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Blockchain utility methods

ChainGate provides a set of blockchain utility methods designed to help developers interact with all blockchains.

These utilities abstract low-level API calls and offer a consistent developer experience across chains. You can use them to:

  • Query balances and UTXOs
  • Broadcast transactions
  • Retrieve transaction and block data
  • Estimate gas and fees
  • Interact with smart contracts
  • Handle signing and address conversions
tip

These utilities are ideal for wallets, explorers, and blockchain tools that operate across multiple chains.

Initialization​

To start using the utility methods, first initialize the utils interface:

import { initializeUtils } from 'chaingate'

const utils = await initializeUtils({ apiKey: 'your-api-key' })
const bitcoinUtils = utils.currency('bitcoin')

This provides access to all currency-specific utilities through a single entry point.

Usage per currency​

After calling initializeUtils(), you can access the utilities for any supported currency using:

const polygonUtils = utils.currency('polygon')

Each currency provides its own relevant methods. For example:

  • bitcoin: addressUtxos(), transactionDetails(), latestBlock()
  • polygon: estimateGas(), callSmartContractRaw(), networkStatus()

Common methods​

All currency utilities provide a shared set of methods, regardless of whether the chain is UTXO or EVM-based:

  • addressBalance(address) — Get confirmed and unconfirmed balances
  • publicKeyToAddress(publicKey) — Convert a public key to an address string
  • signMessage(message, privateKey) — Sign a message
  • verifySignedMessage(message, signature, address) — Verify a signed message
  • amount(value, unit) — Create an amount from a base or minimal unit
  • amountFiat(value, fiatCurrency) — Convert a fiat amount into a crypto amount
  • fiatRate(fiatCurrency) — Get the current rate for the crypto/fiat pair
  • latestBlock() — Get the latest block for the network
  • blockByHeight(height) — Fetch block data by block height
  • blockByHash(hash) — Fetch block data by block hash
  • transactionDetails(txId) — Retrieve full details of a transaction
  • broadcastTransaction(rawTx) — Broadcast raw transaction data

UTXO utilities​

UtxoCurrencyUtils adds additional methods for managing unspent outputs and accessing blockchain history.

Available methods​

  • addressUtxos(address) — List UTXOs associated with an address
  • addressHistory(address) — Get historical transactions
  • getFeeRate() — Get recommended fees based on network congestion
  • mempoolTransactions() — Get current mempool contents

EVM utilities​

EvmCurrencyUtils includes additional methods tailored to EVM-compatible networks.

Available methods​

  • addressTransactionCount(address) — Get transaction nonce
  • callSmartContractRaw(contract, data) — Low-level smart contract call
  • estimateGas(from, to, amount, nonce, data) — Estimate gas for a transaction
  • getFeeRate() — Retrieve current gas prices
  • networkStatus() — Returns real-time metrics about the network, including average block time, EIP-1559 fee details (base fee and predicted tips), network congestion, and estimated transaction costs.

Working with amounts​

Whenever a utility method returns or requires an amount, it uses a specialized object that handles decimal precision, arithmetic operations, conversions, and formatted display.

This object provides methods like:

  • .str — Human-readable string with symbol (e.g., 0.00231 BTC)
  • .baseAmount — Decimal value in base unit
  • .minimalUnitAmount — Value in minimal unit (e.g., satoshis, wei)
  • .plus(amount) / .minus(amount) — Perform arithmetic
  • .toFiat(fiatCurrency) — Convert to fiat equivalent

This ensures safe calculations and consistent formatting across all blockchains.

Key points​

  • Unified abstraction: The same API design across chains
  • Chain-aware methods: Adapts logic based on currency type
  • Smart contract support: For all EVM-based networks
  • Safe math: CurrencyAmount handles decimals correctly