Leverage Ethereum blockchain data with JSON-RPC

The article delves into how remote procedure call (RPC) interfaces can be utilized to access and interact with data on the Ethereum blockchain, highlighting the broader applicability of these concepts to other Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-based blockchains like Avalanche and Polygon. It explains blockchain architecture, emphasizing that all blockchains share a foundational structure of independently operated nodes communicating via a protocol to maintain an append-only database. The article focuses on the role of JSON-RPC in the Ethereum ecosystem, detailing how it facilitates data queries and transactions through nodes, which come in various types such as full, light, and archive nodes, each serving different functions. It discusses the practical aspects of using RPC to interact with blockchain data, including sending transactions and retrieving account balances, and acknowledges the challenges of indexing raw block data due to limited read functionalities. The article also mentions some popular RPC providers and clients like Erigon and Geth, noting the technical requirements and challenges of running a node, and suggests that developers can explore hosted RPC services to experiment with Ethereum data without the need for extensive infrastructure.