Bitcoin (BTC)

Bitcoin Network API Reference for secure and scalable interaction with BTC nodes, enabling peer-to-peer transactions and decentralized finance on the world’s first cryptocurrency block

Overview

Bitcoin is the first and largest decentralized cryptocurrency network, launched in 2009 by the pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto. It operates as a peer-to-peer electronic cash system, enabling trustless value transfer without intermediaries.

Key Features

• Decentralized Network: Secured by thousands of nodes worldwide with no central authority

• Proof of Work Consensus: Mining-based security with SHA-256 hashing algorithm

• 21 Million Supply Cap: Fixed maximum supply creating digital scarcity

• 10-Minute Block Time: Average block confirmation every 10 minutes

• SegWit & Taproot: Modern protocol upgrades for scalability and privacy

• PSBT Support: Partially Signed Bitcoin Transactions for secure multi-party signing

• Lightning Network Compatible: Layer 2 scaling solution support

Quickstart

In this section, you will learn how to make your first call with either:

• Axios

• Python

Quickstart with Axios

Before you begin, you must have already installed npm or yarn on your local machine. If not, check out npm or yarn.

1. Set up your project using this command:

npm

mkdir bitcoin-api-quickstart
cd bitcoin-api-quickstart
npm init --yes

Yarn

This creates a project directory named bitcoin-api-quickstart and initialises a Node.js project within it.

1. Install Axios using this command: Using npm:

npm

npm install axios

yarn

1. Create a new file and name it index.js. This is where you will make your first call.

2. Set the ES module "type": "module" in your package.json.

3. Add the following code to the file (index.js):

   import axios from 'axios'
   let data = JSON.stringify({
       "jsonrpc": "2.0",
       "method": "analyzepsbt",
       "params": [
           "cHNidP8BAEICAAAAATJIj43goxJCsLjdKM5Uly44S8Vp6cim1VW89Rx5fFPpAAAAAAD/////AQAAAAAAAAAABmoEAAECAwAAAAAAAAA="
       ],
       "id": "getblock.io"
   });
   
   let config = {
     method: "post",
     maxBodyLength: Infinity,
     url: "https://go.getblock.io/<ACCESS_TOKEN>",
     headers: {
       "Content-Type": "application/json",
     },
     data: data,
   };
   
   axios
     .request(config)
     .then((response) => {
       console.log(JSON.stringify(response.data));
     })
     .catch((error) => {
       console.log(error);
     });
   

   Replace <ACCESS_TOKEN> with your actual access token from GetBlock.

4. Run the script:

   node index.js

   The sequence number and authentication key log in your console like this:

   {
       "jsonrpc": "2.0",
       "result": {
           "inputs": [
               {
                   "has_utxo": false,
                   "is_final": false,
                   "next": "updater"
               }
           ],
           "next": "updater"
       },
       "id": "getblock.io"
   }

Quickstart with Python and Requests

Before you begin, you must have installed Python and Pip on your local machine.

1. Set up your project using this command:

   mkdir bitcoin-api-quickstart
   cd bitcoin-api-quickstart

2. Set up a virtual environment to isolate dependencies:

   python -m venv venv
   
   # On Windows, use venv\Scripts\activate

3. Install the requests library:

   pip install requests

4. Create a new file called main.py and insert the following code:

   import requests
   import json
   
   url = "https://go.getblock.io/<ACCESS_TOKEN>"
   
   payload = json.dumps({
       "jsonrpc": "2.0",
       "method": "analyzepsbt",
       "params": [
           "cHNidP8BAEICAAAAATJIj43goxJCsLjdKM5Uly44S8Vp6cim1VW89Rx5fFPpAAAAAAD/////AQAAAAAAAAAABmoEAAECAwAAAAAAAAA="
       ],
       "id": "getblock.io"
   })
   headers = {
     'Content-Type': 'application/json'
   }
   
   response = requests.request("POST", url, headers=headers, data=payload)
   
   print(response.text)
   

   Replace <ACCESS_TOKEN> with your actual access token from GetBlock.

5. Run the script:

   python main.py

Base URL

Franfurt, Germany

https://go.getblock.io

Supported Network

• Mainnet

• Testnet

Available API Methods

GetBlock provides access to 45 Bitcoin RPC endpoints organized into the following categories:

PSBT & Transaction Building (13 methods)

Methods for creating, analyzing, and finalizing Partially Signed Bitcoin Transactions.

Method	Description
analyzepsbt	Analyzes and provides information about a PSBT
combinepsbt	Combines multiple PSBTs into one
combinerawtransaction	Combines multiple partially signed raw transactions
converttopsbt	Converts a raw transaction to PSBT format
createpsbt	Creates a new PSBT with given inputs and outputs
createrawtransaction	Creates a raw transaction
decodepsbt	Decodes a PSBT to JSON
decoderawtransaction	Decodes a raw transaction to JSON
decodescript	Decodes a hex-encoded script
finalizepsbt	Finalizes a PSBT for broadcast
fundrawtransaction	Adds inputs to a raw transaction
joinpsbts	Joins multiple PSBTs with different inputs
utxoupdatepsbt	Updates PSBT with UTXO data

Blockchain & Block Information (13 methods)

Methods for querying blockchain state and block data.

Method	Description
getbestblockhash	Returns the hash of the best block
getblock	Returns block data for a given hash
getblockchaininfo	Returns blockchain state information
getblockcount	Returns the current block height
getblockfilter	Returns BIP 157 block filter
getblockhash	Returns block hash at given height
getblockheader	Returns block header information
getblockstats	Returns per-block statistics
getblocktemplate	Returns data for mining a block
getchaintips	Returns information about chain tips
getchaintxstats	Returns transaction statistics
getdifficulty	Returns the current mining difficulty
getfinalizedblockhash	Returns the hash of the finalized block

Mempool (6 methods)

Methods for querying the memory pool of unconfirmed transactions.

Method	Description
getmempoolancestors	Returns mempool ancestors of a transaction
getmempooldescendants	Returns mempool descendants of a transaction
getmempoolentry	Returns mempool data for a transaction
getmempoolinfo	Returns mempool state information
getrawmempool	Returns all transaction IDs in mempool
testmempoolaccept	Tests if transactions would be accepted

Mining & Network (2 methods)

Methods for mining information and network statistics.

Method	Description
getmininginfo	Returns mining-related information
getnetworkhashps	Returns estimated network hash rate

Transaction (4 methods)

Methods for querying and broadcasting transactions.

Method	Description
getrawtransaction	Returns raw transaction data
gettxout	Returns details about an unspent output
gettxoutproof	Returns proof that a transaction is in a block
sendrawtransaction	Broadcasts a raw transaction

Utility (7 methods)

Utility methods for address derivation, validation, and node information.

Method	Description
deriveaddresses	Derives addresses from a descriptor
estimatesmartfee	Estimates fee for confirmation target
getindexinfo	Returns index status information
getmemoryinfo	Returns memory usage information
getrpcinfo	Returns RPC server information
validateaddress	Validates a Bitcoin address
verifymessage	Verifies a signed message

Support

For technical support and questions:

• Support: [email protected]

See Also

• Bitcoin Developer Documentation

• Bitcoin Core RPC Reference

• BIP Repository