Building open-crypto-icons: The Ultimate Open-Source Cryptocurrency Icon Library

Audio version coming soon

Verified by Essa Mamdani

Building modern Web3 applications, DEXs, or crypto portfolio trackers comes with a unique set of challenges. One of the most persistent yet overlooked pain points I encountered as a developer was managing cryptocurrency icons. Between missing logos, broken links, inconsistent sizing, and bloated dependencies, what should be a simple UI detail often turns into a major development headache.

That is why I built and open-sourced open-crypto-icons—a massive, lightweight cryptocurrency icon library and searchable Web App designed to solve this problem once and for all for the developer community.

In this technical breakdown, I'll explore why I created open-crypto-icons and why it's the definitive asset repository for developers building crypto wallets, portfolio trackers, decentralized exchanges (DEXs), and Web3 dashboards.

The Scale of the Problem (and the Solution)

With thousands of new tokens launching daily, most icon libraries are hopelessly outdated or limited to the top 100 coins. I wanted to shatter this limitation.

My library offers out-of-the-box support for an astounding 6,700+ coins and counting.

But I didn't just stop at raw numbers. For every single coin in the library, I engineered 4 distinct stylistic variants:

Colored: Full-color logos for vibrant, detailed UIs.
Black: Sleek, monochromatic black icons for light themes.
White: Crisp white icons designed specifically for dark mode and cyber-noir interfaces.
Outline: Minimalist, stroked versions for modern, airy designs.

Developer-First Architecture: Zero Bundle Bloat

I built this library with modern frontend workflows in mind. Rather than forcing you to bundle thousands of SVGs into your app (which destroys load times), the library relies on a smart React wrapper and a high-availability CDN.

1. First-Class React Component Support

I provide a lightweight React component wrapper via NPM. The component automatically fetches the high-quality vector icons directly from our GitHub Pages CDN, keeping your app bundle tiny.

bash
1npm install open-crypto-icons

jsx
1import { CryptoIcon } from 'open-crypto-icons/react';
2
3export default function App() {
4  return (
5    <div style={{ display: 'flex', gap: '20px' }}>
6      {/* Default (Colored) Bitcoin Icon */}
7      <CryptoIcon symbol="btc" size={48} />
8      
9      {/* Solid Black Ethereum Icon */}
10      <CryptoIcon symbol="eth" variant="black" size={48} />
11      
12      {/* Solid White Solana Icon (good for dark mode) */}
13      <CryptoIcon symbol="sol" variant="white" size={48} />
14      
15      {/* Transparent Outline Icon */}
16      <CryptoIcon symbol="doge" variant="outline" size={48} />
17    </div>
18  );
19}

Available Props for <CryptoIcon />:

symbol (string): The ticker symbol of the coin (e.g., 'btc', 'eth', 'usdt').
variant (string): Style of the icon. Options are 'colored' (default), 'black', 'white', or 'outline'.
size (number | string): Width and height of the icon. Defaults to 24.
Extends standard img props like className, style, etc.

2. Universal CDN Usage (HTML/Vue/Vanilla JS)

If you aren't using React, you can directly hotlink the SVGs in HTML, Vue, or any other framework. Assets are served directly from our GitHub Pages CDN ensuring fast delivery:

html
1<!-- Colored Bitcoin Icon -->
2<img src="https://essamamdani.github.io/open-crypto-icons/icons/colored/btc.svg" width="48" alt="Bitcoin Logo" />
3
4<!-- Black Monochrome Ethereum Icon -->
5<img src="https://essamamdani.github.io/open-crypto-icons/icons/black/eth.svg" width="48" alt="Ethereum Logo" />

3. Metadata Access

Need to build a token selector or search dropdown? You can fetch the full list of available coins natively (sorted by Market Cap): coins.json

The Web App Experience

Sometimes you don't need a code integration—you just need a raw image file. I built a fully searchable Open Crypto Icons Web App that allows designers to find icons instantly. It features on-the-fly PNG/JPG conversions for effortless, direct downloads.

Get Started Today

Stop wasting hours hunting down obscure token logos and fighting with mismatched SVG viewBoxes. Everything you need is already packaged, hosted, and ready to deploy.

Check out the repository, star the project, and upgrade your DApp's UI today: open-crypto-icons on GitHub.