In partnership with Benzinga, Alpaca, a stock brokerage that allows developers to build apps, services, and trading platforms, formally announced the launch of News API, an extension of the firm’s Market Data API.
What Happened: With the onset of pandemic restrictions, retail investors hungry for engagement with the outside world fueled a rise in trading activity. This was a boon for Alpaca, which delivers technology and access capabilities that are fueling on-demand finance trends.
The firm has witnessed increased demand from the supply side — emerging fintechs looking to capitalize on increased demand for transparent access to markets.
In light of this demand, Alpaca unveiled its Broker and Market Data API, a few tools that enable entrepreneurs to quickly build and scale stock-market-focused fintech.
As an extension, Alpaca now offers a News API in partnership with Benzinga, a media and data provider bridging the gap between retail and institutional investors.
Bonus Points: In a limited-time beta, the Alpaca News API is available for free with rate limits determined by current Market Data API subscription plans; 200 calls per minute for Free plans, and 10,000 calls per minute for Unlimited plans.
News API allows users to retrieve real-time and historical news data dating back to 2015 for both stock and crypto symbols. Users can also query by a number of different fields including symbol, date, content, source and more. Currently, news data is only provided by Benzinga.
Why It Matters: Catering to big-name institutions, brokerages and retail market participants, Benzinga comes as a holistic solution for high-quality, low-cost, timely content. Its core product portfolio consists of newswires, analytics software, and data services that are easy to consume and help users better act on market intelligence.
In helping investors achieve the next stage of their growth, Benzinga also hosts in-person thought leadership, networking and educational events.
Through the News API, Alpaca end-users will have access to trusted stock and crypto market-moving content.