BlockCypher
BlockCypher provides RESTful APIs and SDKs giving developers programmatic access to Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Dash, and Dogecoin, eliminating the need to run their own blockchain nodes and infrastructure for application development.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersRedwood City, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What BlockCypher does
BlockCypher is a blockchain infrastructure-as-a-service company that provides RESTful APIs and developer tooling for building applications on multiple blockchain networks. Founded in 2014 in Redwood City, California by Catheryne Nicholson (Co-founder & CEO) and Matthieu Riou (Founder & CTO), the company operates as a remote-first, globally distributed organization with a small team primarily based in North America. Its core technology runs distributed database clusters containing the full transactional data of supported blockchains across multiple data centers, with full-node infrastructure for Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Dash, Dogecoin, and an internal test chain, delivering 99.99% uptime and premium-tier throughput of up to 500,000 API calls per hour.
The product suite includes the core BlockCypher APIs, a Wallet/HD Wallet API, a Transaction API with multi-signature and OP_RETURN support, the Confidence Factor for double-spend risk estimation, a Metadata API for key-value storage on chain, an Asset API using the Open Assets standard, and Address Forwarding with optional processing fees. The Ethereum API adds smart contract creation, deployment, and calling along with ERC-20 token support. Real-time event delivery is handled via WebHooks and WebSockets, and official SDKs are published in Python, Ruby, Go, and PHP. A companion block explorer at live.blockcypher.com provides a public interface for chain exploration.
BlockCypher monetizes through a freemium-to-subscription model. A free tier offers limited read access without a token and constrained write access with a token (3 requests/sec, 100 requests/hr, WebHooks limited to 100 stored); paid subscriptions start at $75/month for Ethereum API and $119/month for Bitcoin API, with a 10% discount for payment in Bitcoin, and custom enterprise tiers are available for higher rate limits and SLAs. Distribution is fully self-serve and developer-led via accounts.blockcypher.com, with no disclosed enterprise sales motion. The company is venture-backed by notable investors including Tim Draper, Jerry Yang, Ken Goldman, Nasir Jones, Jesse Draper, Shawn Byers, and Granite Ventures (UpsideVC), with total disclosed funding of approximately $3.5M across a 2014 seed and a January 2015 round led by Streamlined with participation from NEA, Blockchain Capital, Foundation Capital, and others.
BlockCypher firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- BlockCypher
- Legal name
- BlockCypher
- Website
- https://blockcypher.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- BlockCypher provides RESTful APIs and SDKs giving developers programmatic access to Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Dash, and Dogecoin, eliminating the need to run their own blockchain nodes and infrastructure for application development.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
BlockCypher industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Blockchain Infrastructure API
- NAICS
- Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (51821)
- akta.pro primary industry
- RPC / Node API Infrastructure Providers (FSADAKAD)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Smart Contract Developer Platforms & Tooling (SDKs, APIs, frameworks, indexing) (FSAPAAAH), Blockchain Data & Indexing Infrastructure for Finance (Nodes, Indexers, Oracles) (FSAGAMAL)
Keywords
Where BlockCypher is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Redwood City
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
BlockCypher business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- API Subscription Plans: Paid subscription plans starting at $75/month for Ethereum API with tiered rate limits. 10% discount available for Bitcoin payments. Higher limits and SLAs available on higher tiers.
- API Subscription Plans: Paid subscription plans starting at $119/month for Bitcoin API with tiered rate limits. 10% discount available for Bitcoin payments.
- Free Tier Access: Free tier available with limited rate limits: up to 3 requests/sec, 100 requests/hr for classic requests. WebHooks limited to 100 requests/hr. Token required for POST/DELETE calls and advanced features.
- Usage-Based Rate Limits: Rate limits tied to API token tiers: higher paid tiers provide more API calls per hour (up to 500,000/hour) and more hooks/payments (up to 10,000 each)
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Monthly | Free Tier |
| Subscription | Monthly | Ethereum API Paid Plans |
| Subscription | Monthly | Bitcoin API Paid Plans |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Enterprise/Custom Plans |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels4 records
BlockCypher product offering
Product offeringCore offering
BlockCypher operates a cloud-based, multi-blockchain infrastructure platform that exposes RESTful JSON APIs for building decentralized applications. It supports Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Dash, Dogecoin, and its own test chain, hosting full-node blockchains across distributed data centers so developers do not need to run or maintain their own blockchain infrastructure. The platform is delivered via tiered subscription plans with a free tier for evaluation and paid plans for production workloads.
Product overview
BlockCypher is a blockchain infrastructure-as-a-service platform offering a suite of APIs for building blockchain applications. The core product is the BlockCypher APIs, a RESTful JSON API platform that provides programmatic access to multiple blockchains (Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Dash, Dogecoin, and test networks). The platform includes add-on modules for wallet management (HD Wallets), transaction handling, confidence factor scoring for double-spend prevention, metadata storage, custom asset creation via Open Assets standard, and address forwarding with payment processing. A companion Block Explorer web interface enables manual blockchain exploration. Official SDKs are provided in Python, Ruby, and Go, with additional support for WebHooks and WebSockets for real-time event notifications. The Ethereum API extends functionality to smart contracts and ERC-20 tokens.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- BlockCypher Blockchain APIs RESTful JSON API platform that provides programmatic access to Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Dash, Dogecoin, Bitcoin Testnet3, and BlockCypher's own Test Chain for developers and businesses building blockchain applications. Sold via tiered monthly subscriptions starting at $119/month for the Bitcoin-family API.
- Ethereum API Ethereum-specific API offering endpoints for smart contract creation, deployment, and calling, Solidity compilation, ERC-20 token support, gas price estimation, and transaction cancellation/replacement. Priced as a separate subscription starting at $75/month with a 10% Bitcoin payment discount.
- Block Explorer Web-based blockchain explorer at live.blockcypher.com that allows users to view blocks, transactions, and addresses on BlockCypher-supported blockchains without requiring an API token.
Quantifiable outcome
- 99.99% Uptime
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use BlockCypher
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
BlockCypher technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature10 records
BlockCypher partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
BlockCypher competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Infura: ConsenSys-owned blockchain infrastructure API providing Ethereum and IPFS node access. Most direct competitor to BlockCypher, serving the same developer audience with overlapping chain coverage and similar REST API model.
- Alchemy: Blockchain developer platform offering node APIs, enhanced APIs, and developer tools across multiple chains. Competes head-to-head with BlockCypher for developer mindshare and enterprise blockchain infrastructure contracts.
- QuickNode: Blockchain infrastructure provider offering multi-chain node APIs with marketplace add-ons. Direct competitor in the same RPC/node-as-a-service category with similar pricing tiers and developer-focused go-to-market.
- Chainstack: Enterprise-grade blockchain infrastructure platform offering dedicated nodes and APIs across 30+ networks. Competes with BlockCypher in the multi-chain node API market with a stronger enterprise focus.
- Ankr: Decentralized Web3 infrastructure provider offering multi-chain RPC services, staking, and AppChain-as-a-Service. Comparable to BlockCypher in node API offerings with additional decentralized infrastructure angle.
- GetBlock: Blockchain node API provider supporting 40+ chains with shared and dedicated node options. Competes directly with BlockCypher on multi-chain RPC services for developers.
- Pocket Network: Decentralized RPC protocol providing blockchain node infrastructure with token-incentivized node operators. Offers an alternative decentralized approach to the same developer API market BlockCypher serves.
- Bware Labs: Decentralized API platform providing blockchain node infrastructure with both traditional and decentralized endpoints. Direct competitor in the blockchain node API space with comparable multi-chain support.
Emerging players
- Moralis: Web3 development platform offering APIs, SDKs, and authentication for dApps. Adjacent to BlockCypher in serving blockchain developers, with overlapping API offerings (NFT, token, transaction data) though broader in scope.
Broad incumbents
- Coinbase Cloud: Coinbase's institutional blockchain infrastructure division offering node services, staking, and data APIs. Competes with BlockCypher in the broader blockchain infrastructure market with significantly more resources and brand recognition.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
BlockCypher social profiles
Digital presenceBlockCypher financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
BlockCypher leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
BlockCypher funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors16 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
BlockCypher M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about BlockCypher
What does BlockCypher do?
BlockCypher operates a cloud-based, multi-blockchain infrastructure platform that exposes RESTful JSON APIs for building decentralized applications. It supports Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Dash, Dogecoin, and its own test chain, hosting full-node blockchains across distributed data centers so developers do not need to run or maintain their own blockchain infrastructure. The platform is delivered via tiered subscription plans with a free tier for evaluation and paid plans for production workloads.
Is BlockCypher a public or private company?
BlockCypher is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was BlockCypher founded?
BlockCypher was founded in 2014. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is BlockCypher based?
BlockCypher is headquartered in Redwood City, United States, in the North America region.
How does BlockCypher make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. API Subscription Plans are the primary driver. The others are API Subscription Plans, free Tier Access and usage-Based Rate Limits.
Who are BlockCypher's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Infura, Alchemy, QuickNode, Chainstack, Ankr, GetBlock, Pocket Network and Bware Labs. Moralis is listed as an emerging player. Coinbase Cloud is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does BlockCypher have an API?
Yes. BlockCypher offers a RESTful JSON API for blockchain interactions (Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Dash, Dogecoin, Bitcoin Testnet3, and BlockCypher Test Chain). The API provides endpoints for blockchain queries, address management, wallet/HD wallet APIs, transaction creation and propagation, metadata storage, asset management via Open Assets standard, and address forwarding with optional processing fees. Features include WebHook and WebSocket-based event notifications for transaction confirmations, double-spend detection, and block updates. Rate limits: Free tier (3 requests/sec, 100 requests/hr); Paid plans offer significantly higher limits. Paid plans starting at $75/month for Ethereum API and $119/month for Bitcoin API. The API uses JSON responses, with values returned in satoshis (Bitcoin) or wei (Ethereum). Developer documentation is at www.blockcypher.com/dev/bitcoin.
What industry is BlockCypher in?
BlockCypher's product category is Blockchain Infrastructure API. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSADAKAD, RPC / Node API Infrastructure Providers, with a secondary code of FSAPAAAH, Smart Contract Developer Platforms & Tooling (SDKs, APIs, frameworks, indexing). Its NAICS code is 51821.