Hedera Shifted HBAR Balance Queries to Mirror Nodes
The update replaces consensus-node queries with mirror-node requests to improve network efficiency.
Updated on Oct. 5, 2026 in Software
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Hedera has released the MirrorNodeAccountBalanceQuery for its software development kits, signaling a migration of balance lookup traffic away from consensus nodes. This change is mandatory as the legacy AccountBalanceQuery endpoint is now throttled to zero in software release v0.77.
Why it matters
Moving balance read operations to the Mirror Node infrastructure offloads demand from consensus nodes, which are responsible for transaction processing. This architecture change ensures that balance checks do not compete for the same computational resources required for network consensus.
The new method supports shard.realm.num, EVM addresses, public-key aliases, and contract IDs, matching the functionality of the legacy system while requiring no HBAR payment. It now includes automatic retries for transient errors to improve reliability versus the previous query structure.
The players
Hedera
A decentralized distributed ledger technology network that uses a hashgraph consensus algorithm to facilitate high-throughput transaction processing.
The details
Developers must update their code by replacing the AccountBalanceQuery import with MirrorNodeAccountBalanceQuery while retaining the existing setAccountId and execute pattern. This method routes requests to the Mirror Node GET /api/v1/balances endpoint, an intermediary data repository that mirrors the state of the Hedera network. By separating query traffic from the main consensus path, the network aims to maintain more consistent performance for transaction processing.
Timeline
October 5, 2026: The MirrorNodeAccountBalanceQuery was officially released.
The Tech Race
This transition follows a common industry trend where distributed networks move read-heavy operations from primary consensus nodes to secondary infrastructure. It marks a push to optimize the Hedera architecture by segregating query traffic from transaction finality, similar to how other high-throughput networks scale via indexers.
Developers using the JavaScript, Java, or Go SDKs must migrate to the new query method immediately to maintain balance lookup functionality. The update requires a code change to the import and implementation patterns but results in a zero-cost querying process.
The takeaway
Developers should prioritize updating SDK implementations to v0.77 to ensure application compatibility with the throttled consensus endpoints. Watch for future release notes regarding the potential deprecation of other legacy API endpoints as the network continues to shift traffic to Mirror Nodes.
Further reading
For more information on the latest network updates, see the Software section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Crypto Economy.
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