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It’s been a week since Ankr detected a hack that resulted in excessive minting of our BNB liquid staking token (aBNBc) and its rapid exchange for other tokens on decentralized exchanges. The team was able to briskly patch the exploit within hours and deploy an initial $15m Recovery Fund that has now been exceeded to compensate DeFi BNB liquidity providers, BNB lenders, and DeFi protocol users affected by the aBNBc exploit.

The compensation plan is scheduled to take part across several stages so we can monitor conversions and move quickly to reimburse all legitimate and affected aBNBc & aBNBb token holders based on a snapshot taken December 2, 2022 (Dec-02-2022 at 12:43:18 AM +UTC - Block number: 23545403).

## What Has Been Accomplished So Far?

After announcing the Recovery Strategy on the [Ankr blog](https://www.ankr.com/blog/the-abnbc-token-report/) and our official [social media channels](https://twitter.com/ankr/status/1598768146088742912), we took several measures to start compensating users to the full extent of the losses they incurred as a result of the exploit.

So far, we have been able to complete various Airdrops of ankrBNB and BNB tokens to wallet addresses that held aBNBc and aBNBb at the time of the *snapshot* through smart contracts and liquidity pools. The team is working closely with several DeFi protocols to ensure the safety and best interest of their communities. We will continue to share further updates as they are released.

As of now, we have met the following milestones in our Recovery Plan:

### Re-stabilized HAY Price

On Thursday, December 8th, 2022, Ankr finalized the purchase of 6,843,323 HAY on Decentralized Exchanges out of the entire 17,747,582 HAY of accumulated bad debt. This move succeeded in stabilizing HAY’s price, pushing HAY/BUSD up to $0.98. 

Additionally, on Tuesday, December 13th, Ankr burned **6,000,000 HAY,** which is the first burn to the [Helio Bad Debt Burn Address](https://bscscan.com/address/0x192D4e2E19A01e49b30Fb3894A01B6e08947d9CA). Immediately after the incident, the Helio team stated that it would be repurchasing the excess HAY and sending it to a burn address. Helio Protocol had a total value locked of approximately $90 million before the incident of which Helio has already bought back $3 million worth of bad debt in HAY in the open market.

### Airdropped ankrBNB to Affected DeFi Users

On Friday, December 9th, 2022, Ankr airdropped ankrBNB to wallet addresses that held aBNBc and aBNBb at the time of snapshot through smart contracts for a number of partner DeFi protocols. We were able to complete the airdrop for the following protocols:

- Ellipsis Finance
- PancakeSwap
- Beefy Finance
- ApeSwap
- ACryptoS
- Wombat
- Wombex
- Magpie
- Quoll

### Airdropped BNB to Affected LPs

On Monday, December 12th, 2022, Ankr airdropped BNB to wallet address that held BNB through aBNBc or aBNBb liquidity pools. The liquidity pools we compensated addresses for are:

- ACryptoS ASCI Farm: 18.57922911707609861 BNB
- ACryptoS LP: 0.312655746961921 BNB
- ApeSwap LP: 192.73227886323606338 BNB
- Ellipsis LP Beefy Vault: 829.820502618376604417 BNB
- Ellipsis LP DotDot Farm: 332.017235831474294796 BNB
- Ellipsis LP Farm: 17.327942433773631424 BNB
- Ellipsis LP: 9.987203105242974679 BNB
- Kalmy vault: 52.996829992 BNB
- Izumi LP: 509.783825632276009070 BNB
- PancakeSwap LP Beefy Vault: 697.936888689457446913 BNB
- PancakeSwap Farm: 6,225.408642285559266733 BNB

### Airdropped ankrBNB to Missing Addresses

Ankr also airdropped ankrBNB to missing wallet addresses that held aBNBc and aBNBb at the time of the *snapshot* through smart contracts on the following protocols:

- Izumi
- DotDot Finance
- Kalmy

### Unlocked ankrBNB  Transfers

After halting trading for aBNBc and aBNBb tokens and completing the token migration to the new ankrBNB, we are unblocking transferability of newly airdropped ankrBNB tokens.

### Plan for Reimbursing Wombat stkBNB LPs

As of December, 19th, we have reached a bilateral agreement with pStake to airdrop 2,654.352 ankrBNB and 681.051 stkBNB, which will partially cover the loss of stkBNB liquidity providers on Wombat. The nature of the mixed liquidity pools on the decentralized exchange poses a challenge in estimating the losses of affected users but Ankr is happy to have reached a decision with the management team of Wombat for adequate compensation. 

### 100% coverage for Wombat BNB LPs

Ankr will provide 100% coverage of the BNB Wombat LP estimated at **14,407.155 BNB. At the first stage of the Recovery Plan for Wombat users, wallets that directly or indirectly held Wombat BNB LP tokens at the time of the snapshot will be compensated in full on December, 19th. 

Later this week, we will compensate wallets that directly or indirectly held Wombat BNBx LP via an airdrop for 50% of the tokens they held. 

### What is Ankr's Rationale Behind the Recovery Plan and Airdrops? 

Over the last couple of weeks, Ankr has held multiple talks with partners and professionals in the crypto field, consulting with key stakeholders impacted by the aBNBc exploit in the @BNBChain ecosystem. Our strategy was designed with all affected parties and our community's best interest in mind to ensure fair and timely compensation.

To this effect, we made a decision to accelerate the ankrBNB token mint to provide complete protection to Ankr liquid stakers. Ankr covered 100% of all the DEX LPs that we have incentivized on at least one occasion. 

The BNB LP Wombat was co-incentivized by Ankr alongside pStake and Stader. Our calculations show that about 24% of that pool held Ankr[ liquid staking tokens](https://www.ankr.com/blog/liquid-staking-a-comprehensive-guide/) funded via our liquid staking proportion on the Wombat common LP. Nevetheless, Ankr has made the decision to cover 100% of the pool to mitigate the adverse effects on liquid staking liquidity pools in general as a result of the exploit. We see having BNB suppliers as essential for BNB liquid staking and want to continue playing a key role in the advancement of liquid staking as a new standard in DeFi as whole. 

Despite the stkBNB LP and BNBx LPs never having been incentivized by Ankr, we acknowledge the aBNBc exploit affected both stkBNB and BNBx. However, these are inherent risks that multiple token pools bear due to their design. Ankr never incentivized any stkBNB or BNBx token holders to enter this pool but we will cover 50% of those pools with an airdrop as a sign of our goodwill. After careful consideration, we believe this strategy to be fair given the circumstances of the exploit and the fact that Ankr has never provided any incentives to enter stkBNB LP and BNBx LPs.


## In Conclusion  

**We want to thank the community for your ongoing support, patience, and feedback during this time.**

Please see our [After Action Report](https://www.ankr.com/blog/after-action-report-our-findings-from-abnbc-token-exploit/) for more details on our findings from the exploit. 



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Ankr Makes Progress With Recovery Program Targets and Milestones

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As a seasoned technical writer, Galya Mikova excels at demystifying intricate blockchain topics. With a talent for simplifying complexity, she bridges the gap between complex technology and reader understanding, making blockchain accessible through her expertly crafted articles.

Galina Mikova

![shrunk_more_locations_6217c48b78.jpg](https://s3-frontend-strapi.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/shrunk_more_locations_6217c48b78_9f8b1b36e3.jpg)

Web3 is a truly global movement that serves every country and corner of the world. The crypto industry never sleeps – and the 24/7 markets and protocols serving DeFi, NFTs, Web3 gaming, and other applications require constantly available node resources to reach blockchain data. Such a resource-intensive industry needs providers that can deliver incredibly fast and reliable blockchain connections closer to wherever its users happen to be. This has become Ankr’s strong suit.

With enterprise-grade nodes operated by Ankr from independent data centers worldwide, **Ankr gives Web3’s global user base a more reliable, low-latency, and efficient experience no matter their location.** With a globally distributed network, there are always nodes nearby, resulting in reduced latency for all kinds of applications.

This is one of the reasons why Ankr is the fastest-growing Web3 Infrastructure provider serving nearly 8 billion RPC requests daily on the [23+ blockchains supported](https://www.ankr.com/protocol/public/) by Ankr.

## Ankr Powers Web3 Worldwide With Nodes in 30 Regions

Just like cell networks or cloud service providers need equipment and servers close to their customers for fast and reliable service, Web3 infra providers need nodes running globally to provide the highest quality service to developers, dApps, and ultimately end users.

![Screenshot_2022_12_16_130111_ef56847c71.png](https://s3-frontend-strapi.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Screenshot_2022_12_16_130111_ef56847c71_1543bb3df9.png)

*Ankr is constantly expanding our infrastructure which serves as a public good and critical service to so many foundations and projects.*

If a cell provider only had infrastructure in North America but had customers all over the world, that would be a problem. The same principle applies to Web3. However, many of the largest Web3 infrastructure providers have limited service locations.

Most centralized providers only have nodes in one region. Some of the top names in Web3 infrastructure have their servers placed only in the eastern United States, constrained to the AWS data centers in that region. While they still serve traffic coming from around the world with high-quality connections, their performance could be greatly improved by expanding the network globally.

Alternatively, Ankr has nodes serving billions of RPC requests from around the world every day from the most distributed infrastructure of any provider.

![30_Regions_50_883cde6b49.jpg](https://s3-frontend-strapi.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/30_Regions_50_883cde6b49_1800831b0a.jpg)

## Independent Node Providers Spreading the Traffic Load & the Map

Not only are there Ankr-run nodes operating in more regions than any other provider, but we are also adding to a growing list of independent node providers and partners who add even greater location diversity. Among those putting up nodes to serve traffic coming to Ankr Protocol are:

- Pocket Network
- Harmony
- IoTeX
- Chainstack
- Fantom
- Debooks
- QuickNode
- And more!

## Where Are Ankr’s Nodes Located?

![map2_7a8fa23123.png](https://s3-frontend-strapi.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/map2_7a8fa23123_d0c42ef122.png)

*This map shows 24h of global user requests. Ankr places nodes strategically in all of these regions to ensure extremely fast speeds for all users.*

Unlike less distributed providers, Ankr’s nodes are spread across independent data centers worldwide. Ankr has been installing bare metal servers for years in 30 of the various cloud regions in North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Oceania, and Africa.

To serve users best, Ankr pays close attention to where high volumes of requests are coming from and quickly supplements the region with nearby nodes. These nodes are most often housed in colocation data centers (aka Colos) that offer high levels of security and reliability. Ankr also has a great [partnership with Maxihost](https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2022/01/26/2373635/0/en/Ankr-Partners-with-Bare-Metal-Cloud-Provider-Maxihost-to-Scale-Web3-Infrastructure-Globally.html) which helped us install over a hundred bare metal servers just in Latin America.

“*We’ve been very intentional about our node locations and data center partnerships. We’ve spent years building our infrastructure from the ground up and deploying nodes in close proximity to all DeFi and Web3 users to provide a low-latency experience. Onboarding more independent node providers to Ankr Network will make it even easier to make sure we can cover every part of the world.*”

– Josh Neuroth, Ankr’s Head of Product

![polygon_map_c0866e49a1.png](https://s3-frontend-strapi.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/polygon_map_c0866e49a1_a56ef1a7dc.png)

*A map of top countries by request for the Polygon chain on 12/15. Ankr measures this data for all supported chains on [Ankr’s RPC Service](https://www.ankr.com/rpc/).*

## See Response Times On Our Dashboard

Check out the data for yourself on our dashboard. See the average latency to various countries, where requests are coming from, and more. This is just one of our tools designed to give our users all the data we can for their due diligence on infrastructure services.

![Geckoboard_9e05b1e63f.png](https://s3-frontend-strapi.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Geckoboard_9e05b1e63f_d01f2fd2da.png)

[View our dashboard](https://share.geckoboard.com/dashboards/F4WZLTF3IHS4STD5)

## Globally Distributed = A Better Choice for Web3 Development

An incredible number of developers and projects are switching their infrastructure to Ankr as we offer global, fast, reliable, and affordable (or free) RPC services.

For more advanced services, Ankr’s [Premium Plan](https://www.ankr.com/rpc/pricing/) is available at incredibly affordable prices for more power and endless flexibility for builders everywhere.

- Nearly unlimited requests
- Global node distribution
- Dedicated endpoints
- Prioritized traffic
- Advanced Developer APIs
- WebSockets (WS) capabilities

## Join the Conversation On Ankr’s Channels!

[Twitter](https://twitter.com/ankr) | [Telegram Announcements](https://t.me/anrknetworkann) | [Telegram English Chat](https://t.me/ankrnetwork) | [Help Desk](https://ankrnetwork.atlassian.net/servicedesk/customer/portal/10) | [Discord](https://discord.gg/e4n8mAejGb) | [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCErrNjCg6raOsq5MQ9fpIig) | [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/ankr/) | [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/ankr) | [Ankr Staking](https://eth2.ankr.com/)

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Ankr Supports More Regions Than Any Web3 Infrastructure Provider

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Kevin is a business writer, journalist, and avid explorer of the blockchain and tech industry. His work has been covered across crypto and traditional media as Ankr’s Senior Writer, with topics spanning the big picture of “Web3,” tech breakthroughs, and how blockchain is changing our digital lives. Working with some of blockchain’s most talented engineers daily, Kevin gains unique insight into what advances we can expect next and the implications they hold for us all.

Technical Writer

Kevin Dwyer

![Medium_Post_14_12_2_9756d9c617.jpg](https://s3-frontend-strapi.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Medium_Post_14_12_2_9756d9c617_03a122f461.jpg)
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Since 2017, Ankr has been helping blockchain developers create dApps by providing the highest quality [RPC/API connections](https://www.ankr.com/rpc/) to different chains. Exceptional dApps need high-performance infrastructure – that’s why Ankr has become the go-to provider for projects requiring a higher bar of service.

Ankr powers dApps while excelling in every metric that matters when connecting to blockchains:

- Speed
- Reliability
- Affordability
- Supported Blockchains
- Global Distribution
- User Experience
- Decentralization

## Why Does RPC Performance Matter?

[RPC](https://www.ankr.com/blog/what-do-infrastructure-providers-do-we-connect-the-world-to-web3/) connections are the messengers or “blockchain routers” that relay on-chain information between nodes, dApps, and ultimately end-users. This allows users to execute necessary tasks like sending transactions, populating wallet balances, fetching ownership information, and more within Web3 experiences, apps, and games.

**Good RPC services:**

- Make dApps & smart contracts load faster and *work*
- Ensure dApps stay up and operational
- Provide accurate results for read/write data
- Create a seamless, positive UX

Below, we’ll explore why more developers are moving to Ankr for their blockchain infrastructure needs and why we are leading the pack in service quality – based on neutral, hard data.

## Ankr’s Infrastructure Was Built From The Ground Up

Most Web3 infrastructure providers use AWS data centers exclusively to house their nodes. Web2 cloud and database technology often falls short when attempting to deliver quality blockchain RPC/API services. The requirements of decentralized systems are much better served by infrastructure that has been customized and built specifically to serve unique demands. Using AWS limits the global distribution of nodes and leads to higher latencies. It also creates a big problem if [AWS goes down](https://www.techradar.com/news/live/aws-is-down-again-heres-all-we-know) as all of the dApps that depend on these nodes to communicate with the blockchain go down with it.

On the other hand, Ankr has spent years building our server/node infrastructure from the ground up, customizing it specifically for the demands of Web3:

**Other providers**

- Provide a cloud-based service using AWS
- Constrained to AWS data center locations
- Complexities of Web3 tech bog down servers with traditional data validity requirements

**Ankr**

- Serves requests from a high-performance blend of bare-metal and cloud servers globally
- In more global data centers in more locations than any provider
- Runs nodes on custom servers optimized for blockchain & our tailor-made software

## More Web3 Projects Are Using Ankr

**Quick 2022 stats:**

- Ankr grew by 2,000% in serviced RPC requests
- 8 Billion daily RPC requests served
- Dozens of networks & testnets supported
- 40,000 distinct developers
- 30+ global regions with nodes serving traffic

## Faster Speeds

The map below shows where Ankr is outperforming our main competitors by providing extremely low-latency RPC connections. **The blue circles show where Ankr performs better in terms of response times measured in milliseconds** (in every global region) and the number of chains we are providing faster times for. Keep in mind that the radius of the circles isn’t showing coverage areas – only where the nodes are located. Any dev or Web3 application can reach Ankr’s infrastructure from anywhere in the world with an internet connection

![map_7819c5bda9.png](https://s3-frontend-strapi.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/map_7819c5bda9_e99be8e0e1.png)

*Sourced from our internal measurement tool in Grafana that uses neutral comparison data collected from Ankr, Infura, Alchemy, Chainstack, and Quicknode over 30d prior to Dec. 15.*

Ankr has some of the lowest latency RPC connections in the industry that consistently test faster than our competitors in more locations and with more chains. But we use our internal testing tools primarily to constantly improve our services and identify any areas where we fall short.

![chart_1_6d5e4aa5f5.jpg](https://s3-frontend-strapi.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/chart_1_6d5e4aa5f5_547ec26b83.jpg)


*This graph shows the average latency in milliseconds (ms) for all blockchains, requests, and global regions for the past 30 days (from Dec 8th) using data from our internal Splunk dashboard.*

![chart_2_86ea430a28.png](https://s3-frontend-strapi.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/chart_2_86ea430a28_422c947c78.png)

*This graph shows the breakdown of the number of global regions x the number of blockchains that Ankr scored the best globally for speed for 24h on Dec 15.*

As a note, all latency experiences are highly dependent on any developer’s physical location. You can test how providers stack up in your specific location by using our [RPC Latency Comparison](https://rpc-comparison.vercel.app/) tool at any time. When using the comparison tool, remember that response times are highly variable and may change drastically every time you refresh. An hourly, daily, or weekly average latency (as shown in the graphs above) gives a more accurate and useful depiction of the data.

Additionally, there are some very significant advantages Ankr has in certain global regions where other providers simply cannot provide the same low latency due to the location constraints of their infrastructure. **By Average Latency, across all our supported chains, Ankr tested significantly faster than all competitors in regions outside the US.** For these results, it is important to understand that none of the providers have as broad of a selection of blockchains as Ankr, and these are overall statistics gathered as a global aggregate.

Speed is only one measurement of Web3 infrastructure. Sometimes who the “winner” is when it comes to speed comes down to a matter of 10ms – which is mostly negligible when it comes to the actual end-user experience. Although Ankr is outperforming other providers in the critical regions above, we also provide an exceptional level of service in every other category.

## More Reliable

In Web3 infrastructure, RPC service reliability is measured in areas like node uptime that are well-indicated by failed request percentages. Across all chains, Ankr’s infrastructure is currently logging around 1 failure per 100k requests. If a request reaches a node that experiences an outage or an error, our intelligent load balancer automatically re-routes the request to another node quickly.

Ankr consistently performs at the highest standards of uptime for providers. We have the added benefit of being more resistant to outages that affect centralized cloud providers from time to time as we use a unique blend of both bare-metal and cloud servers from Ankr and independent node providers.

## More Affordable

![736_Centralized_vs_Decentralized_Pricing_at_Scale_4516a97794.png](https://s3-frontend-strapi.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/736_Centralized_vs_Decentralized_Pricing_at_Scale_4516a97794_2e70a90d42.png)


*Estimated price comparison from May 2022*

Ankr provides developer-first, pay-as-you-go pricing for Premium RPC services at competitive rates across all supported chains (the pricing per request method is the same for all EVM-compatible chains). More than that, we are transitioning to a model that shares all RPC revenue with independent node providers, creating a more collaborative and decentralized way to serve blockchain traffic.

The graph above shows a price comparison of how much it would have cost SpiritSwap to make 8,590,000,000 requests using each provider (a real monthly figure for their usage of Ankr’s RPCs). You can see that Ankr charges drastically lower rates than our main competitors. Ankr also has a plan in place to deliver 70% of the pay-as-you-go RPC revenue coming to Ankr Network nodes to our node providers and token stakers. Out of the 70%, 49% will go to the individual stakers, and 21% will go to the node providers, as outlined further in [our whitepaper](https://www.ankr.com/ankr-whitepaper-2.0.pdf).

**Want to compare with other providers? Check our [pricing chart](https://www.ankr.com/docs/rpc-service/pricing/) to see our costs for dozens of request methods.**

## More Supported Chains Than Any Provider

![resize_1_e595e817a9.jpg](https://s3-frontend-strapi.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/resize_1_e595e817a9_634e61deba.jpg)

Ankr supports more chains than any other provider at 23+ Proof-of-Stake chains, with many more on the way. We believe that the future is multi-chain, and we’re doing everything we can to ensure that developers have easy access to as many chains as possible, so they have more options when it comes down to choosing where to build. As a Web3-native company, Ankr has formed strong partnerships with the foundations associated with these blockchains while providing expansive open-source support.

**[See all supported chains](https://www.ankr.com/protocol/) by visiting our RPC dashboard.**

## Vast Global Distribution

![map2_25fce43466.png](https://s3-frontend-strapi.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/map2_25fce43466_83db10c4a7.png)

*This map shows 24h of global user requests. Ankr places nodes strategically in all regions to ensure extremely fast speeds for all users.*

Ankr serves blockchain requests from any location with incredibly low latency, thanks to our broad node locations in now [over 30 regions](https://medium.com/ankr-network/supporting-more-regions-than-any-web3-infrastructure-provider-8e8bd3639db9) **(more than any web3 infrastructure provider)**. Ankr’s infrastructure uses a highly effective blend of both bare-metal servers in colocation data centers around the world and cloud providers. And, since Ankr will begin onboarding increasingly more independent node providers (see the section below), we will be able to diversify our distribution even further.

## Superior User Experience

Ankr’s RPC dashboard is incredibly accessible, allowing ungated access to copy and paste endpoints for immediate blockchain connections. No login, email signup, data surrendering, or other blockers stand in the way. The interface itself is clean and extremely easy to use, with all infrastructure data, usage data, and other pertinent data neatly laid out for users. To access Premium services, users have the choice of  signing in with wallets like MetaMask or using Google sign-in with the ability to pay-as-you-go with ANKR tokens or with a credit card. We’ve even included an integration assistant with code snippets that are easily copy/pasteable for devs and available in a variety of programming languages.

## Enhanced Decentralization

Ankr has long had a track record of having a distributed node infrastructure to help protect against the vulnerability of housing all nodes with one cloud provider like AWS. But now, Ankr is shifting increasingly to decentralizing its services by welcoming many more independent node providers to serve RPC traffic from our load balancers.

![0_Ypp_Ld_G_Fr_V_Mg_v7_YH_697c8f96a4.png](https://s3-frontend-strapi.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/0_Ypp_Ld_G_Fr_V_Mg_v7_YH_697c8f96a4_0b827255c4.png)


Having a [decentralized infrastructure](https://blockworks.co/ankr-moves-to-decentralize-node-infrastructure-with-staking/) for the decentralized web is extremely important. Ankr is taking a big step to disrupt all infrastructure services (including our own model) by decentralizing. Ankr 2.0, as described in our new whitepaper, is a plan to build a completely decentralized and collaborative node infrastructure for Web3. Ankr Network has already begun onboarding many independent node providers that are serving thousands of blockchain requests as you read this:

- Pocket Network
- Harmony
- IoTeX
- Chainstack
- Fantom Foundation
- QuickNode.com
- And more!

**Our transition to decentralize Ankr’s RPC services can be found in [our new whitepaper](https://www.ankr.com/ankr-whitepaper-2.0.pdf).**

## Final Notes

In 2023, Ankr will continue boosting our performance for every chain by improving the node distribution, hardware, software, and all other aspects of the service. We will also continue our work in providing every public good possible for Web3 developers so they can build the future generation of dApps that welcome millions more to the new web in the coming year.

## Join the Conversation On Ankr’s Channels!

[Twitter](https://twitter.com/ankr) | [Telegram Announcements](https://t.me/anrknetworkann) | [Telegram English Chat](https://t.me/ankrnetwork) | [Help Desk](https://ankrnetwork.atlassian.net/servicedesk/customer/portal/10) | [Discord](https://discord.gg/e4n8mAejGb) | [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCErrNjCg6raOsq5MQ9fpIig) | [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/ankr/) | [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/ankr) | [Ankr Staking](https://eth2.ankr.com/)


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Ankr Leads the Pack In Blockchain RPC/API Services: A Year of Outstanding Performance

If you are just beginning your journey into the world of Web3 development, you may have come across terms such as "RPC" and "API" and wondered what these words mean. Here is an explanation of what each of these terms signify, how they are related, and the differences between them. Additionally, you will get a better understanding of the role these concepts play in the Web3 development world. Let's begin!

# RPC vs. API

Let's start by examining what [Remote Procedure Call](https://www.ankr.com/remote-procedure-call/) (RPC) is. It is a protocol that allows one computer or program to communicate with another computer or program from a distance. In basic terms, it allows you to access a network.

The client must begin the process by sending a message to a remote server. Upon receiving the message, the server will respond, after which the client will resume its original process.

API stands for Application Programming Interface, which allows one computer or system to communicate with other computers or programs over a shared network. Once connected to the network, APIs make it possible for the devices to interact with each other.

It is common to hear people using the terms RPCs and APIs interchangeably, but they are different. APIs provide the basis for two machines to interact on a network, allowing for data to be passed between them. RPCs are the calls made between the two computers, where the API provides guidance on how to use the calls effectively.

The main difference between RPCs and APIs is that RPCs link you to a network while APIs allow you to interact with other machines on the network.

[![rpc-remote-rpocedure-call-cta.png](https://s3-frontend-strapi.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/rpc_remote_rpocedure_call_cta_d60ee98bfa.png)](https://www.ankr.com/remote-procedure-call/)

# An Example of RPCs and APIs

An example can help to demonstrate the subtle difference between RPCs and APIs. RPCs connect to a network and APIs interact with other computers or programs on that network. Essentially, RPCs are local while APIs are communicative.

Let's take a look at another case. Suppose you sent your mom an email to ask her to make some cookies for you. This can be thought of as an RPC. You (the customer) sent a request for cookies to your mom (the server). Your mom does the necessary baking, and then sends you the cookies to fulfill your request.

If you choose to get a pizza and your mom doesn't have the ingredients, you must go to a pizzeria. Just like when you go to the pizzeria, you don't have access to the kitchen ingredients, but you can place an order. The menu provides the pizzas available for ordering along with the toppings and other options you can choose from. This is an example of an application programming interface (API).

An RPC is a specific request for information on the blockchain, whereas an API is like a framework for complex communication.

[![rpc-remote-rpocedure-call-cta.png](https://s3-frontend-strapi.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/rpc_remote_rpocedure_call_cta_d60ee98bfa.png)](https://www.ankr.com/remote-procedure-call/)

# RPCs and APIs in Blockchain

In order to communicate with blockchain networks, Web3 developers need to use either Remote Procedure Calls (RPCs) or Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). These are tools that allow developers to remotely connect to existing [blockchain nodes](https://www.ankr.com/blog/what-are-rpc-nodes-and-endpoints-the-complete-guide-2023/), rather than having to set up and operate their own nodes.

In both Web2 and Web3 contexts, the relationship between RPCs and APIs remains similar, differing only in the underlying infrastructure. Specifically, RPCs provide the connectivity to a blockchain network, while APIs allow for interaction with other nodes on the network.

RPCs allow Web3 developers to communicate with distant blockchain nodes by sending data requests. As an example, Web3 wallets can utilize an RPC endpoint to request information from blockchain nodes.

RPCs can be used to query the blockchain for the information required to answer questions such as 'how many X tokens are in Y wallet?' and 'does this user have enough X tokens to cover the gas fee for this transaction?'.

If you need to write and read information to the blockchain, a full API that allows for the exchange of data between nodes in the network will be required. When you use a DEX to swap cryptocurrencies in your wallet, for example, you must write data to the blockchain with the updated balance. Additionally, APIs will be necessary if you're constructing a dApp which is constantly communicating with blockchain networks, not merely requesting data.

# Ankr’s RPCs and APIs

How does Ankr contribute to this process? Ankr provides the resources needed to construct the restaurant that makes cookies and pizza. It furnishes access to a global, decentralized, distributed network of separate node suppliers via Ankr Protocol. You can connect to Ankr Protocol either by Remote Procedure Call or Application Programming Interface.

Ankr Protocol offers public RPC endpoints which allow users to send and receive transactions directly from https://www.ankr.com/. These endpoints are available in the US and EU and are perfect for use with MetaMask. Simply plug these into your wallet and start sending and receiving transactions today.

If you're a developer or protocol looking for powerful API connectivity to power your project, Ankr offers a Premium Plan that includes unlimited requests with no rate limits. Ankr enables users to connect to blockchain nodes all over the world with the lowest latency possible. Learn about our premium plan at: [https://www.ankr.com/protocol/plan/](https://www.ankr.com/protocol/plan/)

[![rpc-remote-rpocedure-call-cta.png](https://s3-frontend-strapi.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/rpc_remote_rpocedure_call_cta_d60ee98bfa.png)](https://www.ankr.com/remote-procedure-call/)

# Join the conversation on Ankr’s channels!

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Explore the differences between RPCs and APIs, their roles in Web3 development, and how they facilitate communication in blockchain networks.

RPCs and APIs: Key Differences and Their Role in Web3 Development

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What's the Difference Between RPCs and APIs?

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Ethan Nelson, a DeFi enthusiast and member of the Ankr Staking team, delves into DeFi topics with expertise. His insightful articles simplify complex concepts, empowering readers to navigate the dynamic world of decentralized finance confidently. Stay informed with Ethan's illuminating content on all things liquid staking and DeFi related.

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**Ankr makes Web3 work behind the scenes by connecting devs & decentralized apps to blockchains via RPC/API services.**

In Web3, it can be a real challenge to keep up with technology that is literally updating every day. With as many facets and projects as there are with dApps, DeFi, DAOs, Layer-1s, Layer-2s, bridges, NFT marketplaces, and so much more, **it’s hard to keep track of what makes it all work.**

So what about the infrastructure that makes it all work behind the scenes? Just like the internet, there is a huge need for infrastructure to make the decentralized applications of Web3 possible. For you to even be able to read this article online, there are many levels of things happening in the Web1/Web2 background. If you searched Google for “what is an RPC” and wound up here, your screen is only populated with this information because your browser was able to establish a connection to your Internet Service Provider, the Domain Name Server, various data centers, and internet hosting services, all within a fraction of a second.

All of these processes are happening in Web3 as well – but there are extra layers on top of this that enable the blockchain elements that are key to the technology. **In order for decentralized applications to function, they need to connect to the information held on various blockchains.** For dApps, wallets, and other Web3 apps to know the contents of your wallet address, verify asset ownership, or execute critical tasks like crypto transactions, they need to connect to blockchains to pull this data. Let this article be your guide to how this all works in the background.

## Ankr: Connecting Developers, Apps, Wallets, and the World to Web3

### What Is A Blockchain Connection or RPC (Remote Procedure Call)?

RPCs could be classified as a type of API (application programming interface) that allow developers and their apps to both read data from blockchains and run code that can be executed on servers (nodes) remotely. And when developers build dApps that are connected to RPCs, the app will be able to connect users’ requests for information from blockchains and initiate tasks like crypto transactions. For instance, when users access a dApp or DEX to make transactions, their requests go through an RPC to connect them with the nodes that hold the data from blockchains so they can send new transactions to the mempool where they wait to be sent to validator nodes so they can be added to the chain. RPCs can likewise pull any data that a dApp might need from any epoch in a blockchain, including block numbers, accounts, balances, gas, mining data, and all other immutable info stored as a part of the blockchain.

**[Get started](https://www.ankr.com/rpc/) using Ankr’s RPCs for 20+ blockchains.**

### How Does An RPC Service Provide Blockchain Connections?

Today, [Ankr Network](https://www.ankr.com/rpc/) handles over 8 billion “RPC calls” to blockchains daily. These calls are simply requests coming from different Web3 developers and decentralized applications needing access to blockchain data or wanting to initiate a transaction. Specific types of these requests are referred to as “methods” such as eth_getBalance (find the balance of a wallet address) or eth_estimateGas (provides an estimate of how much gas is needed for the transaction to complete).

As you can imagine, these types of requests would be very useful as a part of the basic functionality of a wallet such as MetaMask or Trust Wallet. As a user of the wallet, you will obviously be wanting to know your balance on different chains and how much you’ll need to pay in gas to send some ETH to a friend for example. **RPCs are the magic messengers between applications and blockchains that make these actions possible.**

### How Do Web3 Applications Use Ankr’s Blockchain Connections?

Ankr connects RPC request calls automatically to the best nodes available that are running on our dozens of supported blockchains and testnets.

Here’s a breakdown of the process:

-  A developer or application makes a query to the desired blockchain like eth_getBalance by using one of our “endpoints.” The endpoint is simply a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) that provides the location that the data should be retrieved from.

In this image, the endpoint is **https://rpc.ankr.com/eth** and it is being used to request the balance from the wallet address 0xd8da6bf26964af9d7eed9e03e53415d37aa96045 (vitalik.eth).

![code_542fbdd184.png](https://s3-frontend-strapi.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/code_542fbdd184_dd4271f4bc.png)

-  The request (or query) is then sent to the closest instance of Ankr’s intelligent load balancer. The load balancer is responsible for routing request traffic to the best available nodes on chains like Ethereum, ensuring that none of them are over or under worked.

-  Once the request reaches one of the full or archive nodes running on the specified blockchain, the desired data will be pulled and delivered back to the dev or application that asked for it. The new data can then be used to inform an application’s front end, so you can see things like how much ETH you have stored on the Ethereum blockchain on your wallet’s interface.

**Keep in mind that Ankr alone serves approximately 92,000 of these requests every second.**

The graphic below shows a simplified illustration of this process. Ankr’s users connect to nodes via endpoints available on the Ankr Network RPC platform to reach nodes around the world that deliver the information that they need to operate.

![1476_820b6f1b64.png](https://s3-frontend-strapi.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/1476_820b6f1b64_43825d78e7.png)



## What Are RPCs Used For In Web3?

**Creating decentralized applications**

One of the main use cases for RPCs is building dApps that have the capability to interact with one or more blockchains. Decentralized applications are based on smart contracts that enable features like automatic or “permissionless” executions of tasks like crypto trades on a user interface accessible to everyone. The RPC layer built into a dApp’s code allows it to communicate with as many different blockchains as it needs to satisfy its core function, which could be gaming, finance, social, or anything else.

**Connecting to blockchain data without access to your own nodes**

Developers only have a few options if they need access to on-chain data. They can either set up all their own nodes themselves and take on all the equipment maintenance and server problem-solving, or they can use a provider like Ankr for RPC services. The latter is most often the easiest, fastest, and most affordable solution to gain instant access to blockchains.

**Simplifying the building process**

RPC services are extremely useful when building Web3 applications as they can greatly simplify the job of developers. For instance, if you wanted users to be able to view their Web3 wallet’s crypto balance within your new DeFi protocol instead of building a new wallet from scratch – you would just need to access an API that can ask to communicate with the wallet to find what the user holds. At the same time, the software that forms the crypto wallet can contain API-enabling code that allows interoperability with many other DeFi protocols. To further simplify and streamline building, [Ankr’s Advanced APIs](https://www.ankr.com/advanced-api/) are an extension of our RPC services that cache and pre-package info from the most popular request methods to make the data accessible at near-instant speeds.

**Creating WebSockets to view real-time transactions data**

WebSockets are APIs that allow for a constant exchange of information between a client and a server. Since they keep the communication channel open and flowing, there is no need to establish a connection every time a message is sent. These are extremely useful for high-throughput applications such as GameFi or Internet of Things (IoT) capabilities that need to send and receive huge amounts of data.

**Run calls to access a massive amount of information**

Developers can run calls to execute tasks like encrypting wallets, producing a human-readable JSON object, finding current block size, creating multi-signature addresses, and much more. These are critical pieces of information that builders need to create their own blockchain platforms and services. With access to multi-tiered (scalable), readily available, and reliable RPCs, developers will be able to build faster and make more efficient applications.

## Ankr Offers More Blockchain Connections and Faster Global Speeds Than Any Provider

Since 2017, Ankr has been helping blockchain developers create dApps by providing the highest quality RPC/API connections to different chains. Exceptional dApps need high-performance infrastructure – that’s why Ankr is becoming the go-to provider for devs that require a higher bar for service.

Ankr is overtaking the most well-known Web3 infrastructure providers by offering high performance in every metric that matters to blockchain devs when connecting their dApps to blockchains:

- Speed
- Reliability
- Affordability
- Supported blockchains
- User experience (UX)
- Distribution
- And decentralization

**[Create an account](https://www.ankr.com/rpc/pricing/) for Ankr’s RPC service today.  [Learn more](https://medium.com/ankr-network/ankr-is-pulling-ahead-in-web3-infrastructure-f14384888862) about how Ankr is leading Web3 infrastructure.**

## Join the Conversation On Ankr’s Channels!

[Twitter](https://twitter.com/ankr) | [Telegram Announcements](https://t.me/anrknetworkann) | [Telegram English Chat](https://t.me/ankrnetwork) | [Help Desk](https://ankrnetwork.atlassian.net/servicedesk/customer/portal/10) | [Discord](https://discord.gg/e4n8mAejGb) | [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCErrNjCg6raOsq5MQ9fpIig) | [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/ankr/) | [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/ankr) | [Ankr Staking](https://eth2.ankr.com/)

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What's the Difference Between RPCs and APIs?

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