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Network properties

Each network in cg.networks is a NetworkDescriptor instance. Depending on the network type (UTXO or EVM), different properties and methods are available, including an address validator that works across every supported chain.

Common to all networks​

Every NetworkDescriptor exposes:

  • id (string) — Stable identifier (e.g., 'bitcoin', 'ethereum').
  • name (string) — Human-readable name (e.g., Bitcoin, Ethereum).
  • symbol (string) — Ticker symbol for the native asset (e.g., BTC, ETH).
  • type ('evm' | 'utxo') — Network type.
  • decimals (number) — Decimal places for the native asset (e.g., 8 for BTC, 18 for ETH).
  • isTestnet (boolean) — Whether this is a testnet network.
  • hasOwnToken (boolean) — Whether the network has its own native token.
  • nativeToken (object) — Native token metadata with symbol and name fields.
  • defaultAddressType (string) — Default address encoding (e.g., 'segwit', 'eoa').
  • addressTypes (object) — Supported address types with their derivation paths.
  • rpcUrl (string) — Pre-built JSON-RPC endpoint URL with the API key appended.
  • chainId (number, EVM only) — EVM chain ID per EIP-155.
import { ChainGate } from 'chaingate'

const cg = new ChainGate()

const btc = cg.networks.bitcoin
console.log(btc.id)              // 'bitcoin'
console.log(btc.name)            // 'Bitcoin'
console.log(btc.symbol)          // 'BTC'
console.log(btc.type)            // 'utxo'
console.log(btc.decimals)        // 8
console.log(btc.isTestnet)       // false
console.log(btc.defaultAddressType) // 'segwit'

UTXO networks​

UtxoNetworkDescriptor extends the base with address types such as segwit, taproot, and legacy, each with their own derivation path. Additional methods:

  • publicKeyToAddress(publicKey, addressType?) — Derive an address from a public key.
  • isValidAddress(address) — Check if a string is a valid address for this network.
  • identifyAddressType(address) — Detect the detailed address type from an address string (e.g. 'segwit-p2wpkh', 'legacy-p2pkh', 'taproot-p2tr').
const btc = cg.networks.bitcoin

// Derive a segwit address from a public key
const address = btc.publicKeyToAddress(publicKeyBytes, 'segwit')

// Validate an address
btc.isValidAddress('bc1q...')  // true
btc.isValidAddress('invalid')  // false

// Identify address type
const type = btc.identifyAddressType('bc1q...')
console.log(type) // 'segwit-p2wpkh'
tip

See Validate addresses for a complete list of detailed address types and more examples.

EVM networks​

EvmNetworkDescriptor exposes:

  • publicKeyToAddress(publicKey) — Derive an EIP-55 checksummed address.
  • isValidAddress(address) — Check if a string is a valid EVM address, with EIP-55 checksum verification for mixed-case addresses.
  • chainId (number) — EVM chain ID per EIP-155.
const eth = cg.networks.ethereum

const address = eth.publicKeyToAddress(publicKeyBytes)
console.log(address) // '0xAb5801a7...'
console.log(eth.chainId) // 1

// Validate an address (EIP-55 checksum is verified automatically)
eth.isValidAddress('0xd8dA6BF26964aF9D7eEd9e03E53415D37aA96045') // true
eth.isValidAddress('not-an-address')                             // false
Detect if a network is EVM-compatible
import { ChainGate, EvmNetworkDescriptor } from 'chaingate'

const cg = new ChainGate()
const network = cg.networks.ethereum

if (network instanceof EvmNetworkDescriptor) {
  console.log('Chain ID:', network.chainId) // 1
}