Introduction

The Bitcoin Cash API gives you access to the Bitcoin Cash blockchain through a standard set of JSON-RPC methods. With this API, you can retrieve block and transaction data, inspect the mempool, broadcast transactions, and more.

Bitcoin Cash uses a UTXO-based model and exposes its functionality via the JSON-RPC protocol. This quickstart will help you make your first request.

What is the Bitcoin Cash Chain API?

The Bitcoin Cash Chain API allows applications to communicate with a Bitcoin Cash node using the JSON-RPC protocol. Like Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash relies on a UTXO (Unspent Transaction Output) model, which means balances are tracked by outputs that are explicitly spent or unspent.

Alchemy's Bitcoin Cash API gives developers a consistent interface to query blockchain data, submit transactions, and monitor network activity. This includes:

• Retrieving raw or decoded transaction data
• Querying block headers and full blocks
• Monitoring mempool entries and states
• Submitting and testing raw transactions

If you've worked with Bitcoin or other JSON-RPC-compatible chains, the structure will feel familiar.

Getting started

1. Choose a package manager (npm or yarn)

Select a package manager to manage your project's dependencies. The choice between npm and yarn depends on your preference or project requirements.

2. Set up your project

Open your terminal and run the following commands:

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

mkdir bitcoincash-api-quickstart
cd bitcoincash-api-quickstart
yarn init --yes

This creates a new directory named bitcoincash-api-quickstart and initializes a Node.js project within it.

3. Make your first request

Install Axios, a popular HTTP client, to make API requests:

npm install axios
# Or with yarn
# yarn add axios

Create an index.js file in your project directory and paste the following code:

const axios = require('axios');
 
const url = `https://bitcoincash-mainnet.g.alchemy.com/v2/${apiKey}`;
 
const payload = {
  jsonrpc: '2.0',
  id: 1,
  method: 'getblockcount',
  params: []
};
 
axios.post(url, payload)
  .then(response => {
    console.log('Current block height:', response.data.result);
  })
  .catch(error => {
    console.error('Error fetching block count:', error);
  });

Replace apiKey with your actual Alchemy API key that you can get from the Alchemy Dashboard.

4. Run your script

To execute your script and make a request to the Bitcoin Cash API, run:

node index.js

You should see the current block height on Bitcoin Cash printed to your console:

Current block height: 869432

Next steps

You've made your first request to the Bitcoin Cash API. With this foundation, you can dive deeper into the JSON-RPC methods available on Bitcoin Cash and start building on it.