# eth\_getBalance - Base

This method returns the ETH balance of a specified address on the Base network. Since Base uses ETH as its native gas token, this method returns the native token balance in wei.

## Parameters

| Parameter      | Type   | Required | Description                                             |
| -------------- | ------ | -------- | ------------------------------------------------------- |
| address        | string | Yes      | The 20-byte address to check the balance of             |
| blockParameter | string | Yes      | Block number in hex, or "latest", "earliest", "pending" |

## Request

{% tabs %}
{% tab title="cURL" %}
{% code overflow="wrap" %}

```bash
curl --location --request POST 'https://go.getblock.io/<ACCESS-TOKEN>/' \
--header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--data-raw '{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "method": "eth_getBalance",
    "params": ["0x4200000000000000000000000000000000000006", "latest"],
    "id": "getblock.io"
}'
```

{% endcode %}
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="Axios" %}
{% code overflow="wrap" %}

```javascript
import axios from 'axios';

const data = JSON.stringify({{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "method": "eth_getBalance",
    "params": ["0x4200000000000000000000000000000000000006", "latest"],
    "id": "getblock.io"
});

const config = {
    method: 'post',
    url: 'https://go.getblock.io/<ACCESS-TOKEN>/',
    headers: {
        'Content-Type': 'application/json'
    },
    data: data
};

axios(config)
    .then(response => console.log(JSON.stringify(response.data)))
    .catch(error => console.log(error));
```

{% endcode %}
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="Request" %}
{% code overflow="wrap" %}

```python
import requests
import json

url = "https://go.getblock.io/<ACCESS-TOKEN>/"

payload = json.dumps({
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "method": "eth_getBalance",
    "params": ["0x4200000000000000000000000000000000000006", "latest"],
    "id": "getblock.io"
})

headers = {
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
}

response = requests.post(url, headers=headers, data=payload)
print(response.text)
```

{% endcode %}
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="Rust" %}
{% code overflow="wrap" %}

```rust
use reqwest::header;

#[tokio::main]
async fn main() -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
    let client = reqwest::Client::new();
    
    let response = client
        .post("https://go.getblock.io/<ACCESS-TOKEN>/")
        .header(header::CONTENT_TYPE, "application/json")
        .body(r#"{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "method": "eth_getBalance",
    "params": ["0x4200000000000000000000000000000000000006", "latest"],
    "id": "getblock.io"
}"#)
        .send()
        .await?;
    
    println!("{}", response.text().await?);
    Ok(())
}
```

{% endcode %}
{% endtab %}
{% endtabs %}

## Response

```json
{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "id": "getblock.io",
    "result": "0x56bc75e2d63100000"
}
```

## Response Parameters

| Parameter | Type   | Description                             |
| --------- | ------ | --------------------------------------- |
| jsonrpc   | string | JSON-RPC protocol version ("2.0")       |
| id        | string | Request identifier matching the request |
| result    | string | Hexadecimal balance in wei              |

## Use Cases

1. **Wallet Balance Display:** Show user's ETH balance in wallet interfaces.
2. **Transaction Validation:** Verify sufficient balance before sending transactions.
3. **Portfolio Tracking:** Aggregate balances across multiple addresses.
4. **Smart Contract Verification:** Check contract balances for DeFi applications.
5. **Historical Analysis:** Query balances at specific block heights.

## Error Handling

| Error Code | Message         | Description                               |
| ---------- | --------------- | ----------------------------------------- |
| -32602     | Invalid params  | Invalid address format or block parameter |
| -32603     | Internal error  | Node internal failure                     |
| -32600     | Invalid request | Malformed JSON-RPC request                |

## Web3 Integration

{% tabs %}
{% tab title="Ethers.js" %}

```javascript
const { ethers } = require('ethers');

const provider = new ethers.JsonRpcProvider('https://go.getblock.io/<ACCESS-TOKEN>/');

async function getBalance(address) {
    const balance = await provider.getBalance(address);
    
    console.log('Balance (wei):', balance.toString());
    console.log('Balance (ETH):', ethers.formatEther(balance));
    
    return balance;
}

// Check WETH contract balance on Base
getBalance('0x4200000000000000000000000000000000000006');
```

{% endtab %}

{% tab title="Viem" %}

```javascript
import { createPublicClient, http, formatEther } from 'viem';
import { base } from 'viem/chains';

const client = createPublicClient({
    chain: base,
    transport: http('https://go.getblock.io/<ACCESS-TOKEN>/')
});

async function getBalance(address) {
    const balance = await client.getBalance({
        address: address
    });
    
    console.log('Balance (wei):', balance.toString());
    console.log('Balance (ETH):', formatEther(balance));
    
    return balance;
}

// Check WETH contract balance on Base
getBalance('0x4200000000000000000000000000000000000006');
```

{% endtab %}
{% endtabs %}


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.getblock.io/api-reference/base/eth_getbalance-base.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.
