Overview
Tatum is a hosted node service that lets developers read Cardano data and send transactions without running a node of their own1. A node is the software that keeps a full copy of the blockchain, and running one takes servers, storage and upkeep. Tatum runs the nodes and hands each developer an API key, a password-like code their app attaches to its requests, so the app can reach those nodes over the internet1.
Tatum serves Cardano through the Rosetta API, a standard set of web requests for reading blockchain data and building transactions2. Cardano Mainnet, the live network, and Preprod, a test network where coins have no real value, both sit behind the same key1. Tatum was founded in 20183 and offers node access for more than 100 networks4. TechCrunch described it in 2021 as a way to use the same API calls across many blockchains instead of managing your own nodes5.
Key Features
- No node to install or maintain. Tatum's gateway spreads requests across healthy nodes and switches to another one when a node fails, and builders do not run any nodes themselves1.
- Read balances, blocks and waiting transactions. Cardano requests return network status, account balances and spendable coins, full blocks, the mempool (the queue of transactions waiting to be added to a block) and transaction search2.
- Build and submit transactions. A second group of Cardano requests prepares a transaction, returns the data that needs a signature, and submits the signed result to the network2.
- Start without paying. A free key comes with 100,000 credits, the units Tatum uses to meter requests, and needs no credit card1. Most standard Cardano requests cost two credits each1.
- Code libraries and AI assistant tools. The open-source tatum-js library, a ready-made code package for JavaScript and TypeScript, includes Cardano support6. Tatum's MCP server, a connector that lets AI assistants call outside tools, lists Cardano among its supported blockchains7.
What to Expect
Developers sign up in the Tatum dashboard, create a key, and point their app at the Mainnet or Preprod address. The Cardano page has a live test box: pick a network and a request, and the real response appears in seconds1. The docs add a Postman collection, a set of saved sample requests for a popular API testing app, and links to a public status page with separate entries for Mainnet and Preprod2.
Paid plans raise the monthly credits and request limits and add archive nodes, which keep the chain's full history for lookups of older data8. Business plans add dedicated nodes and service-level agreements, contracts that set how reliably the service must run8. Teams that need fixed speed for one critical job can buy a separate dedicated key with guaranteed requests per second1.
Beyond node access, Tatum's Cardano page lists ready-made data services for ADA prices, address transaction history and block data1. It also lists webhook notifications, automatic alerts sent to an app when something happens on-chain1.
Among API providers, Tatum's Cardano gateway serves one interface, the Rosetta API9. The same key and the same URL pattern also reach the other networks Tatum supports1.
