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What is an RPC node?
An RPC node is a blockchain node that answers requests from wallets and apps: it reports balances, reads contract data and passes signed transactions to the network. RPC stands for remote procedure call, the standard way software asks a node to do something.
What it means for you
Unless you run your own node, your wallet asks someone else's, and that operator can see which addresses you look up and link them to your IP address. A faulty or dishonest RPC can return wrong data or hold back your transactions. Check which RPC URL your wallet uses before adding a custom network from a website.
A common mistake: “My crypto is stored on the RPC node my wallet connects to.”
In fact: Your coins are recorded on the blockchain itself and your keys stay in your wallet. The RPC node only reads the chain and relays transactions you have signed, so an honest node of any operator shows the same balance.
How it works
Every Ethereum execution client implements the same JSON-RPC specification, so wallets and apps can talk to any node the same way. Common methods include eth_getBalance (an account's balance at a given block), eth_call (run a read-only contract function such as balanceOf without making a transaction) and eth_sendRawTransaction (broadcast a transaction you already signed). Hosted node services run this infrastructure for many users; the trade-off is that requests pass through a third party, which centralizes access and can leak addresses and balances to that intermediary. Running your own node keeps those lookups private.
Sources: ethereum.org: JSON-RPC API, ethereum.org: Nodes as a service, ethereum.org: Nodes and clients · checked 4 October 2026
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Educational content, not financial advice. Written by hand and checked against the source named above. Something wrong? Tell us and we reply within two business days.