What is Coinbase Synth?
Coinbase Synth is a real-time cryptocurrency sonification instrument. It connects to the Coinbase exchange via WebSocket and transforms live trades into generative wind-chime music you can listen to around the clock.
How It Works
Each trade triggers a simulated strike on a tubular wind chime. The synthesis models the physics of aluminum tubes -- partials, decay rates, and resonance -- rather than playing back samples. The result is an endlessly varying, organic soundscape driven entirely by market activity.
Trades Shape the Wind
Buy trades strike from the right; sells from the left. Larger trades hit harder, producing louder, brighter tones. When volatility rises the "wind" picks up and chimes ring more frequently. Calm markets produce sparse, gentle tones.
Mood Follows the Market
The chime is tuned to a pentatonic scale that shifts with the price trend. Rising prices select bright major intervals; falling prices drift toward darker minor intervals. The transition is gradual, so the mood evolves naturally over minutes and hours.
Tuning and Synthesis
The default tuning is modeled on a 56-inch Corinthian Bells chime in G. Six sizes are available, from a deep 56-inch G to a bright 27-inch C. Each tube's partials and decay are computed from the physical properties of aluminum resonators.
The Visual Layer
Behind the price display, a WebGL shader paints animated gradients colored by Alexander Scriabin's pitch-class-to-color mapping. Each chime strike sends a ripple across the field. The background texture is driven by layered simplex noise.
Technical Details
Built with TypeScript, Tone.js, and WebGL. Market data streams from the Coinbase Advanced Trade WebSocket API.