The Data API provides the ability to access blocks, transactions, and balances of any blockchain in a standard format.
For a full list of expectations of any Mesh API implementation, see the documents in the Expectations section. We also recommend the list of Common Mistakes that implementers tend to make when meeting these expectations.

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Flow of Operations

Sample flows using the Data API such as getting an on-chain account balance or a transaction from the mempool.

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Effortless Exchange Support

For developers of new blockchain projects, the Data API makes it easier to integrate with exchanges that support the Mesh API (like Coinbase). This can dramatically speed up the time it takes exchanges to integrate with new blockchains without making compromises that could put customer funds at risk.

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Unified Abstraction for All Blockchains

The number of blockchains has grown dramatically in recent years, and with it has come a proliferation of different APIs that must be used to access blocks, transactions, and balances. Often, it is with good reason that blockchain teams introduce new mechanisms to retrieve blockchain data as new blockchains often introduce new abstractions that don’t fit cleanly into existing models. Other times, blockchain teams don’t know what developers would prefer and choose to model access to their blockchain in the way that they would expect to be most convenient based on some approach another blockchain takes. We do not believe it is possible to cram all possible models of blockchain data into a perfect one-size-fits-all abstraction (there will always be nuance and new approaches that push the envelope of any abstraction). And yet, we firmly believe the standard endpoints, standard structure of data, and standard communication protocol specified in the Data API go a long way in making blockchain integration much faster, easier, and reliable for everyone involved.

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Instant Ecosystem

For the broader community of crypto developers, the Data API makes it easier to build cross-blockchain applications such as block explorers, wallets and apps. Instead of writing custom parsing for every blockchain, applications can use a blockchain project’s Mesh API implementation to read all interesting information, minimizing code and simplifying maintenance.
If you have any questions about the Data API, reach out in our Discord!