Real-time Blockchain Data Streaming API | Bitquery Platform
Bitquery provides powerful real-time blockchain data streaming capabilities through three distinct technologies, each optimized for different use cases and requirements. Whether you're building a cryptocurrency trading bot, DeFi trading terminal, DEX pool monitoring system, or token sniping application, we have the right blockchain data streaming solution for your needs.
Quick Navigation
| Technology | Latency | Best For | Learn More |
|---|---|---|---|
| WebSocket | ~1 second | Beginners, Web Apps, Complex Filtering | WebSocket Docs |
| Kafka | < 500ms | Enterprise, High-Volume, Trading Bots | Kafka Concepts |
| CoreCast | < 100ms | Solana, Ultra-Low Latency, MEV | gRPC Docs |
Blockchain Data Streaming Technologies Overview
Real-time GraphQL Subscriptions (WebSocket API)
Multichain Support | Live Data | Beginner-friendly
Our WebSocket-based GraphQL subscriptions provide real-time cryptocurrency data with very high filtering and formatting capabilities. You can filter by wallet addresses, token contracts, transaction amounts, USD values, and much more directly in your queries. Perfect for crypto trading applications, DeFi dashboards, and blockchain analytics platforms.
- Endpoint:
wss://streaming.bitquery.io/graphql - Protocols:
graphql-transport-ws,graphql-ws - Latency: ~1 second (network + parsing overhead)
- Use Cases: Crypto trading dashboards, DeFi interfaces, real-time portfolio monitoring
High-Performance Kafka Blockchain Streams
Multichain Support | Ultra-low latency | High throughput
High-performance, low-latency blockchain data streaming for mission-critical cryptocurrency trading systems requiring maximum reliability and scalability. No server-side filtering available – you receive complete blockchain transaction data and must filter on the client side. Ideal for MEV bots, arbitrage trading systems, and high-frequency DeFi applications that need complete data streams.
- Endpoints:
rpk0.bitquery.io:9092,rpk1.bitquery.io:9092,rpk2.bitquery.io:9092 - Protocol: Apache Kafka with SASL authentication
- Latency: < 500ms (sub-second)
- Use Cases: Cryptocurrency trading bots, real-time DeFi applications, MEV bot development, high-frequency blockchain monitoring
Ultra-fast gRPC Streams (CoreCast)
Solana Blockchain | Sub-100ms latency | Smart filtering
Our newest ultra-low latency streaming technology provides the fastest Solana blockchain data with server-side filtering capabilities and efficient binary serialization. Perfect for Solana trading bots and MEV applications. Filtering is available but more limited compared to WebSocket's extensive filtering options.
- Endpoint:
corecast.bitquery.io - Protocol: gRPC with Protobuf
- Latency: < 100ms (ultra-low latency)
- Use Cases: Solana trading bots, Solana MEV applications, real-time Solana DeFi protocols, Jupiter aggregator monitoring
Feature Comparison
| Feature / Stream | WebSocket | Kafka | CoreCast (Smart gRPC) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Latency | ~1 second (network + parsing overhead) | < 500 ms (sub-second) | < 100 ms (ultra-low latency) |
| Filtering | ✅ Very high capability: addresses, tokens, pools, value thresholds, USD values, complex conditions | ❌ No filtering - complete data stream | ✅ Basic filtering: addresses, tokens, pools, thresholds (limited compared to WebSocket) |
| USD Values | ✅ Built-in | ❌ Not available (Available in different topic) | ❌ Not available (planned) |
| Reliability | Auto-reconnect via GraphQL, but no replay | ✅ Retention available, replay from checkpoints | Query GraphQL, no replay support |
| Retention / Replay | ❌ No | ✅ Yes, configurable retention window | ❌ No |
| Schema / Data Format | JSON over WebSocket | Avro/Protobuf over Kafka | Protobuf (typed contracts) |
| Delivery Guarantee | At-most-once | ✅ At-least-once (can configure exactly-once) | At-most-once |
| Integration Complexity | Easiest for frontends, explorers, bots | Requires infra (Kafka cluster, consumers) | Lightweight, good for backend apps and trading stratergies |
| Bandwidth Efficiency | Medium (JSON, more verbose) | High (binary encoding, batching) | Medium (Protobuf, direct streams) |
| Use Case Fit | Dashboards, explorers, analytics needing USD values & rich filters | Mission-critical infra: indexing, ETL pipelines, archival, guaranteed delivery | Ultra-low latency trading, real-time DeFi apps, terminals, Telegram bots |
Choosing the Right Blockchain Data Streaming API
Choose Real-time GraphQL WebSocket API if:
- Building crypto trading web applications
- Need advanced filtering capabilities with complex conditions and real-time USD prices
- Require cryptocurrency price calculations and DeFi token metrics
- Want fastest development and prototyping experience for blockchain applications
- Building crypto dashboards, DeFi monitoring tools, or blockchain analytics platforms
- Need unified interface for both historical blockchain data and real-time streams
Choose High-Performance Kafka Blockchain Streams if:
- Low-latency trading is critical for your cryptocurrency application
- Cannot afford to lose any blockchain transactions (guaranteed delivery)
- Need horizontal scalability and high-throughput blockchain data processing
- Building enterprise-grade crypto trading infrastructure
- Require transaction replay and blockchain data retention capabilities
- Processing large volumes of DeFi transaction data with complex transformations (filtering must be done client-side)
Choose Ultra-fast gRPC Streams (CoreCast) if:
- Working specifically with Solana blockchain ecosystem
- Need ultra-low latency (< 100ms) for Solana trading
- Want basic server-side filtering to reduce bandwidth (more limited than WebSocket)
- Building high-frequency Solana trading applications and MEV bots
- Developing lightweight backend services for Solana DeFi
- Creating Solana trading Telegram bots or terminal applications
Getting Started
GraphQL Subscriptions (WebSockets)
- Authentication: Use your IDE credentials or OAuth tokens
- Connect:
wss://streaming.bitquery.io/graphql - Start: Create your first subscription in the Bitquery IDE using our starter subscriptions
Learn more: WebSocket Documentation | Examples
Kafka Streams
- Get Access: Contact our sales team for Kafka credentials
- Connect: Use SASL authentication with provided username/password
- Subscribe: Choose from topics like
ethereum.dextrades,solana.transactions, etc.
Learn more: Kafka Concepts | Best Practices
gRPC Streams (CoreCast)
- Get Token: Generate at API Access Tokens
- Connect:
corecast.bitquery.iowith your API token - Filter: Define filters for addresses, tokens, or value thresholds
Learn more: gRPC Introduction | Code Examples
Multi-chain Blockchain Data Coverage
GraphQL Subscriptions & Kafka Support:
- Ethereum & Layer 2s (Arbitrum, Optimism, Base, Polygon)
- Binance Smart Chain (BSC)
- Solana
- TRON
- TON (limited support)
gRPC Streams:
- Solana (with more blockchains coming soon)
Support & Resources
- Documentation: Comprehensive guides for each technology
- Community: Join our Telegram for support
- Code Examples: GitHub repositories with sample implementations
- Interactive Tools: Test queries in our IDE with our starter queries
Ready to start streaming? Choose the technology that best fits your use case and dive into the detailed documentation for implementation guides, best practices, and code examples.