Free Bitcoin API for Developers
Open source. Self-hosted. Apache-2.0 licensed. No node required.
Turn your Bitcoin Core node into a production-ready REST API. One pip install. 73 endpoints. Zero required third-party services.
$ pip install satoshi-api
$ satoshi-api
INFO Satoshi API running at http://localhost:9332
INFO 73 endpoints ready. Your data stays here.Loading live fee data...Why Self-Hosted
Bitcoin was built to remove middlemen. Your API should be too.
Third-party APIs can change terms, raise prices, or shut down. Satoshi API runs on your machine. You set the rules.
Your queries never leave your infrastructure. No analytics. No tracking. No data harvesting. Just you and your node.
No network hop to a remote server. Your API talks directly to your local Bitcoin Core. Latency measured in milliseconds, not continents.
The Stack
Bitcoin Core's JSON-RPC is powerful but awkward. Raw responses, no caching, no rate limiting, no input validation.
Satoshi API wraps it in a clean REST interface with typed responses, smart caching, and analyzed data.
Instead of calling estimatesmartfee five times and doing math, you get a single endpoint with human-readable recommendations in sat/vB.
What You Get
Production features, not raw RPC dumps.
Fee recommendations in sat/vB. Mempool congestion scores. Block weight utilization. Not raw hex and BTC/kVB.
Reorg-aware TTL caching. Deep blocks cached 1 hour, tip blocks 30 seconds, fees every 10 seconds. Near-zero stale data risk.
Four tiers with sliding-window per-minute and daily limits. Expose your API safely without worrying about abuse.
Optional API keys via X-API-Key header. SHA256 hashed storage. Tiered access control. Anonymous read access for public use.
Txids validated as 64-hex before hitting RPC. Block heights checked for bounds. RPC errors mapped to proper HTTP status codes.
Every response: { data, meta }. Every error: { error }. Request IDs on everything. Consistent and predictable.
Pair with bitcoin-mcp to give Claude or GPT direct access to your node via MCP tool calls.
Optional L402 support for Bitcoin-native API access. Clients pay per-request via Lightning. Available as an extension.
Your node, your data, your API. No third party sees your queries. No vendor lock-in. No surprise pricing changes. Apache-2.0 licensed.
356 tests (335 unit + 21 e2e). Docker support. Cloudflare Tunnel deployment. Structured access logging. Graceful shutdown.
See It Work
73 endpoints across blocks, transactions, addresses, mempool, fees, network, and raw operations.
Request
GET /api/v1/blocks/latestResponse
{
"data": {
"hash": "00000000000...",
"height": 885421,
"tx_count": 3847,
"size": 1648231
},
"meta": {
"cached": false,
"node": "local"
}
}Built For
And those curious enough to start.
You run a node already. Check fees, monitor the mempool, build a dashboard. Point at your node, done.
curl localhost:9332/api/v1/mempool
# Congestion level, fee buckets,
# next-block minimum feeBuilding a wallet, payment processor, or Bitcoin app? Fee estimates, broadcast transactions, look up UTXOs. All validated and typed.
curl -X POST localhost:9332/api/v1/broadcast \
-H "X-API-Key: sk_..." \
-d '{"hex": "0200000001..."}'Give your AI assistant real-time Bitcoin data. Your node answers directly via MCP.
# claude desktop config
"bitcoin": {
"command": "bitcoin-mcp",
"env": {"SATOSHI_API_URL":
"http://localhost:9332"}
}Pull block stats, mining data, and fee trends into your analytics pipeline. JSON responses, consistent format.
curl localhost:9332/api/v1/mining
# Difficulty, hashrate, next
# retarget height, blocks untilThird-party APIs correlate your address lookups with your IP. Self-hosted means zero data leakage. Query your own node, keep your privacy.
Teaching Bitcoin internals? The interactive docs at /docs let students explore blocks, transactions, and the mempool with live data.
API Surface
Blocks, transactions, fees, mempool, mining, network, prices, streams.
| Method | Endpoint | Description |
|---|---|---|
| GET | /health | Node reachability check |
| GET | /status | Full node status (sync, peers, disk) |
| GET | /blocks/latest | Latest block analysis |
| GET | /blocks/tip/height | Current chain height |
| GET | /blocks/tip/hash | Current tip block hash |
| GET | /blocks/{height_or_hash} | Block by height or hash |
| GET | /blocks/{height}/stats | Detailed block statistics |
| GET | /blocks/{hash}/txids | Transaction IDs in a block |
| GET | /blocks/{hash}/txs | Full transactions in a block |
| GET | /blocks/{hash}/header | Raw block header |
| GET | /tx/{txid} | Transaction analysis (fees, SegWit, Taproot) |
| GET | /tx/{txid}/raw | Raw decoded transaction |
| GET | /tx/{txid}/hex | Transaction as hex string |
| GET | /tx/{txid}/status | Confirmation status |
| GET | /tx/{txid}/outspends | Spending status of each output |
| GET | /utxo/{txid}/{vout} | UTXO lookup (spent/unspent) |
| POST | /decode | Decode raw transaction hex |
| POST | /broadcast | Broadcast signed transaction |
| GET | /fees | Fee estimates (all targets) |
| GET | /fees/recommended | Human-readable fee recommendation |
| GET | /fees/{target} | Fee for specific confirmation target |
| GET | /fees/landscape | Should I send now or wait? Decision engine |
| GET | /fees/estimate-tx | Transaction size and fee cost estimator |
| GET | /fees/history | Historical fee rates and cheapest hour |
| GET | /fees/mempool-blocks | Fee distribution by projected blocks |
| GET | /mempool | Mempool analysis (congestion, fee buckets) |
| GET | /mempool/info | Raw mempool info |
| GET | /mempool/tx/{txid} | Single mempool entry |
| GET | /mempool/txids | All mempool transaction IDs |
| GET | /mempool/recent | Recently added mempool entries |
| GET | /mining | Mining stats (difficulty, hashrate, retarget) |
| GET | /mining/nextblock | Next block template analysis |
| GET | /network | Network info (connections, relay fee) |
| GET | /network/forks | Chain tips and fork detection |
| GET | /network/difficulty | Current difficulty and retarget info |
| GET | /network/validate-address/{addr} | Validate a Bitcoin address |
| GET | /prices | BTC price in 6 fiat currencies Extended |
| GET | /stream/blocks | Real-time new block events (SSE) |
| GET | /stream/fees | Live fee rate updates every 30s (SSE) |
| GET | /address/{address} | Address balance and UTXO summary Extended |
| GET | /address/{address}/utxos | List unspent outputs for an address Extended |
| POST | /register | Self-serve API key registration |
| GET | /tools/exchange-compare | Compare exchange prices and fees Extended |
All endpoints prefixed with /api/v1. Interactive docs at /docs (Swagger UI) and /redoc.
Get Started
No node, no install, no signup. Just start making requests:
# Get current fee recommendations
curl https://bitcoinsapi.com/api/v1/fees/recommended
# Latest block analysis
curl https://bitcoinsapi.com/api/v1/blocks/latest
# Mempool congestion
curl https://bitcoinsapi.com/api/v1/mempool
# Mining stats
curl https://bitcoinsapi.com/api/v1/miningNo API key needed for GET requests. Try all 73 endpoints in the interactive playground.
Unlock 10,000 requests/day and POST access. Takes 5 seconds:
Run the full API on your own Bitcoin Core node. Unlimited requests, full privacy.
# Install
pip install satoshi-api
# Configure (point at your node)
export BITCOIN_RPC_USER=your_user
export BITCOIN_RPC_PASSWORD=your_password
# Run
satoshi-api
# API at http://localhost:9332
# Docs at http://localhost:9332/docsAlso available via Docker: docker compose up -d. Requires Bitcoin Core with server=1 and Python 3.10+. txindex=1 recommended.
Use the Python SDK for typed access to all endpoints:
pip install satoshi-api-sdkPricing
Self-host for free forever, or use the hosted API at bitcoinsapi.com.
Enterprise — Need higher limits? Contact api@bitcoinsapi.com for enterprise pricing.
Comparison
| Feature | Satoshi API | Raw RPC | Hosted APIs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Setup time | 3 lines | Already there | Sign up + API key |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes | No |
| Privacy | Your node, your data | Your node | They see your queries |
| Analyzed data | Fee recs, congestion, analysis | Raw values only | Varies |
| Caching | Reorg-aware TTL | None | Varies |
| Rate limiting | Built-in, tiered | None | Yes (their limits) |
| Input validation | Before RPC call | None | Yes |
| Cost at scale | $0 (self-host) | $0 | $50-500+/mo |
| AI agent support | MCP ready | No | No |
| Vendor lock-in | None (Apache-2.0) | None | Yes |
The Road Ahead
73 endpoints. Production-ready. pip installable.
Real-time block and mempool event feeds via /ws.
Time-series queries across Bitcoin's full history.
Full data infrastructure for builders, researchers, and institutions.
No signup, no install. Just curl and go.