Blockscout v12: Smaller Event Logs, Smarter Search, and New Free API Endpoints

The most popular API request right now among Blockscout API users is getLogs. The request returns event logs, which are the records smart contracts emit every time something happens on chain. Logs are also one of the biggest consumers of disk space in any indexed blockchain database.

Blockscout v12 addresses this problem head on, reworking how logs are stored. It is the first release to tackle event logs, and in our staging environments it shrank the logs table by 41%.

Here are some additional features new in v12, on the backend and in the UI (the corresponding v2.12.0 release).

Event logs now take up 40%+ less space

v12 continues the storage optimization work that started in v9 - v11, beginning with internal transactions. This release is focused on bringing some of those same optimizations to event logs.

• Repeated data is stored once. The first topic of an event log repeats constantly. We now store it in its own table instead of being copied into every record.
• Leading zeroes are stripped. The second, third, and fourth topics no longer carry padding zeroes, which can add a lot of bloat over time.
• A leaner table. The logs table has a new primary key, and logs from non-consensus blocks are no longer stored there.
• Numeric address references. Addresses are referenced by a compact numeric ID instead of the full hash. This approach was successful with internal transactions so we repurposed it here.
• LZ4 compression. Event log data is now compressed.

The result: the logs table is 41% smaller in staging. In production, that adds up to an estimated 10 to 22% reduction in the total disk footprint of a Blockscout instance. Lower storage means lower hosting costs and faster, easier maintenance, especially for high-volume chains.

Three new endpoints on the free Pro API plan

We've incorporated new endpoints related to token holders. Currently, Token holder data api/v2/tokens/:address_hash/holders is a popular call. To make token data more accessible, we've added three new endpoints to the free Pro API plan:

• tokenholderlist
• tokenholdercount
• tokeninfo

If you already work with Etherscans Pro API endpoints (endpoints that require payment), these will feel familiar, and you can use them at no cost with Blockscout.

What you will see in the UI

Frontend release v2.12.0 ships alongside v12 to support some of the new functionality. The highlights:

• ERC-8056 support. The Scaled UI Amount token standard is now supported in both the indexer and the interface, so balances display the way token issuers intend.

• xDai bridge support. Bridge activity is now visible in the Gnosis explorer.

• Buy token button. Users can go from viewing a token to buying it directly on the Arc instance first (and rolling out to additional instances in the future).

• PostHog analytics support. A substitute for Mixpanel for teams running their own analytics.
• OP transaction type labels. OP Stack transactions are now clearly labeled.

Better search and filtering

• ENS in advanced filters. Filter transactions using ENS names, not just raw addresses.
• BENS search integration. Search now supports partial matches on names after the BENS microservice update.
• Faster advanced filters. Performance is improved across a range of use cases.

Faster indexing and wider coverage

These updates continue to make Blockscout faster and more comprehensive.

• Reduced overhead when importing blocks.
• Higher throughput for token balance indexing.
• Token balance backfilling in the multichain explorer.
• A new indexer for NFT media types.
• Support for Swarm (bzz://) URLs in token metadata.
• Sourcify integration migrated to v2 endpoints.
• Expanded OpenAPI coverage for Stability, Shibarium, ZKsync, api/eth-rpc methods, and EigenDA.

Easier to run

• Disable the JSON-RPC API. Teams that rely on an external node can now turn it off.
• Simpler OP Superchain setup. Point to the Superchain configuration URL and most parameters are derived automatically.

Patch v12.0.1 is already live

The first patch is released and deployed. It includes an advanced filters bug fix, Glamsterdam consensus node fixes, historical coin prices from CoinGecko, and an Elixir version bump.

Get v12

v12 has passed QA and is rolling out now. Look for it on all hosted Blockscout instances in the coming weeks.

If you are an independent chain operator, read the full notes in the backend release notes and the frontend release notes, or explore the Blockscout Pro API to try the new endpoints.