GetBlock, a top-tier vendor of blockchain infrastructure, is ready to smash through its most impressive milestone of Q3-Q4, 2022. The inaugural release of GetBlock Tracker - a novel Webhooks product - is set to advance developer experience and unlock new opportunities for various decentralized applications.
GetBlock rolls out Webhooks beta, welcomes testers: Highlights
On September 1st, 2022, GetBlock Webhooks beta testing campaign kicked off. Starting from BNB Chain (ex. Binance Smart Chain or BSC), new functionality will be implemented for the rest of mainstream blockchains.
As such, what is GetBlock Tracker - and why is this release crucial for the Web3 segment?
- Webhooks should be referred to as a subclass of automated notifications being sent from one party to another when some predetermined conditions are met;
- In blockchain development, Webhooks instrument allows getting the automated messages about on-chain events (blocks mined, transactions confirmed) or series of events;
- GetBlock Tracker allows the users to track 40+ parameters of blocks and transactions in a frictionless manner;
- ‘Push notifications’ about all tracked events can be sent in fully automated manner; Web3 devs can use them to create reliable notifications' system for their apps;
- GetBlock Tracker can supercharge dApps, trading bots, analytical services, no-code projects, and so on.
- Since September 2022, Webhooks are available for beta testing, GetBlock is proud to invite Web3 enthusiasts to experiment with new features and provide feedback.
Webhooks by GetBlock can dramatically improve the resource-efficiency and data logistics in feature-rich blockchain applications.
What are Webhooks, and why are they different from nodes APIs?
In general, Webhooks are automated notifications that transmit the information from one actor to another; the information is transferred only if some user-defined requirements are met. Instead of sending one request toits counterparty after the other, a recipient can just set triggers and receive the alert when this or that event finally takes place.
Simply put, these two instruments (Webhooks and nodes APIs) adhere to various models of how the ‘askers’ and ‘answerers’ interact with each other. At the same time, Webhooks model is way more convenient and resource-efficient for the vast majority of use-cases.
Webhook is an HTTP request that is triggered by an event in a source system (sender). Then the triggered request is sent to a target system (receiver). The request comes to the receiver with payload data. Since webhooks are automated, they get sent out automatically when triggered by the events.
There’s a simple principle behind every Webhook-based system: a user should set the conditions that trigger Alice so that she messages Bob. Once these requirements (user-defined conditions) are met, Alice messages Bob with no additional triggers or instructions.
Who needs Web3 Webhooks?
Web3 Webhooks (‘crypto alerts’ systems, on-chain notifications, web callbacks and so on) can be integrated into a variety of applications that somehow use blockchains as payment gateways, value transfer systems etc.
Primarily, the following ten classes of services are textbook examples of ‘real-world’ usage of Webhooks in blockchain:
- Crypto wallets;
- On-chain analytical systems;
- DeFi protocols;
- Trading bots;
- Portfolio trackers and managers;
- Crypto accounting and taxation protocols;
- AML/CFT services;
- Centralized crypto exchanges;
- Hardware wallets;
- Blockchain infrastructure providers, and so on.
In general, it can optimize financial and technical design of literally every crypto-centric service that uses ‘classic’ API instruments right now. Technically, Webhooks concept is blockchain-agnostic: it can work with both programmable and non-programmable blockchains.
With the increased speed and cost requirements in the modern segment of blockchain-based applications, Webhooks can naturally replace APIs in the vast majority of cases.
Introducing GetBlock Tracker, a Web3 Webhooks Product by GetBlock
Webhooks product by GetBlock allows crypto users to create customized alerts systems for trading, analytical and yield optimization functions. GetBlock offers an out-of-a-box and no-code solution.
GetBlock Tracker can work with every website: to start receiving the notifications, a website should just send a 200 response.
GetBlock Tracker: Opportunities and instruments
In general, Webhooks service is designed to catch various ‘in-blockchain’ events and send JSON notifications to dApps. This, in turn, can supercharge in-app push notifications systems. Namely, the new product tracks the information about added blocks, confirmed transactions, and blockchain receipts (light client proofs), proof that some data existed in blockchain for some time and was approved by all network participants (validators).
- While tracking blocks, a user can receive block numbers, hashes (for last mined blocks and parent blocks), difficulty, block size, uncles, time stamps, and so on.
While tracking transactions, a user can receive transaction hashes and block hashes, inputs, value, addresses of sender and receiver etc.
While tracking receipts, a user can receive transaction hashes and block hashes, addresses of sender and receiver, data about gas spending, and so on.
Entire toolkit of instruments (40+ commands) available for Webhooks’ users can be found in Documents.
GetBlock Tracker: Use-cases
Actually, Webhooks can be integrated into dozens of systems with various designs, from trading bots and copy-trading platforms to centralized crypto exchanges and anti-money laundering (AML) protocols.
Three subclasses of the use-cases for Webhooks are the most obvious:
- dApps builders can integrate GetBlock Tracker to create accurate and insightful notifications systems for their users;
- Traders can leverage Webhooks instruments for tracking ‘interesting’ addresses, block speed and sensitive transactions in order to streamline, optimize and automate their strategies;
- Analysts can advance on-chain monitoring systems to detect value movements, market sentiment, re-allocation of assets between certain categories of wallets and other critical trends for digital economy;
This list is very far from being exhaustive; crypto entrepreneurs and scholars can create completely new technical designs with Webhooks technology as the key element.
GetBlock Tracker: Setting up notifications in three steps
As we mentioned above, using GetBlock Webhooks doesn’t take any specific blockchain skills. In some aspects, customization of Webhooks module looks like searching for a transaction or block in a user-friendly blockchain explorer.
To set Webhooks alerts, GetBlock user needs to sign in into his/her account and open the Tracker module.
Then, he/she needs to set up the protocol (in inaugural releases, BNB Chain the only blockchain available) and the network (mainnet) as well as to provide a target URL to send alerts to.
After that, the event triggers for a Webhook should be set. Through an ingenious constructor, users can set ‘Entity’ (either block, transaction or receipt), ‘Field’ (command that refers to the type of data extracted: ‘number’, ‘blockHash’, ‘gasUsed’ etc.) and combine it with AND/OR operators.
More information about ‘Entities’, ‘Fields’, operators and possible ways of integrating Webhooks can be found in Documents.
Once it is saved, that’s it: the user is good to go as GetBlock starts sending him/her the alerts about selected events happening.
GetBlock Tracker: Cases
Case 1: Alice tracks a dormant whale account in BSC and wants to know when it sends a transaction. She needs to input the object she would like to track (‘Transaction’), the instrument she would like to apply (‘From’), the operator (‘=’), and the public address he is interested in (‘Value’). Once the account sends the transaction, she will be notified immediately.
N.B.: GetBlock Tracker doesn’t display failed transactions.
Case 1: Transaction sent from an account
Case 2: Bob needs to know when two transactions will be included into a BSC block. He should set the object (‘Block’), the instrument he would like to apply (‘Transactions’), the operator (‘in’), the transactions ids list(‘Value’) and don’t forget to set AND operator as he wants to track the transactions simultaneously.
Case 2: Transaction added to a new block
Case 3: Not unlike Alice, Carol is interested in tracking the activity of BNB whales. That’s why she is interested in transactions of over 10 Binance Coins (BNB) from various BSC accounts. As such, she needs to set the object (‘Transaction’), field (‘value’), operator (‘>’) and target value in Wei.
N.B.: 1 BNB = 1000000000000000000 Wei.
Case 3. Transaction greater than 10 BNB takes place
Case 4: David is tracking network activity of BSC; that’s why he needs to be informed about every new block added to the chain. He just should set the object for tracking (‘Block’), field (‘Number’) operator (‘>’) and BSC current block height as of the moment of tracking.
Case 4. Tracking the process of adding new blocks
GetBlock Tracker: Testing and roadmap
Starting from September, 2022, GetBlock launches a testing campaign for its Webhooks mechanism. All Web3 enthusiasts are welcome to get their hands dirty with the upcoming cutting-edge feature of GetBlock’s stack.
GetBlock appreciates all feedback from beta testers regarding tech performance, UX/UI and logics of Webhooks. In test mode, all requests to BSC through GetBlock’s mechanisms are free.
Testing campaign will be running for next weeks; should you have any ideas for GetBlock Tracker, requests for customized Webhooks solutions and so on, please, don’t hesitate to share your feedback with us, you can also do that on our discord channel.
Next builds will include more blockchains and extra sets of ‘Fields’ for more sophisticated use-cases.
Final thoughts
Blockchain-as-a-service heavyweight GetBlock releases Webhooks functionality in public beta. It is set to provide users with a more robust and cost-effective way to extract data from blockchains in the form of push notifications.
Webhooks can be set for all sensitive events regarding blocks, transactions, and blockchain receipts. GetBlock’s Webhooks can be used by trading bots, wallets, exchanges, DeFi protocols, on-chain monitoring systems, AML providers and so on.
Public beta testing campaign for GetBlock Webhooks is up and running on BNB Chain (BSC) with more blockchains to be added in coming months.
