Bitcoin Price Index

Bitcoin logo

Bitcoin is a form of digitial currency, otherwise known as cryptocurrency. Rather than rely on a central authority like a bank, Bitcoin instead relies on a distributed network, otherwise known as a blockchain, to record transactions.

Because there’s demand for Bitcoin (i.e., users want it), users are willing to buy it, as by exchanging one currency (e.g., USD) for Bitcoin.

In a file called bitcoin.py, implement a program that:

Expects the user to specify as a command-line argument the number of Bitcoins, $n$, that they would like to buy. If that argument cannot be converted to a float, the program should exit via sys.exit with an error message.
Queries the API for the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index at https://api.coindesk.com/v1/bpi/currentprice.json, which returns a JSON object, among whose nested keys is the current price of Bitcoin as a float. Be sure to catch any exceptions, as with code like:
```
import requests

try:
    ...
except requests.RequestException:
    ...
```
Outputs the current cost of $n$ Bitcoins in USD to four decimal places, using , as a thousands separator.

Hints

Recall that the sys module comes with argv, per docs.python.org/3/library/sys.html#sys.argv.
Note that the requests module comes with quite a few methods, per requests.readthedocs.io/en/latest, among which are get, per requests.readthedocs.io/en/latest/user/quickstart/#make-a-request, and json, per requests.readthedocs.io/en/latest/user/quickstart/#json-response-content. You can install it with:
```
pip install requests
```

Note that CoinDesk’s API returns a JSON response like:

{
   "time":{
      "updated":"May 2, 2022 15:27:00 UTC",
      "updatedISO":"2022-05-02T15:27:00+00:00",
      "updateduk":"May 2, 2022 at 16:27 BST"
   },
   "disclaimer":"This data was produced from the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index (USD). Non-USD currency data converted using hourly conversion rate from openexchangerates.org",
   "chartName":"Bitcoin",
   "bpi":{
      "USD":{
         "code":"USD",
         "symbol":"&#36;",
         "rate":"38,761.0833",
         "description":"United States Dollar",
         "rate_float":38761.0833
      },
      "GBP":{
         "code":"GBP",
         "symbol":"&pound;",
         "rate":"30,827.6198",
         "description":"British Pound Sterling",
         "rate_float":30827.6198
      },
      "EUR":{
         "code":"EUR",
         "symbol":"&euro;",
         "rate":"36,800.2764",
         "description":"Euro",
         "rate_float":36800.2764
      }
   }
}

Recall that you can format USD to four decimal places with a thousands separator with code like:
```
print(f"${amount:,.4f}")
```

Demo

This demo was recorded when the price of Bitcoin was $38,761.0833. Your own output may vary.

Before You Begin

Log into code.cs50.io, click on your terminal window, and execute cd by itself. You should find that your terminal window’s prompt resembles the below:

Next execute

mkdir bitcoin

to make a folder called bitcoin in your codespace.

Then execute

cd bitcoin

to change directories into that folder. You should now see your terminal prompt as bitcoin/ $. You can now execute

code bitcoin.py

to make a file called bitcoin.py where you’ll write your program.

How to Test

Here’s how to test your code manually:

Run your program with python bitcoin.py. Your program should use sys.exit to exit with an error message:
```
Missing command-line argument   
```
Run your program with python bitcoin.py cat. Your program should use sys.exit to exit with an error message:
```
Command-line argument is not a number
```
Run your program with python bitcoin.py 1. Your program should output the price of a single Bitcoin to four decimal places, using , as a thousands separator.
Run your program with python bitcoin.py 2. Your program should output the price of two Bitcoin to four decimal places, using , as a thousands separator.
Run your program with python bitcoin.py 2.5. Your program should output the price of 2.5 Bitcoin to four decimal places, using , as a thousands separator.