LibraryStorage and networks2020Design paperCorpus record
JavaScript `request` method RPC transport
EIP 2696. Micah Zoltu , Erik Marks.
EIP 2696, JavaScript `request` method RPC transport. A standard for remote procedure calls between an Ethereum Provider and an Ethereum Client when both are able to interface with each other via a shared JavaScript object.
Status in the source: Final. A reading of the public specification, not a copy of it and not a certification.
JavaScript `request` method RPC transport is worth reading for the rule it actually adds: A standard for remote procedure calls between an Ethereum Provider and an Ethereum Client when both are able to interface with each other via a shared JavaScript object.
The five-minute read
The rule
A standard for remote procedure calls between an Ethereum Provider and an Ethereum Client when both are able to interface with each other via a shared JavaScript object.
What was already failing
A node that cannot fetch, filter, or relay the data it is supposed to validate is not a peer of the network the paper describes.
What the number does not mean
The source marks this final. That is a statement about the text, not a promise that every wallet or node has shipped it.
What a builder should be able to point at
An implementation either constrains RFC, MUST, NOT or it is a different design.
One action, walked through
- Open EIP 2696 and read the status line before the examples.
- Write down the rule in one sentence. A fair version of that sentence is: A standard for remote procedure calls between an Ethereum Provider and an Ethereum Client when both are able to interface with each other via a shared JavaScript object.
- Name the object that changes: RFC, MUST, NOT.
- Ask what an old client, an old contract, or an offline counterparty does. If the document is silent, the silence is part of the design.
The argument, unpacked
What the text is allowed to settle
Ethereum Improvement Proposal 2696 can settle the shape of JavaScript `request` method RPC transport. It cannot settle whether a later client, a later fork, or a later wallet still does this.
What this page will not pretend
There is no benchmark, no adoption number, and no claim that the mechanism is safe outside the assumptions written in the source.
What has to be true
- You are implementing EIP 2696 at the status the text itself states: Final.
- The object that has to change is RFC, MUST, NOT. A neighbouring document with a similar name is not this one.
- Measurements of delay in one year do not travel with the specification.
What happened after the paper
The source marks this final. That is a statement about the text, not a promise that every wallet or node has shipped it. Later documents can narrow, replace, or ignore this one. Cite the number you mean.
What to check before you use the idea
- Which message does JavaScript `request` method RPC transport add, and which old peer must still be answered?
- What does a node do when the short form fails and the full object is required?
- Which names are normative: RFC, MUST, NOT?
Terms
- EIP 2696
- The public text titled JavaScript `request` method RPC transport.
- Final
- The document's own label for how finished the text is. It is not a market fact.
The problem the paper names
A node that cannot fetch, filter, or relay the data it is supposed to validate is not a peer of the network the paper describes.
What the design proposes
- A standard for remote procedure calls between an Ethereum Provider and an Ethereum Client when both are able to interface with each other via a shared JavaScript object.
- This standard provides the description of an object that is made available to JavaScript applications which they can use to communicate with the Ethereum blockchain through.
- This standard only describes the transport mechanism, it does not specify the payloads that are valid nor does it specify how the client or the provider will discover or agree on payload content.
How the mechanism is specified
- Taken from the specification, the next constraint is: This standard provides the description of an object that is made available to JavaScript applications which they can use to communicate with the Ethereum blockchain through.
- Locate RFC, MUST, NOT in EIP 2696 and apply it to one transaction or call.
- Then check the failure the class of rule always has: a node that did not upgrade, a reverted call, a replayed signature, or a peer that does not speak the message.
What this page does not treat as proven
- A peer protocol is not a consensus rule. A peer can disconnect. A block is still valid or not on its own.
- Measurements of delay in one year do not travel with the specification.
- The source marks this final. That is a statement about the text, not a promise that every wallet or node has shipped it.
Why a venture studio still reads it
Use EIP 2696 when a pitch says 'JavaScript `request` method RPC transport' without saying whether the rule is consensus, policy, or an interface. The number is the citation. The pitch is not.
This is Blockchain Lab's reading of a public design paper. It is not the paper, not a copy of it, and not an offer of tokens, equity, custody or a partnership. Later network behaviour can diverge from the text. Nothing here is investment, legal or technical advice.
Research status: Design paper. Last reviewed: 1 October 2026. This is a reading of a public paper, not investment, legal or security advice.
