Ink Chain is a high-performance Layer 2 blockchain developed by Kraken, designed to offer users a seamless bridge to DeFi with low transaction costs and fast execution times. It is built on Optimism's Superchain and is compatible with the Ethereum ecosystem, enabling developers to deploy Ethereum-based applications seamlessly on it.
The Ink Chain API lets you interact with the Ink network through a collection of JSON-RPC methods. Because it's compatible with the Ethereum ecosystem, you'll find working with Ink familiar if you've used Ethereum's JSON-RPC APIs.
Explained in Ink API Quickstart.
Yes, Ink Chain is fully compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). This compatibility allows Ethereum developers to port their projects to Ink with minimal changes, taking advantage of the chain's high throughput and low transaction fees.
Ink Chain uses the JSON-RPC API standard for blockchain interactions. This is the same standard used by Ethereum.
When you access the Ink network via a node provider like Alchemy, you use an API key to send transactions and retrieve data from the network.
For the best development experience, we recommend that you sign up for a free API key!
Because Ink is compatible with the Ethereum ecosystem, popular Ethereum libraries like ethers.js and web3.js work with Ink. If you're familiar with Ethereum's development ecosystem, you can integrate with minimal changes.
Like Ethereum, Ink supports a range of programming languages for blockchain interaction and smart contract development, including Solidity for smart contracts, as well as JavaScript and TypeScript for dApp development and offchain interactions.
Ink uses ETH for transaction fees and gas, similar to other Layer 2 solutions built on Optimism's Superchain.
You can find the list of all the methods Alchemy supports for the Ink API on the Ink API Endpoints page.
If you have any questions or feedback, contact us at [email protected] or open a ticket in the Alchemy Dashboard.