Do you want to see how much bitcoin transactions are happening around the world? Check this real-time Bitcoin transaction visualizer, Bitlisten. You will not only see but hear new bitcoin transactions and blocks as they propagate in the network.

What is Bitlisten?

Unlike traditional currencies, Bitcoin transaction information are freely available for public viewing. The data to be more accessible and comprehensive, some software developers create visualizers and one of them is Bitlisten. It is a web application that displays every amount of Bitcoin sent in the network in form of bubbles. Bigger bubbles shows bigger amounts and some bubbles can even take up the whole screen. Also, it shows completed blocks in the blockchain in a square bubble which displays the block number, number of transactions, transaction volume and the block size.

In addition, the bubbles are accompanied by soothing chimes. Viewers may be able to select a sound or chime of their choice from a droplist on the webpage. You can either choose one from the three options Celesta, Planet and Wikki. I personally like Wikki as it is not as loud as the other two. The pitch of the sound may also be scaled where bigger transactions will create deeper sounds.

Bitlisten also displays the current exchange rate of the cryptocurrency which is taken from the Bitstamp WebSocket API. The exchange rate is displayed in USD / BTC and changes real-time without the need of refreshing the page. Bitlisten is such an amazing and wonderful creation. Watching these bubbles is much easier and entertaining than looking at transaction lines, isnt’t it?

On the technical side, Bitlisten is a piece of software written in HTML, CSS Jquery and Javascript. It gathers data from an external API which is Toshi.io through Websocket. Transaction information appears real-time on the website by a 10 second interval from the time a user sends Bitcoin in their Bitcoin client.

Facts about Bitlisten

Bitlisten, which is formerly called Listen to Bitcoin, is created by a Software Engineer, Maximillian Laumeister. Laumeister is based in Watsonville, California and has an impressive portfolio in programming, game design and interactive software. The site was hijacked and contained a java-based malware some time in 2013. Thus, the creator transferred and renamed the site to Bitlisten which he claimed to be clean and free of any type of malware. The web application is an open source software and MIT licensed which means that its original source code can be freely modified and redistributed. Laumeister does not earn from web app but is accepting donations for support.

Bitlisten.com and its creator already gained attention from various major websites such as NPR, The Verge, Youtube, Reddit and Stack Overflow. The website has gained over 127,000 plus unique visitors and the source code has been forked in a lot of different spin off projects and gained 152 stars on Github. One example of projects forked from Bitlisten is Listen To Wikipedia.

Some other related web applications are Bitcoin Monitor, Bitcoin Matix, Bitcoin Globe and Bitcoin Ticker and so far, Bitlisten is the most endearing among them.

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