--- updatedAt: 2026-06-01T15:17:07.000Z agentTools: projectIndex: https://docs.liquid.net/llms.txt --- # Esplora Esplora is Blockstream's open source block explorer and API for Bitcoin and Liquid. For your exchange integration, it serves two roles: it's the backend that LWK uses for chain scanning, and it's a REST API you can call directly for transaction lookups, broadcasts, fee estimates, and asset metadata. ## Public endpoints | Network | Base URL | | ------------------ | --------------------------------------------- | | **Liquid mainnet** | `https://blockstream.info/liquid/api/` | | **Liquid testnet** | `https://blockstream.info/liquidtestnet/api/` | These are free to use and don't require authentication. For high volume production use, consider [self hosting](#self-hosting). > 👍 **Mainnet vs testnet URLs** > > Every example below shows the **mainnet** base URL (`.../liquid/api/...`). To hit the same endpoint on testnet, swap the network segment: > > * Mainnet → `https://blockstream.info/liquid/api/...` > * Testnet → `https://blockstream.info/liquidtestnet/api/...` > > Many of the endpoints will 404 or return empty data if you query mainnet from testnet environments (or vice versa), so make sure your configuration can switch between them. ## Most useful endpoints for exchanges ### Look up a transaction ```bash # mainnet curl https://blockstream.info/liquid/api/tx/ # testnet curl https://blockstream.info/liquidtestnet/api/tx/ ``` Returns full transaction details including inputs, outputs, confirmation status, fee, and block info. ```bash curl https://blockstream.info/liquid/api/tx//status ``` Returns just the confirmation status: `confirmed` (boolean), `block_height`, and `block_hash`. ### Get address UTXOs ```bash curl https://blockstream.info/liquid/api/address/
/utxo ``` Returns all unspent outputs for an address. Each UTXO includes `txid`, `vout`, `value` (or `valuecommitment` for confidential), and `asset` (or `assetcommitment`). Note: For confidential outputs, the `value` and `asset` fields are replaced with their blinded commitments. You need blinding keys to unblind them, which is why LWK handles this for you during wallet sync. ### Get address transaction history ```bash # Most recent transactions (up to 50 mempool + 25 confirmed) curl https://blockstream.info/liquid/api/address/
/txs # Paginated confirmed transactions curl https://blockstream.info/liquid/api/address/
/txs/chain/ ``` Returns 25 confirmed transactions per page. Pass the last `txid` from the previous page to get the next batch. ### Broadcast a transaction ```bash # mainnet curl -X POST https://blockstream.info/liquid/api/tx \ -H "Content-Type: text/plain" \ -d "" # testnet curl -X POST https://blockstream.info/liquidtestnet/api/tx \ -H "Content-Type: text/plain" \ -d "" ``` Send a raw, finalized transaction hex. Returns the `txid` on success. ### Fee estimates ```bash curl https://blockstream.info/liquid/api/fee-estimates # testnet: .../liquidtestnet/api/fee-estimates ``` Returns an object mapping confirmation targets (in blocks) to estimated fee rates (sat/vB): ```json { "1": 0.1, "2": 0.1, "3": 0.1, "144": 0.1, "504": 0.1, "1008": 0.1 } ``` Liquid fees are consistently low. In most cases, you can use a fixed fee rate. ### Asset information Liquid exposes asset data through **two different services** and it's important not to confuse them: | Service | URL | Returns | | ------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------- | | **Esplora** `/asset/` | `https://blockstream.info/liquid/api/asset/` | On-chain statistics: issued / reissued / burned amounts | | **Liquid Asset Registry** | `https://assets.blockstream.info/` (mainnet) `https://assets-testnet.blockstream.info/` (testnet) | Registered metadata: name, ticker, precision, issuer domain | #### Esplora asset endpoint (chain stats) ```bash curl https://blockstream.info/liquid/api/asset/ ``` Returns the on-chain asset record. **It does not return `name`, `ticker`, or `precision`** — those live in the Registry. ```json { "asset_id": "6f0279e9ed041c3d710a9f57d0c02928416460c4b722ae3457a11eec381c526d", "chain_stats": { "tx_count": 0, "issuance_count": 1, "issued_amount": 0, "burned_amount": 0, "has_blinded_issuances": true, "reissuance_tokens": null, "burned_reissuance_tokens": 0 }, "mempool_stats": { "...": "..." } } ``` Use this endpoint to audit supply and burn history on-chain. #### Liquid Asset Registry (metadata) To map an asset ID to a human-readable name, ticker, and precision, query the Registry: ```bash # mainnet curl https://assets.blockstream.info/6f0279e9ed041c3d710a9f57d0c02928416460c4b722ae3457a11eec381c526d.json # testnet curl https://assets-testnet.blockstream.info/.json ``` ```json { "asset_id": "6f0279e9ed041c3d710a9f57d0c02928416460c4b722ae3457a11eec381c526d", "name": "Liquid Bitcoin", "ticker": "LBTC", "precision": 8, "entity": { "domain": "blockstream.com" } } ``` Registry entries exist only for assets whose issuer has published metadata and passed a domain ownership challenge. Unregistered assets have no Registry record — your UI should fall back to the raw asset ID for them. Cache Registry responses locally; metadata is immutable after issuance. For more context (schema, v2.0 admin fields, registration flow) see [Assets and Asset Types → Asset Registry](/docs/liquid-assets). ### Current chain tip ```bash # Current block height (mainnet) curl https://blockstream.info/liquid/api/blocks/tip/height # testnet curl https://blockstream.info/liquidtestnet/api/blocks/tip/height # Current block hash curl https://blockstream.info/liquid/api/blocks/tip/hash curl https://blockstream.info/liquidtestnet/api/blocks/tip/hash ``` Useful for monitoring chain progress and detecting if your node/API is behind. ## Using Esplora from code ### Rust (via LWK) LWK uses Esplora's Electrum interface for wallet sync. You don't call the REST API directly, LWK handles it: ```rust use lwk_wollet::{ElectrumClient, ElectrumUrl}; let url = ElectrumUrl::new("blockstream.info:465", true, true).unwrap(); // testnet let client = ElectrumClient::new(&url).unwrap(); wollet.full_scan(&client).unwrap(); ``` ### JavaScript ```javascript // Pick the base URL for the network you're on const ESPLORA = network.isMainnet() ? "https://blockstream.info/liquid/api" : "https://blockstream.info/liquidtestnet/api"; // Get address UTXOs const utxos = await fetch(`${ESPLORA}/address/${address}/utxo`).then(r => r.json()); // Broadcast a transaction — response body is the plain-text txid const txid = await fetch(`${ESPLORA}/tx`, { method: "POST", body: rawHex, }).then(r => r.text()); ``` If you already created an `EsploraClient` via LWK, prefer `client.broadcastTx(tx)` which handles hex encoding and error reporting for you. ## Self hosting For production workloads, self hosting Esplora eliminates rate limits and dependency on third party infrastructure. The Esplora project is open source: * [Esplora on GitHub](https://github.com/Blockstream/esplora) * [Esplora API documentation](https://github.com/Blockstream/esplora/blob/master/API.md) A self hosted Esplora instance requires a synced Liquid/Elements node and the Esplora indexer. Plan for significant disk space (Liquid mainnet blocks are \~38 GB, plus the index). ## Rate limits The public Blockstream endpoints enforce rate limits. If you're making many requests in a short window (e.g., scanning hundreds of addresses), you may get throttled. Solutions: 1. **Use Waterfalls** for wallet sync (single request instead of hundreds) 2. **Self host Esplora** for unlimited queries 3. **Cache responses** for asset metadata and confirmed transactions (they don't change) ## Next steps * [Waterfalls](/docs/waterfalls): faster wallet sync with a single request