Accessing Blockchain Data Made Simple with thirdweb Insight

Are you tired of writing complex GraphQL queries or maintaining subgraphs just to access blockchain data? Third Web's new Insight tool changes the game for blockchain developers by providing simple REST API endpoints to access data from any EVM chain.

In crypto, developers often struggle with accessing on-chain data efficiently. Whether you're building a gaming inventory system, a DeFi dashboard, or an NFT analytics tool, you need reliable access to blockchain data. Insight solves this problem with familiar REST API endpoints that web developers already know how to use.

Follow along with this video:

What is Third Web Insight?

Insight is a blockchain data indexing tool that provides easy access to data on any EVM chain through simple REST APIs. Instead of dealing with complex queries or maintaining your own indexing infrastructure, you can use straightforward API endpoints to get the exact data you need.

As of this writing, Insight is in beta and currently supports over 30 chains, with more being added weekly. The team is prioritizing chains based on developer demand, so if you have a specific chain you'd like to see indexed, make your voice heard!

Why Use Insight?

There are several compelling reasons to use Insight for your blockchain data needs:

1. Easy Access Through REST APIs - No need to learn GraphQL or maintain subgraphs
2. Clear Response Structure - Data is returned in a clean, consistent format
3. Customizable Queries - Create exactly the data schema you need
4. No Infrastructure Required - Third Web handles all the indexing and hosting

The use cases are limitless:

• Track NFT transfers for collections
• Monitor DeFi transactions and volumes
• Build gaming inventory systems
• Create analytics dashboards
• Follow contract events in real-time

Pricing That Makes Sense

Insight offers a generous free tier that includes:

• 300,000 requests per month on the free tier
• No rate limits
• Pay-as-you-go pricing after free tier ($25 per million requests)

For larger projects, the Growth tier provides 10 million requests per month, and custom plans are available for enterprise needs.

Using Insight: Building an NFT Transfer Tracker

Let's build a simple app to track the most recent transfers for the Pudgy Penguins NFT collection. This will demonstrate how easy it is to use Insight to access blockchain data.

Step 1: Create a Third Web Project

1. Go to thirdweb.com and connect your wallet
2. Navigate to Projects and create a new project
3. Name your project and configure allowed domains
4. Save your Client ID and Secret Key

Step 2: Set Up Your Next.js Project

npx create-next-app nft-data-project
cd nft-data-project

Create a .env.local file to store your Client ID:

NEXT_PUBLIC_CLIENT_ID=your-client-id-here

Step 3: Create Your Data Fetching Function

In your page component, set up the data fetching logic:

"use client";
import { useState, useEffect } from "react";

interface Event {
  // Define your event interface here
  address: string;
  blockHash: string;
  blockNumber: string;
  data: string;
  logIndex: string;
  topics: string[];
  transactionHash: string;
  // ...other properties
}

export default function Home() {
  const [data, setData] = useState<Event[]>([]);
  const [isLoading, setIsLoading] = useState(true);

  const fetchData = async () => {
    setIsLoading(true);
    
    const response = await fetch(
      `https://api.thirdweb.com/v1/chain/1/events?address=0xbd3531da5cf5857e7cfaa92426877b022e612cf8&topic_0=0xddf252ad1be2c89b69c2b068fc378daa952ba7f163c4a11628f55a4df523b3ef&limit=10&sort_order=desc&client_id=${process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_CLIENT_ID}`
    );
    
    const responseData = await response.json();
    setData(responseData.data);
    setIsLoading(false);
  };

  useEffect(() => {
    fetchData();
  }, []);

  // Decode transfer event data
  const decodeTransferEvent = (event: Event) => {
    // Decoding logic here to extract from, to, and tokenId
    // ...
  };

  return (
    <main>
      <h1>Blockchain Data</h1>
      <div className="card">
        <h2>Recent Pudgy Penguins Transfers</h2>
        <button onClick={fetchData}>Refresh Data</button>
        
        {isLoading ? (
          <p>Loading...</p>
        ) : (
          <div>
            {data.map((event, index) => {
              const { from, to, tokenId } = decodeTransferEvent(event);
              return (
                <div key={index} className="event-item">
                  <p>
                    <strong>From:</strong> {from}
                  </p>
                  <p>
                    <strong>To:</strong> {to}
                  </p>
                  <p>
                    <strong>Token ID:</strong> {tokenId}
                  </p>
                  
                    href={`https://opensea.io/assets/ethereum/0xbd3531da5cf5857e7cfaa92426877b022e612cf8/${tokenId}`}
                    target="_blank"
                    rel="noopener noreferrer"
                  >
                    View on OpenSea
                  </a>
                </div>
              );
            })}
          </div>
        )}
      </div>
    </main>
  );
}

The key parts of this code are:

1. The fetch URL that points to Third Web's Insight API
2. Parameters that specify:
   • The chain (1 for Ethereum)
   • The contract address (Pudgy Penguins)
   • The event type (Transfer event signature)
   • Sorting and limiting options
3. Decoding the returned data to extract the transfer details

Coming Soon: Blueprints

One of the most exciting features on the Insight roadmap is called Blueprints. This feature will allow anyone to create custom queries with their own schema, determining exactly what data they want and how they want it processed.

With Blueprints, you'll be able to:

• Create custom data schemas
• Share your endpoints with other developers
• Build community-driven data solutions

This will be a game-changer for projects that want to provide easy data access to their community of developers.

Get Started Today

Insight is already available for use on over 30 chains, with more being added regularly. The free tier gives you 300,000 requests per month, which is plenty to get started with most projects.

Visit thirdweb.com to create your account and start using Insight today. The future of blockchain data access is here, and it's REST-based!