It’s a convenient way for bitcoiners to keep a historic record of BTC prices without having to manually watch and maintain a spreadsheet, or continually referring to bitcoin price charts on live data sites.
Although with over 8K users, it’s is by far the most popular “recipe” on IFTTT and actually one of almost 40 pre-built bitcoin-related functions it offers.
If you prefer something more immediate (and even intrusive), IFTTT can even call you on the phone to notify you of the latest price. Actions can be triggered at certain times of day, or when the bitcoin price rises or falls beyond set levels.
While most recipes on IFTTT are concerned with bitcoin price, at least one will email a digest of the top stories on Reddit’s /r/Bitcoin.
Others will post price notifications to Twitter, Slack, Evernote, Android Wear, or even create an entire blog post on Blogger.
Users are also free to create their one recipes, using their preferred services and devices.
Launched in 2011, IFTTT (ifttt.com) is an abbreviation of “if this, then that”. It works by applying simple conditional statements to data readily available on the internet, and using them to trigger actions in other online services and mobile apps.
As well as its web-based client there are also apps for iOS and Android – the “IF” app to manage the user’s recipes, and the “Do” app to automate simple mobile phone tasks like uploading photos to social media.
Its can be set to automate a vast array of work, life, health and shopping tasks, notifying you when certain items appear on Craigslist and motivating users to work out.
The service can control anything connected to the internet, meaning it can trigger (or be triggered by) actions on “Internet of Things” devices from Philips Hue lights to BMW cars and a range of GE appliances.
In theory, this means you could set actions to turn up the heat on your Nest Thermostat when bitcoin goes above $700, or set all your house lights to a warning red if it falls below $500. Or have Instagram and Flickr notify you whenever someone uploads a Bitcon-related pic.
Users who prefer something more mundane to keep track of their bitcoin world can check out IFTTT’s range of standard options instead.