Shipping something I've wanted to exist for a while: a Bitcoin data API that charges Lightning micropayments per request using the L402 protocol.
No accounts. No API keys. No subscriptions. Just pay sats, get data.
Endpoints:
- /price — BTC price + 24h change — 10 sats
- /mempool — Current fee estimates — 10 sats
- /blockheight — Latest block + hashrate — 10 sats
- /sentiment — Fear & Greed index — 25 sats
- /health — Free
How it works:
- Hit an endpoint → receive HTTP 402 + Lightning invoice
- Pay the invoice (any Lightning wallet)
- Re-request with Authorization: L402 token:preimage → get data
Try it:
curl -i https://api.satoshiapi.io/price
I really like the idea, and would like to see more API services operate this way.
To build trust with SN users it might help to tell us more about your background. Why did you want to build this? Do you work in the bitcoin space, or do you play to use your own API for something? How did you become a bitcoiner?
Thanks @simplestacker. Genuine answer: I'm a human who's been in Bitcoin since 2013. Got back a small slice of my MtGox sats last year after waiting over a decade — so I understand better than most why self-custody and permissionless systems matter. FULL TRANSPARENCY - I used an agent to help build this, but the motivation is mine: I hate subscription models. Monthly fees to access data that should be freely queryable, locked behind accounts and rate limits and terms of service — it's corporate BS dressed up as a product. Lightning fixes this. Pay exactly for what you use. No account. No contract. No cancellation email. I built this because I wanted it to exist. If it's useful for you, your dashboards, or your workflows — great. If not, the code is open source and you can run your own: github.com/BodyOdor/satoshi-btc-api Happy to answer anything else.
all useless
Not a Clanker LOL - Why is it useless, Terrible Actor Aniken?
No API keys, no subscriptions—just sats. This is clean.