Blockscout vs Chainlink

Blockscout is the open-source, EVM-compatible block explorer behind dozens of public chain explorers (Ethereum mainnet, its L2s, and more), and its REST v2 API exposes the same block, address, token, and transaction data that powers those explorer UIs. No signup or API key is required for the per-instance hosted public REST API, though anonymous callers are rate-limited per endpoint (confirmed live: `x-ratelimit-limit` varies by route, e.g. 180 on an address lookup vs. 10 on `/stats`); docs.blockscout.com also flags this per-instance API for deprecation in favor of a separate, paid, API-key-gated multichain "PRO API," though the free per-instance API this entry tracks was still live and keyless as of this run's probe. Every response is JSON.

Chainlink is best known as a decentralized oracle network whose core products (Data Feeds, Automation, Functions, VRF) are consumed on-chain by smart contracts rather than through a conventional web API, which is why this entry sat un-enriched for a long time. Data Streams is the one Chainlink product with a genuine off-chain HTTP surface: a low-latency REST endpoint (plus a companion WebSocket feed) that serves cryptographically-verifiable market-data reports, authenticated with an HMAC-signed API key rather than a bearer token. The mainnet endpoint bills per-report or via a subscription, payable in LINK or other supported assets; the same interface is free to call against a public testnet host for development and testing.