eth_getBalance - Ethereum

Example code for the eth_getBalance JSON RPC method. Сomplete guide on how to use eth_getBalance JSON RPC in GetBlock Web3 documentation.

This method returns the ETH balance of a specific address at a given block, in wei, hex-encoded. It's the fundamental read for any wallet UI, block explorer, or accounting system tracking native-token holdings.

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
address	string	Yes	20-byte address to query (hex-encoded with 0x prefix)
blockParameter	string	Yes	Block number in hex, or latest, earliest, pending, finalized, safe

Request

cURL

curl --location --request POST 'https://shared.eu-central-1.getblock.io/<ACCESS-TOKEN>/' \
--header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--data-raw '{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "method": "eth_getBalance",
    "params": [
        "0xd8dA6BF26964aF9D7eEd9e03E53415D37aA96045",
        "latest"
    ],
    "id": "getblock.io"
}'

Axios

example.js

const axios = require('axios');

const response = await axios.post('https://shared.eu-central-1.getblock.io/<ACCESS-TOKEN>/', {
    jsonrpc: '2.0',
    method: 'eth_getBalance',
    params: [
        "0xd8dA6BF26964aF9D7eEd9e03E53415D37aA96045",
        "latest"
    ],
    id: 'getblock.io'
}, {
    headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' }
});

console.log(response.data.result);

Request

example.py

import requests

response = requests.post(
    'https://shared.eu-central-1.getblock.io/<ACCESS-TOKEN>/',
    headers={'Content-Type': 'application/json'},
    json={
        'jsonrpc': '2.0',
        'method': 'eth_getBalance',
        'params': [
            "0xd8dA6BF26964aF9D7eEd9e03E53415D37aA96045",
            "latest"
        ],
        'id': 'getblock.io'
    }
)

print(response.json())

Rust

example.rs

use reqwest::Client;
use serde_json::{json, Value};

#[tokio::main]
async fn main() -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
    let client = Client::new();
    
    let response = client
        .post("https://shared.eu-central-1.getblock.io/<ACCESS-TOKEN>/")
        .header("Content-Type", "application/json")
        .json(&json!({
            "jsonrpc": "2.0",
            "method": "eth_getBalance",
            "params": [
                "0xd8dA6BF26964aF9D7eEd9e03E53415D37aA96045",
                "latest"
            ],
            "id": "getblock.io"
        }))
        .send()
        .await?
        .json::<Value>()
        .await?;
    
    println!("Result: {}", response["result"]);
    Ok(())
}

Response

{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "id": "getblock.io",
    "result": "0x2c68af0bb140000"
}

Response Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
jsonrpc	string	JSON-RPC protocol version ("2.0")
id	string	Request identifier matching the request
result	string	Hex-encoded balance in wei (divide by 10^18 to get ETH)

Use Cases

• Wallet Balance Display: Show a user's native ETH balance in a wallet or dApp UI

• Portfolio Tracking: Aggregate ETH balances across many addresses for portfolio analytics

• Solvency Checks: Verify an address has enough ETH to cover a gas budget before submitting a transaction

• Historical Balance Snapshots: Query balances at specific historical blocks for audits or airdrops

Error Handling

Error Code	Message	Description
-32602	Invalid params	Address is not a valid 20-byte hex string, or block parameter is malformed
-32603	Internal error	Node failed to look up state at the requested block

Web3 Integration

Ethers.js

ethers-example.js

import { ethers } from 'ethers';

const provider = new ethers.JsonRpcProvider('https://shared.eu-central-1.getblock.io/<ACCESS-TOKEN>/');

const balanceWei = await provider.getBalance('0xd8dA6BF26964aF9D7eEd9e03E53415D37aA96045');
console.log('Balance (wei):', balanceWei.toString());
console.log('Balance (ETH):', ethers.formatEther(balanceWei));

Viem

viem-example.js

import { createPublicClient, http, formatEther } from 'viem';
import { mainnet } from 'viem/chains';

const client = createPublicClient({
    chain: mainnet,
    transport: http('https://shared.eu-central-1.getblock.io/<ACCESS-TOKEN>/'),
});

const balanceWei = await client.getBalance({ address: '0xd8dA6BF26964aF9D7eEd9e03E53415D37aA96045' });
console.log('Balance (wei):', balanceWei);
console.log('Balance (ETH):', formatEther(balanceWei));