Hedera Kills AccountBalanceQuery – Developers Have Until July

Hedera is deprecating AccountBalanceQuery by July 2026, pushing developers to the Mirror Node REST API as throttles step down starting May 2026. Here’s what changes.

Hedera is pulling the plug on AccountBalanceQuery. The network has confirmed the feature will be fully removed with the July 2026 Consensus Node release, version 0.75. Developers who haven’t started migrating yet are already running out of time.

The core issue isn’t technical complexity. Every AccountBalanceQuery call hits consensus nodes directly. That pulls them away from processing transactions and reaching an agreement, their actual job. As the network grows, that trade-off stops making sense.

The Clock Started Ticking in February

As @hedera_devs posted on X, throttle limits will begin stepping down well before the July cutoff. Right now, the query runs at 40,000 requests per second. That holds through April 2026. In May, it drops to 20,000 rps. June brings it to 10,000 rps. Then July arrives, and every single request fails.

High-volume apps will feel May first. That’s the inflection point.

The network isn’t removing this without offering something better. Mirror Nodes are built for exactly this type of data query. They handle high throughput without any drag on consensus. The Hedera-hosted mirror node gives free access with its own throttle limits, and commercial providers offer higher volumes on paid plans.

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Migration Is Simpler Than It Sounds

The replacement endpoint is live today. Developers swap out AccountBalanceQuery for a REST call to the Hedera Mirror Node API at the balances endpoint, passing the account ID. According to the official Hedera migration guide, token balances work through a separate accounts tokens endpoint. Both are production-ready now.

The migration guide outlines five steps. First, search the codebase for AccountBalanceQuery and .getAccountBalance() calls. Second, pick the Mirror Node REST API as the replacement path. Third, test everything against the testnet endpoint. Fourth, get it deployed before May. Fifth, clean out the deprecated references entirely.

That fourth step matters most. Getting live before May avoids any rate-limiting pain.

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Block Streams Are Coming, But Not Yet

There’s another option on the horizon. Block Nodes, based on HIP-1056 and HIP-1081, will offer event-driven balance updates through Block Streams. That system unifies Hedera’s event, record, and sidecar data into one verifiable stream. Developers can subscribe and filter for just the data they need.

Block Nodes are still under active development. They’re not available for this migration window. The Mirror Node REST API is the path forward right now.

The deprecation applies equally across mainnet, testnet, and previewnet. No environment gets a different timeline.

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Why This Change Points to Something Bigger

This isn’t just a cleanup move. Hedera’s architecture is being reorganized around a clear separation. Consensus nodes handle consensus. Purpose-built infrastructure handles data. AccountBalanceQuery sat in the wrong category from a scalability standpoint, and it’s going away because of that.

The broader push is visible elsewhere, too. Hedera has been expanding enterprise partnerships, joining policy bodies, and extending its EVM compatibility. Removing query load from consensus nodes fits the same direction: build a network that can actually scale.

As the @hedera_devs team confirmed directly on X, throttles begin stepping down in May 2026. May and June exist as a testing window. July has no margin at all.

Developers can find migration resources at docs.hedera.com and in the Hedera Discord developer channels.

The post Hedera Kills AccountBalanceQuery – Developers Have Until July appeared first on Live Bitcoin News.