The eth_subscribe("newHeads") JSON-RPC method allows developers to receive real-time notifications regarding new block headers on the Hyperliquid EVM blockchain. It sends notifications whenever a new block is added, making it essential for applications that need to track blockchain state changes in real-time.
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Parameters

  1. subscription type (string, required): Keyword identifying the type of event to subscribe to, newHeads in this case

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Response

The method returns a subscription ID that can be used to identify and manage the subscription.

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Response structure

Initial subscription response:
  • subscription — the subscription ID
Notification structure:
  • number — block number of the requested block, encoded as hexadecimal
  • hash — block hash of the requested block
  • parentHash — hash of the previous block
  • nonce — proof-of-work hash (0x0000000000000000 for proof-of-stake)
  • sha3Uncles — hash of the list of uncles included in the block
  • logsBloom — bloom filter for the logs of the block
  • transactionsRoot — root of the transaction trie of the block
  • stateRoot — root of the final state trie of the block
  • receiptsRoot — root of the receipts trie of the block
  • miner — address of the miner receiving the reward
  • difficulty — block difficulty (legacy field, typically 0x0 for PoS)
  • totalDifficulty — null (obsolete after merge to PoS)
  • extraData — extra data included by the miner
  • size — size of this block in bytes
  • gasLimit — maximum gas allowed in this block
  • gasUsed — total used gas by all transactions
  • timestamp — Unix timestamp for when the block was collated

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Usage example

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Basic implementation

Note that subscriptions require a WebSocket connection. Install WebSocket cat for testing:
npm install -g wscat
wscat
$ wscat -c wss://hyperliquid-mainnet.core.chainstack.com/4f8d8f4040bdacd1577bff8058438274/evm
# Wait for the connection to be established

Connected (press CTRL+C to quit)

> {"id":1,"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"eth_subscribe","params":["newHeads"]}
< {"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"result":"0x1234567890abcdef"}

# New block notifications will stream in:
< {"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"eth_subscription","params":{"subscription":"0x1234567890abcdef","result":{"difficulty":"0x0","extraData":"0x","gasLimit":"0x1c9c380","gasUsed":"0x5208","hash":"0x...","logsBloom":"0x...","miner":"0x...","nonce":"0x0000000000000000","number":"0x1234","parentHash":"0x...","receiptsRoot":"0x...","sha3Uncles":"0x...","size":"0x220","stateRoot":"0x...","timestamp":"0x65abc123","transactionsRoot":"0x..."}}}

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JavaScript implementation

const WebSocket = require('ws');

const CHAINSTACK_WSS_URL = 'wss://hyperliquid-mainnet.core.chainstack.com/YOUR_ENDPOINT/evm';

async function subscribeToNewBlocks() {
  const ws = new WebSocket(CHAINSTACK_WSS_URL);

  ws.on('open', () => {
    console.log('Connected to Hyperliquid EVM WebSocket');
    
    // Subscribe to new block headers
    const request = {
      id: 1,
      jsonrpc: '2.0',
      method: 'eth_subscribe',
      params: ['newHeads']
    };
    
    ws.send(JSON.stringify(request));
  });

  ws.on('message', (data) => {
    const response = JSON.parse(data);
    
    // Handle subscription confirmation
    if (response.id === 1) {
      console.log(`Subscribed with ID: ${response.result}`);
    }
    
    // Handle new block notifications
    if (response.method === 'eth_subscription') {
      const block = response.params.result;
      console.log('New block received:');
      console.log(`  Number: ${parseInt(block.number, 16)}`);
      console.log(`  Hash: ${block.hash}`);
      console.log(`  Timestamp: ${new Date(parseInt(block.timestamp, 16) * 1000).toISOString()}`);
      console.log(`  Gas Used: ${parseInt(block.gasUsed, 16).toLocaleString()}`);
    }
  });

  ws.on('error', (error) => {
    console.error('WebSocket error:', error);
  });

  ws.on('close', () => {
    console.log('WebSocket connection closed');
  });
}

// Run the subscription
subscribeToNewBlocks();

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Python implementation

import json
import asyncio
import websockets
from datetime import datetime

CHAINSTACK_WSS_URL = 'wss://hyperliquid-mainnet.core.chainstack.com/YOUR_ENDPOINT/evm'

async def subscribe_to_new_blocks():
    async with websockets.connect(CHAINSTACK_WSS_URL) as websocket:
        # Subscribe to new block headers
        subscribe_request = {
            "id": 1,
            "jsonrpc": "2.0",
            "method": "eth_subscribe",
            "params": ["newHeads"]
        }
        
        await websocket.send(json.dumps(subscribe_request))
        
        while True:
            response = json.loads(await websocket.recv())
            
            # Handle subscription confirmation
            if response.get('id') == 1:
                print(f"Subscribed with ID: {response['result']}")
            
            # Handle new block notifications
            elif response.get('method') == 'eth_subscription':
                block = response['params']['result']
                print('New block received:')
                print(f"  Number: {int(block['number'], 16)}")
                print(f"  Hash: {block['hash']}")
                timestamp = datetime.fromtimestamp(int(block['timestamp'], 16))
                print(f"  Timestamp: {timestamp.isoformat()}")
                print(f"  Gas Used: {int(block['gasUsed'], 16):,}")

# Run the async function
asyncio.run(subscribe_to_new_blocks())

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Use cases

The eth_subscribe("newHeads") method is essential for applications that need to:
  • Monitor blockchain state: Track new blocks as they are added to the chain
  • Calculate confirmations: Count confirmations for transactions by tracking subsequent blocks
  • Build real-time dashboards: Display current block height, gas prices, and network activity
  • Trigger automated actions: Execute smart contract interactions when new blocks arrive
  • Index blockchain data: Update databases with the latest blockchain state
  • Monitor network health: Track block production rate and validator performance
  • Implement event listeners: Process events more efficiently by focusing on specific block ranges
  • Build trading bots: React to new blocks for time-sensitive DeFi operations
  • Track finality: Monitor block finalization in proof-of-stake networks
  • Analyze gas trends: Monitor gas usage patterns across blocks
This WebSocket subscription method provides a more efficient alternative to polling, enabling real-time blockchain monitoring with lower latency and reduced bandwidth usage.