Table of Contents
Introduction
In this tutorial, we will explore building a Bitcoin transaction monitor using Python. We will leverage Python libraries and modules to fetch transaction data from the blockchain and display it in a web application. By the end of this tutorial, you will have a basic understanding of how to interact with cryptocurrency data using Python and create a simple web-based transaction monitor.
Prerequisites
To follow along with this tutorial, you should have a basic knowledge of Python programming. It would be beneficial to have an understanding of web development concepts and HTML/CSS. Familiarity with the Bitcoin blockchain and how transactions work would also be helpful, but not required.
Setup
Before we begin building our Bitcoin transaction monitor, let’s ensure we have the necessary software and libraries installed.
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Install Python: Visit the official Python website and download the latest version of Python for your operating system. Follow the installation instructions to set up Python on your machine.
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Install Flask: Flask is a popular web development framework for Python. Open a terminal or command prompt and run the following command:
pip install flaskThis will install Flask and its dependencies.
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Install Requests: We will use the Requests library to make HTTP requests in Python. Run the following command in your terminal or command prompt:
pip install requestsThis will install the Requests library.
Now that we have Python, Flask, and Requests installed, we are ready to start building our Bitcoin transaction monitor.
Creating a Bitcoin Transaction Monitor
Step 1: Import Required Libraries
Let’s begin by importing the necessary libraries into our Python script. Open a new file in your favorite text editor and save it as bitcoin_transaction_monitor.py. Add the following code to import the required libraries:
python
from flask import Flask, render_template
import requests
Here, we import the Flask library for creating our web application and the Requests library for making API requests.
Step 2: Set Up Flask
Next, we need to set up Flask and create a basic web application. Add the following code to your bitcoin_transaction_monitor.py file:
```python
app = Flask(name)
@app.route('/')
def home():
return 'Welcome to the Bitcoin Transaction Monitor!'
``` Here, we create a new Flask application and define a route for the root URL ("/"). The `home` function will be called when a user visits the root URL, and it will return a welcome message.
Step 3: Fetch Bitcoin Transactions
To fetch Bitcoin transactions, we will use the Blockchain.com API. Sign up for an API key on the Blockchain.com Developer Portal, and replace 'YOUR_API_KEY' in the code below with your actual API key:
```python
API_KEY = ‘YOUR_API_KEY’
def get_latest_transactions():
url = f'https://api.blockchain.com/v3/explorer/transactions/latest?limit=10&apiCode={API_KEY}'
response = requests.get(url)
transactions = response.json().get('data').get('transactions')
return transactions
``` Here, we define a function `get_latest_transactions` that fetches the latest Bitcoin transactions using the Blockchain.com API. We specify a limit of 10 transactions and pass our API key in the URL. The function returns the list of transactions.
Step 4: Render Transactions in HTML
Now, let’s modify our Flask application to render the fetched transactions in HTML. Update your bitcoin_transaction_monitor.py file with the following code:
python
@app.route('/transactions')
def transactions():
latest_transactions = get_latest_transactions()
return render_template('transactions.html', transactions=latest_transactions)
In this code block, we define a new route /transactions and a function named transactions that fetches the latest transactions using the get_latest_transactions function. We then pass the transactions to the render_template function, along with the name of the HTML file.
Step 5: Create HTML Template
Create a new folder named templates in the same directory as your bitcoin_transaction_monitor.py file. Inside the templates folder, create a new file called transactions.html. Add the following HTML code to the transactions.html file:
```html
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
</ul>
</body>
</html>
``` In this HTML template, we create a simple list of transaction hashes. We use the Flask template syntax to iterate over each transaction in the `transactions` list and display its hash.
Step 6: Run the Application
To run our Bitcoin transaction monitor, go back to your terminal or command prompt and navigate to the directory where your bitcoin_transaction_monitor.py file is saved. Run the following command:
python bitcoin_transaction_monitor.py
This will start the Flask development server. Visit http://localhost:5000 in your web browser, and you should see the welcome message. To view the latest transactions, visit http://localhost:5000/transactions.
Congratulations! You have successfully built a basic Bitcoin transaction monitor using Python and Flask.
Conclusion
In this tutorial, we explored how to build a Bitcoin transaction monitor using Python and Flask. We learned how to fetch Bitcoin transactions using the Blockchain.com API, render the transactions in HTML using the Flask web framework, and display the transactions in a web browser. You can further enhance this project by adding additional details about each transaction, implementing search functionality, or integrating real-time updates. We hope this tutorial serves as a starting point for your cryptocurrency-related Python projects. Happy coding!