What is RPC? RPC (Remote Procedure Call) is a communication protocol that allows a client application to send requests to a blockchain node and receive data or trigger actions, such as reading wallet balances, submitting transactions, or querying smart contract state.
RPC Explained Think about ordering food at a restaurant. You do not go into the kitchen yourself. You tell the waiter what you want, the waiter takes your request to the kitchen, and brings back what you ordered.
An RPC works the same way.
Your app is the customer. The blockchain node is the kitchen. The RPC is the waiter that carries requests back and forth.
Without RPC, your application would have no way to talk to the blockchain and get anything done.
What RPC Means For Audience
Use Case
Blockchain developers and engineers
Connect decentralized applications to blockchain networks to read data and submit transactions through RPC endpoints
Infrastructure and DevOps teams
Manage and scale RPC node access to ensure reliable, low-latency communication between applications and the blockchain
Protocol teams and product managers
Monitor RPC performance and reliability as a core dependency of the user experience in any on-chain application
Examples A Web3 wallet uses an RPC endpoint to fetch a user's token balance from the blockchain every time they open the app.
A DeFi protocol routes all transaction submissions through a private RPC provider to reduce latency and protect users from front-running.
A developer switches from a public RPC endpoint to a dedicated provider like Alchemy or Infura after hitting rate limits that were causing failed requests in their application.
A data team queries historical blockchain state through an archive RPC node to reconstruct past on-chain activity for analytics purposes.
FAQs What is an RPC endpoint? An RPC endpoint is a URL that an application sends requests to in order to communicate with a blockchain node. It acts as the access point between your app and the network.
What is the difference between a public and private RPC? Public RPCs are free and shared across many users, which can cause slowness and rate limits. Private RPCs offer dedicated access with higher reliability and performance for a fee.
What are the most common RPC providers for Ethereum? Alchemy, Infura, and QuickNode are among the most widely used. Many teams also run their own nodes for maximum control and reliability.
Can RPC endpoints be a security risk? Yes. Malicious RPC endpoints can return false data or intercept transaction details. Always use trusted providers and verify endpoint sources, especially in wallets.
What is the difference between RPC and an API? An API is a broader concept for how applications communicate. RPC is a specific type of API pattern where the client calls a function on a remote server and receives a result directly.