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How to Track Issued Tokens on XRP using Gateway Balance

Track issued tokens on the XRP Ledger – one of the most important tasks for developers and financial operators is understanding how much of an asset has been issued and who currently holds it. This is particularly relevant for gateways, stablecoin issuers, and institutional players utilizing the XRP Ledger for tokenized assets. In this guide, we will explore how to use the gateway_balances method to retrieve detailed information about issued tokens, obligations, balances held by third parties, and frozen funds — all without running your own XRPL node, thanks to the infrastructure provided by NOWNodes.

What is gateway_balance?

The gateway_balances method is an XRP Ledger API call that returns the total balances of issued tokens for a specified account. Specifically, it helps you:

  • Calculate total outstanding obligations (issued assets)
  • Identify holders of your tokens (excluding your own operational wallets)
  • Detect frozen token balances
  • Work with validated ledger data for consistency

This method is particularly useful for auditing, compliance, monitoring liquidity, and building analytics dashboards for tokenized assets.

Why Use NOWNodes to track issued tokens?

Operating your own XRP node requires significant technical resources, ongoing maintenance, and storage capacity. NOWNodes offers a robust alternative — allowing developers and businesses to interact with the XRP Ledger through simple API calls without the overhead of node infrastructure.

Step 1: Register and Obtain Your API Key

  1. Go to nownodes.io
  2. Sign up for an account
  3. Choose a subscription plan based on your usage needs
  4. Copy your unique API key, which will be used in all requests

Note: Keep your API key confidential and never include it in public source code or frontend applications.

Step 2: Make a gateway_balances API Call

Below is an example request for checking issued balances. This request excludes balances held by two operational hot wallets.

Endpoint
POST https://xrp.nownodes.io
Request Body
{
  "method": "gateway_balances",
  "params": [
    {
      "account": "rMwjYedjc7qqtKYVLiAccJSmCwih4LnE2q",
      "hotwallet": [
        "rKm4uWpg9tfwbVSeATv4KxDe6mpE9yPkgJ",
        "ra7JkEzrgeKHdzKgo4EUUVBnxggY4z37kt"
      ],
      "ledger_index": "validated",
      "strict": true
    }
  ]
}
Example Response
{
  "result": {
    "account": "rMwjYedjc7qqtKYVLiAccJSmCwih4LnE2q",
    "obligations": {
      "BTC": "1762.700511879441",
      "EUR": "813792.4267005104",
      "GBP": "4974.337212333351",
      "USD": "6739710.218284974"
    },
    "balances": {
      "rKm4uWpg9tfwbVSeATv4KxDe6mpE9yPkgJ": [
        {
          "currency": "EUR",
          "value": "144816.1965999999"
        }
      ],
      "ra7JkEzrgeKHdzKgo4EUUVBnxggY4z37kt": [
        {
          "currency": "USD",
          "value": "6677.38614"
        }
      ]
    },
    "frozen_balances": {
      "r4keXr5myiU4iTLh68ZqZ2CgsJ8dM9FSW6": [
        {
          "currency": "BTC",
          "value": "0.091207822800868"
        }
      ]
    },
    "validated": true
  }
}

Interpreting the Response

  • account – The issuer account queried
  • obligations – Total amount of each currency issued and in circulation (excluding the issuer’s own wallets)
  • balances – Specific accounts and how much of each asset they hold (excluding hot wallets)
  • frozen_balances – Amounts that are currently frozen and cannot be moved
  • validated – Indicates that the data comes from a finalized and trusted ledger state

Security Recommendations

  • Always store your API key in secure environments (e.g., server-side variables)
  • Rotate API keys periodically
  • Avoid exposing API keys in public repositories or frontend code
  • Monitor usage limits and logs if available through your NOWNodes dashboard

Conclusion

The gateway_balances method is a powerful API endpoint for tracking asset issuance, monitoring obligations, and ensuring transparency across the XRP Ledger. It is essential for any organization managing issued assets on XRPL.

With NOWNodes, you gain access to this functionality instantly — without worrying about infrastructure setup or synchronization delays. This allows developers and businesses to focus on building valuable financial applications, with full visibility into the on-chain state of their tokens.

For further assistance or technical questions, reach out to NOWNodes support or browse their documentation for more XRPL API methods and integration examples.

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