Web3 is All About Data
Easy Access to Blockchain Data is Fundamental for Success
Access to blockchain data is hard. Those who are not familiar with the decentralized space rarely can appreciate the differences between the databases of today, and the trustless data solutions of tomorrow. This is of little surprise. After all, for close to three decades, professionals, students, and casual computer users alike have seen nothing but Excel sheets, relational databases, and other structured data sets which make comprehending that databases could look like anything else to be extremely challenging.
But challenging is what blockchain data is. Unlike many centralized databases of today, Web3 data at its most ideal is stored across hundreds (if not thousands) of devices — with new entries to the blockchain being amended as defined by the rules of the underlying protocol and its consensus mechanism.
Getting access to this blockchain data often requires the party of interest to run their own node. Or more simply, computer equipment which stores a copy of the blockchain of interest. As blockchains continue to add new blocks, this node would also need to continue to update its copy of the chain.
However, setting up and maintaining a node is expensive, time-consuming, and quite simply — not something of interest to everyone who requires on-chain information. In lieu of this, projects are increasingly turning to experts who are already running their own node — and leveraging their hard work by tapping into blockchain APIs.
Blockchain APIs
Application Programming Interfaces (or APIs) are essentially software intermediaries that allow two applications to talk to one another. Not familiar with APIs? Not to worry — most digital users aren’t.
APIs are all around us in the online world. They are the reason that discount travel websites like Expedia can pull information from airlines, hotels, and rental car companies from around the planet. Through the use of APIs by its partners, Expedia can quickly obtain information from airlines like Emirates and hotels like Marriott — and instantly provide information to the requesting traveler regarding pricing and availability for upcoming travel plans.
Blockchain APIs operate similarly, and are essential in the Web3 world. Web3 APIs provide the means for developers and their decentralized applications (dApps) to interact with a specific blockchain (the Emirates or Marriott equivalent, as an analogy). For those who are still confused, users can think of APIs as messengers working on behalf of a dApp. If a dApp needs information from the blockchain (e.g. information on a specific block, statistics related to interactions for a specific smart contract, etc..), it would leverage an API to request and retrieve those details on behalf of the dApp.
As one can imagine, the effectiveness and criticality of an API cannot be understated. This is akin to Expedia not being able to leverage APIs to obtain the information it needs to serve its end customer. Similarly, dApps that cannot rely on APIs to pull critical information to serve its users will likely have a platform that is of minimal use to its customers — unable to provide the real-time or historical information necessary to power the interactions necessary on the application.
A Tsunami Has Landed
Understanding the complexities of blockchain data retrieval, and its importance in the underlying foundation of any Web3 dApp or business, PARSIQ has launched the Tsunami API.
It is well understood that the blockchain data space is growing. From indexers to node providers, the Web3 space has acknowledged the growing importance of blockchain data — and the growing need to easily access it. With that being said, there are few solutions still which can compare to PARSIQ’s Tsunami API. Capable of retrieving real-time and historical data from Ethereum, BSC, Polygon, Avalanche, Arbitrum (and counting), the blockchain data infrastructure company is serving data requests to those who value speed and reliability the most.
As we speak, PARSIQ continues to update its API, increasingly improving its capabilities and performance over time. dApps interested in using PARSIQ can obtain fundamental data related to events and calls, as well as block data, transaction data, transfers, and contract data. The list of endpoints is ever growing — empowering PARSIQ’s users and customers the ability to obtain all of the on-chain data they need. Hint: We’re even investigating data for AI.
More than an API — The Future Involves Custom Data Lakes
While a standard API may be the starting and ending point for some dApps, PARSIQ understands that every project’s data needs will be inherently different. With so much data (on-chain and off-chain), a “one-size-fits-all” API for all businesses across Web3 is highly unlikely. Recognizing that the API is only a starting point, PARSIQ has introduced Data Lakes — a filtered and indexed database solution that is fully customized for each of our customer’s needs.
PARSIQ’s Data Lakes not only leverage the existing backbone provided by the Tsunami API, but with the support of the Development Team, PARSIQ will be able to assist projects to develop the specific endpoints which they need to support their project’s requirements. Further, Data Lakes enables the combination of off-chain data, which PARSIQ understands will help drive further capabilities and insights for its customers. By providing a truly customized solution, while leveraging one of the most powerful APIs in the Web3 space — PARSIQ is providing the fundamental data solutions needed for Web3 projects to achieve success.
Excited to extract data from the blockchain? So are we! For more information on the Tsunami API and custom Data Lakes, reach out to bdteam@parsiq.net.
To check out everything that the Tsunami API can do — check out our docs here. Make sure to bookmark and visit regularly for updates!
