RPC method

eth_blockNumber on Berachain

Supported on SwiftNodes

Everything below was measured on 2026-10-13 by calling eth_blockNumber on Berachain through the same endpoint customers use, and is re-measured weekly.

What eth_blockNumber does

Returns the number of the most recent block the node has, as a hex string. It is the cheapest way to tell whether a node is keeping up and the usual starting point for polling a chain.

eth_blockNumber on Berachain: what we measured

Head block when measured27,440,133 (0x1a2b405)
Age of that block when read3 s
Average block time (last 1,000 blocks)2.0 s
Median gap between newHeads over WebSocket1.9 s
"safe" behind the head0 blocks
"finalized" behind the head1 blocks (about 2 s)

What this means for polling

At 2.0 s per block, a one-second poll returns a new number on roughly one call in 2. Polling at the block time keeps you current without wasting requests.

"finalized" trailed the head by only 1 block on Berachain, so blocks become final almost immediately.

Compared with other chains

Measured by the gap between WebSocket headers, Berachain has the 22nd fastest block cadence of the 40 chains we measure.

Example request

curl -s https://rpc.swiftnodes.io/rpc/berachain?key=YOUR_API_KEY \
  -X POST -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"eth_blockNumber","params":[]}'
import { createPublicClient, http } from "viem";

const client = createPublicClient({
  transport: http("https://rpc.swiftnodes.io/rpc/berachain?key=YOUR_API_KEY"),
});

const head = await client.getBlockNumber(); // bigint

// Follow the chain: poll about once per block (2.0 s on Berachain)
const unwatch = client.watchBlockNumber({
  pollingInterval: 2000,
  onBlockNumber: (n) => console.log("new head", n),
});

Other methods on Berachain

eth_blockNumber on other chains

Frequently asked questions

Does Berachain support eth_blockNumber?

Yes. eth_blockNumber answered on the SwiftNodes Berachain endpoint when our weekly probe called it through the customer path (2026-10-13).

How fast are blocks on Berachain?

About 2.0 s per block, averaged over recent blocks (measured 2026-10-13).

How often should I poll eth_blockNumber on Berachain?

About once per block, every 2.0 s. Faster polling mostly returns the same number.

Berachain endpoints, live block height and WebSocket status are on the Berachain RPC page.

One key covers every chain we serve, and SwiftNodes has a free tier.