The Problem
Free RPC endpoints, crucial for blockchain developers, are often plagued by severe rate limitations, making fast data retrieval a costly affair. Traditional RPC endpoints present several obstacles:
- High costs for fast data retrieval
- Severe rate limitations on free options
- Significant strain on blockchain nodes
- Application performance degradation
- Vulnerability from node dependency
Four Core Solutions
1. Free Historical Data Access
Subsquid offers completely free retrieval of historical blockchain data, eliminating the financial burdens previously associated with archival queries. Developers can access the full history of supported chains without worrying about per-request costs.
2. Integrated Database Service
The Squid SDK provides built-in database services with GraphQL API support, though developers maintain flexibility with storage options including Postgres, CSV, Parquet, and S3 buckets. This eliminates the need to provision and manage separate database infrastructure.
3. Real-Time Indexing
The platform supports indexing blocks before finalization, enabling real-time applications through a subscription-based RPC service that costs significantly less than pay-per-query alternatives. This allows developers to build responsive applications without accumulating massive RPC bills.
4. Data Transformation Flexibility
Developers can store data in chosen formats and simplify integration. The system supports Parquet format for analytics workflows compatible with DuckDB, Polars, and Numpy, making it easy to bridge blockchain data into existing data science pipelines.
Conclusion
Subsquid provides efficient, cost-effective access to historical and real-time blockchain data while simplifying developer workflows through SDK flexibility. By removing the financial barriers to blockchain data access, Subsquid enables a broader range of developers and projects to build data-rich applications.