eth_getBlockTransactionCountByNumber

The eth_getBlockTransactionCountByNumber method returns the number of transactions in a block, identified by the block's number or block tag. This lightweight method provides a simple way to check transaction volume and network activity without retrieving complete block data, making it essential for monitoring chain activity.

Use Cases

• Network congestion monitoring and gas price prediction
• Historical transaction volume analysis and trending
• Block explorer functionality and transaction listings
• Network scalability research and performance analysis
• Fee estimation algorithms for optimal transaction timing
• Transaction throughput measurement and network scaling
• Block fullness tracking and congestion patterns
• Application performance tuning based on network conditions
• Wallet transaction fee optimization
• Historical correlation analysis with market events

Method Details

This method allows querying transaction counts for any block in the chain, including special block tags like 'latest' and 'pending'.

Response Example

{
	"jsonrpc": "2.0",
	"id": 1,
	"result": "0x9B" // 155 transactions
}

Block Tag Options

This method supports these special block tags as parameters:

• latest: Most recently mined block (most commonly used)
• earliest: Genesis block (block 0)
• pending: Currently pending block (transactions in mempool waiting to be mined)
• safe: Latest block considered safe by network (finality in progress)
• finalized: Latest block that has achieved finality (post-Merge only)

Converting the Response

The response is a hexadecimal string that needs to be converted to decimal:

// Convert hex transaction count to decimal
const txCountHex = "0x9B";
const txCountDecimal = parseInt(txCountHex, 16); // 155

Significance of Transaction Count

Transaction counts provide valuable insights into:

1. Network Congestion: Higher counts typically indicate network congestion
2. Gas Prices: Block fullness directly impacts gas prices in EIP-1559 model
3. Network Health: Transaction throughput reflects network capacity utilization
4. DApp Activity: Spikes often correlate with major DApp events or promotions
5. Market Correlation: Often correlates with price action and market volatility

Practical Example

// Example: Track transaction throughput over time
async function analyzeNetworkThroughput(startBlock, blockCount = 100) {
	const counts = [];
	let totalTxs = 0;

	for (let i = 0; i < blockCount; i++) {
		const blockNum = (BigInt(startBlock) + BigInt(i)).toString(16);
		const txCount = await provider.send('eth_getBlockTransactionCountByNumber', [`0x${blockNum}`]);

		const block = await provider.send('eth_getBlockByNumber', [`0x${blockNum}`, false]);

		const timestamp = parseInt(block.timestamp, 16);
		const count = parseInt(txCount, 16);

		counts.push({
			blockNumber: `0x${blockNum}`,
			timestamp,
			transactionCount: count,
		});

		totalTxs += count;
	}

	// Calculate averages and trends
	const avgTxPerBlock = totalTxs / blockCount;
	const timespan = counts[counts.length - 1].timestamp - counts[0].timestamp;
	const txPerSecond = totalTxs / timespan;

	return {
		blocks: counts,
		averageTransactionsPerBlock: avgTxPerBlock,
		transactionsPerSecond: txPerSecond,
		totalTransactions: totalTxs,
		timeSpanSeconds: timespan,
	};
}

// Usage
const stats = await analyzeNetworkThroughput('0x118F500', 50);
console.log(`Average TPS: ${stats.transactionsPerSecond.toFixed(2)}`);
console.log(`Average transactions per block: ${stats.averageTransactionsPerBlock.toFixed(2)}`);

Network Comparison

Transaction counts vary significantly across different Ethereum-compatible networks:

• Ethereum Mainnet: 100-300+ per block (12 second blocks)
• Polygon: 50-100+ per block (2 second blocks)
• Arbitrum: 100-1000+ per batch (compressed L2 transactions)
• Optimism: 50-500+ per batch (compressed L2 transactions)
• Avalanche C-Chain: 5-50+ per block (2 second blocks)
• BNB Smart Chain: 50-100+ per block (3 second blocks)
• Base: 50-300+ per batch (L2 optimistic rollup)

This variation reflects differences in blocktime, fee structures, and ecosystem usage patterns.

See also

• eth_getBlockTransactionCountByHash - Returns transaction count using block hash instead of number
• eth_blockNumber - Returns the most recent block number
• eth_getBlockByNumber - Returns complete information about a block
• eth_getTransactionByBlockNumberAndIndex - Returns transaction details at specified position