support
Supported coins
The project documentation mentions Bitcoin (BTC), Cardano (ADA) and USDT as the assets relevant to its markets. Price monitoring focuses on ADA traded against these pairs on Bittrex. Support for other exchanges and currencies is described as a planned direction rather than a finished feature, so check the source code before assuming coverage beyond the documented markets.
How to install Cardano Monitor on Windows
- 1
Get the program
Download the project from its official GitHub repository at github.com/Quantumplation/cardano-monitor. Use the Releases page if a packaged build is offered, or clone the repository to work from source. Avoid copies on unofficial download sites.
- 2
Check the file
If you download a ready-made archive, compare its SHA-256 checksum with the value published by the project, when one is available. Scan the file with your antivirus before running it. Do not disable your security software to get the program to start.
- 3
Choose an installation method
You can run the Windows build directly or use Docker. Docker is useful if you want the monitor to run continuously on a machine that stays on, because the container keeps its dependencies separate from the rest of your system.
- 4
Create a configuration
Set your market pair, thresholds and notification channels. Store API keys and Twilio credentials in the configuration in a way you understand, and never paste them into public issues, forums or screenshots.
-
Start and test
Run the monitor with a threshold close to the current price so you can confirm that alerts arrive through each channel you enabled. Then set the thresholds you actually want.
System requirements
- A Windows PC capable of running the program's Windows build or installer
- Docker, if you choose the containerized setup
- An internet connection to reach the Bittrex API and any email or SMS service you enable
How to use Cardano Monitor
Using Cardano Monitor is mostly a matter of deciding what you want to be told about and then making sure the alerts reach you. Start with one simple rule so you can verify the whole chain before adding more.
- Decide the market you want to watch, for example ADA against USDT.
- Set one absolute price threshold slightly above or below the current price so the alert triggers soon after startup.
- Enable a single notification channel, such as console output, and confirm that it fires.
- Add a second channel, such as email, and test it the same way.
- Add a relative price rule if you also want to be warned about percentage moves.
- Enable the balance monitor only if you are comfortable providing the required read access for your account.
- Leave the program running on a machine that stays online, or use Docker on a server.
- Review the thresholds every few weeks and adjust them as the market changes.
Pros & cons
- Free and open source, so the code can be inspected
- Several notification channels, including console, beep, email and SMS
- Both absolute and relative price alerts
- Can read wallet balance through the Daedalus API
- Can run in Docker on a continuously available machine
- Simple enough to understand and modify
- No code updates since January 2018, so compatibility with current exchange APIs is uncertain
- Limited documented exchange support beyond Bittrex
- No graphical interface; configuration and monitoring are largely text-based
- SMS alerts depend on a third-party Twilio account and may carry costs
- Alerts depend on polling, so fast moves can be missed between checks
Is Cardano Monitor safe?
Cardano Monitor is not a wallet or trading bot, but it handles exchange data and may store API credentials, so basic precautions still apply. Download only from the official GitHub repository. Compare the SHA-256 checksum or verify the signature when the project provides one, and scan the file before running it. Antivirus tools sometimes flag small unsigned utilities, so investigate a warning before deciding what to do, but never turn protection off entirely.
Use read-only API keys when the exchange allows them, and never enter a seed phrase or wallet recovery phrase into any monitoring tool or third-party website. Because the project has had no code updates since 2018, check the latest version and the issue tracker before use.
- Official source only. Download from github.com/Quantumplation/cardano-monitor. Ignore ads and lookalike domains.
- Check the SHA-256. Compare the installer hash with the value the developer publishes before running it.
- Never share your seed phrase. No developer, support agent or website — including CryptApps — will ever ask for it.
Alternatives
Cardano Monitor is narrower than most tools in this catalog. Raccoin, Rotki and Cointop are built to track an entire portfolio, show performance, or handle taxes, while Cardano Monitor is designed to send you a message when ADA crosses a condition you define. Ticker and Cointop focus on terminal-based price views, which overlap with Cardano Monitor's console output but offer broader market coverage.
Binance Excel Report and Hledger work with transaction history for bookkeeping, not live alerts. Cosmos Notifier is closer in spirit because it also sends notifications, but it is built around governance votes in the Cosmos ecosystem rather than ADA prices. Choose Cardano Monitor when your need is specifically ADA price or balance alerts and you are comfortable with configuration files.
Specifications
- Price
- Free
- Type
- Open source
- License
- —
- Latest version
- —
- Last update
- 14 Jan 2018
- Windows support
- Yes (Windows build or installer)
- Source code
- github.com/Quantumplation/cardano-monitor
Frequently asked questions
Yes. The program is listed as free and open source. You can download it from its GitHub repository and review the code. If you enable SMS notifications through Twilio, you will need your own Twilio account, and message charges are set by that service, not by the monitor itself.
Yes, the project offers a Windows build or installer. You can also run it in Docker if you prefer an isolated environment. Check the project's release page for the latest available option before downloading.
The documentation mentions Bitcoin, Cardano and USDT, with the main focus on ADA prices on Bittrex markets. It is best to confirm exact market support in the source code before depending on a particular pair.
Yes. Email notifications are built in, and SMS notifications are available through Twilio. For SMS, you need your own Twilio account and credentials. Test each channel with a harmless threshold before relying on it for real price moves.
The tool can read balance information through the Daedalus API. Only do this on a machine you trust, use read-only access where possible, and never share your seed phrase. A balance check does not require your recovery phrase, and no legitimate tool should ask for it.
The project is a personal tool that appears to have been left as a reference implementation. Exchange APIs and wallet interfaces change over time, so some functions may no longer work as originally designed. Test the program carefully and consider a maintained alternative if you need reliable current data.
Yes, Docker support makes it practical to run the monitor on a server or a spare machine that stays online. This means alerts continue even when your main computer is off, which is one of the main reasons to choose a containerized setup.
Verdict
Cardano Monitor is a practical choice for technically comfortable users who want simple, customizable ADA price and balance alerts without paying for a service. It is transparent and easy to host in Docker. Its age is the main drawback: because there have been no code updates since 2018, test it against current Bittrex and wallet APIs before trusting it, and consider a maintained alternative if you need dependable, up-to-date monitoring.