chain_getFinalizedHead

Description

Returns the hash of the latest finalized block. Finalized blocks are guaranteed not to be reverted, making this method essential before acknowledging cross-chain transfers or decoding historical storage.

Parameters

This method does not accept parameters.

Returns

Field	Type	Description
result	string	Hex-encoded hash of the latest finalized block

Request Example

{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "method": "chain_getFinalizedHead",
  "params": [],
  "id": 1
}

Response Example

{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "result": "0x0783f5b163e338d4d74a1ee39a0f631bc2dffbd8862460407f6cc97c903194e1",
  "id": 1
}

The example corresponds to block #9,453,706 finalized on 2025-10-03 07:42:59 UTC.

Code Examples

JavaScript

const finalizedHash = await api.rpc.chain.getFinalizedHead();
console.log('Finalized hash:', finalizedHash.toHex());

Python

payload = {
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "method": "chain_getFinalizedHead",
    "params": [],
    "id": 1
}

resp = requests.post(
    "https://api-bifrost-polkadot.n.dwellir.com/YOUR_API_KEY",
    headers={"Content-Type": "application/json"},
    data=json.dumps(payload)
)
finalized_hash = resp.json()["result"]
print(finalized_hash)

Rust

let finalized = api.rpc().finalized_head().await?;
println!("Latest finalized head: {}", finalized);

Best Practices

• Use chain_getFinalizedHead before reading storage for accounting-sensitive processes (staking, collateral balances, bridge proofs).
• Compare the finalized hash returned here with chain_getHeader to retrieve header metadata for the same block, then inspect parent hashes to ensure continuity.