# Building an AI Crypto Trading Agent with Claude
> **Tutorial**: Give Claude Desktop the ability to interact with 15+ blockchains, execute swaps, check balances, and analyze DeFi protocols.
## What You'll Build
By the end of this tutorial, you'll have an AI assistant that can:
- ✅ Check token balances across Ethereum, Arbitrum, Base, Polygon, and more
- ✅ Execute token swaps via DEX aggregators
- ✅ Bridge assets between chains
- ✅ Analyze DeFi positions (Aave, Compound, Uniswap)
- ✅ Get real-time market data and technical indicators
- ✅ Monitor gas prices and optimize transactions
## Prerequisites
- [Claude Desktop](https://claude.ai/download) installed
- Node.js 18+
- A wallet address (for read operations) or private key (for transactions)
- 10 minutes of your time
## Step 1: Install Universal Crypto MCP
```bash
# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/nirholas/universal-crypto-mcp.git
cd universal-crypto-mcp
# Install dependencies
npm install
# Build the server
npm run build
```
## Step 2: Configure Environment
Create a `.env` file with your API keys:
```bash
cp .env.example .env
```
Edit `.env` with your keys:
```env
# Required for most operations
ALCHEMY_API_KEY=your_alchemy_key
INFURA_API_KEY=your_infura_key
# Optional: For executing transactions
PRIVATE_KEY=your_wallet_private_key
# Optional: Enhanced market data
COINGECKO_API_KEY=your_coingecko_key
```
> 💡 **Tip**: You can use the server with just `ALCHEMY_API_KEY` for read-only operations. Add `PRIVATE_KEY` only when you want to execute transactions.
## Step 3: Connect to Claude Desktop
Add to your Claude Desktop config (`~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json` on Mac):
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"universal-crypto-mcp": {
"command": "node",
"args": ["/path/to/universal-crypto-mcp/dist/index.js"],
"env": {
"ALCHEMY_API_KEY": "your_key_here"
}
}
}
}
```
Restart Claude Desktop.
## Step 4: Start Talking to Your AI Agent
Now Claude has access to 330+ blockchain tools. Try these prompts:
### Check Your Portfolio
```
What's my wallet balance on Ethereum, Arbitrum, and Base?
Address: 0x742d35Cc6634C0532925a3b844Bc9e7595f12345
```
### Get a Swap Quote
```
How much USDC would I get for swapping 1 ETH on Arbitrum?
```
### Analyze DeFi Positions
```
Show me the top Aave lending pools by TVL on Ethereum
```
### Technical Analysis
```
What are the RSI and MACD indicators for ETH/USD?
```
### Cross-Chain Bridge Quote
```
What's the best route to bridge 100 USDC from Ethereum to Base?
```
## Example Conversation
**You**: Check my ETH balance on Arbitrum and tell me if gas is cheap enough to swap
**Claude**: I'll check your balance and current gas prices on Arbitrum.
*[Uses evm_getBalance and evm_getGasPrice tools]*
Your Arbitrum wallet shows:
- **ETH**: 0.523 ETH (~$1,884)
- **USDC**: 500.00 USDC
Current gas on Arbitrum:
- **Gas Price**: 0.1 gwei
- **Swap Cost**: ~$0.02
Gas is very cheap right now! This is a good time to execute swaps. Would you like me to get a quote for a specific swap?
---
## Supported Chains
| Chain | Chain ID | Status |
|-------|----------|--------|
| Ethereum | 1 | ✅ Full Support |
| Arbitrum One | 42161 | ✅ Full Support |
| Base | 8453 | ✅ Full Support |
| Polygon | 137 | ✅ Full Support |
| Optimism | 10 | ✅ Full Support |
| BNB Chain | 56 | ✅ Full Support |
| Avalanche | 43114 | ✅ Full Support |
| Fantom | 250 | ✅ Full Support |
| zkSync Era | 324 | ✅ Full Support |
| Linea | 59144 | ✅ Full Support |
| Scroll | 534352 | ✅ Full Support |
| Mantle | 5000 | ✅ Full Support |
| Blast | 81457 | ✅ Full Support |
| Mode | 34443 | ✅ Full Support |
| opBNB | 204 | ✅ Full Support |
## Available Tool Categories
### 💰 DeFi Operations (50+ tools)
- Token swaps via 1inch, ParaSwap, 0x
- Liquidity provision on Uniswap, SushiSwap
- Lending/borrowing on Aave, Compound
- Yield farming positions
### 🌉 Cross-Chain (20+ tools)
- Bridge quotes and execution
- Cross-chain swap routing
- Multi-chain balance aggregation
### 📊 Market Data (40+ tools)
- Real-time prices from CoinGecko, CoinMarketCap
- Historical OHLCV data
- Technical indicators (RSI, MACD, Bollinger Bands)
- Fear & Greed Index
### 🔒 Security (15+ tools)
- Contract verification
- Token security scanning
- Honeypot detection
- Rug pull risk analysis
### ⛓️ On-Chain Analysis (30+ tools)
- Transaction decoding
- Event log parsing
- ENS resolution
- Gas estimation
## Safety Features
The server includes built-in safety features:
1. **Confirmation prompts** for transactions over threshold
2. **Slippage protection** on swaps
3. **Gas price limits** to prevent overpaying
4. **Read-only mode** when no private key configured
## Troubleshooting
### "Tool not found" error
Make sure you rebuilt after pulling latest: `npm run build`
### "Invalid API key" error
Check your `.env` file and ensure keys are correctly set
### Claude doesn't see the tools
Restart Claude Desktop after editing the config file
## Next Steps
- 📖 [Full API Reference](../mcp-server/tools-complete.md)
- 🔧 [Configuration Guide](../mcp-server/configuration.md)
- 💡 [Example Prompts](../mcp-server/prompts.md)
- 🤝 [Contributing](../contributing/index.md)
---
## About
Built by [Nich](https://x.com/nichxbt) • [GitHub](https://github.com/nirholas/universal-crypto-mcp)
Licensed under Apache-2.0
