I built a physical Bitcoin network sensor (ESP32) to know when it’s a good time to send a transaction

Hey Indie Hackers 👋

I’ve been working on a tool called BlockPulse.

Most Bitcoin “network status” tools rely on:

• third-party APIs

• delayed or aggregated data

• sources you can’t really verify

So I took a different approach.

I built a physical ESP32-based sensor that observes the Bitcoin network in real time and feeds the data directly into the platform — no public API dependency.

The goal is simple:
Help users know when it’s actually a good moment to broadcast a Bitcoin transaction.

What the tool shows:

• real-time network activity

• detected hashrate (from the physical sensor)

• transaction fee pressure (low / medium / high)

• a simple recommendation: good moment / wait

You can see it live here:
👉 https://blockpulse.be/tools/bitcoin-network-status

This is still early, and I’m actively iterating on:

• UX clarity

• how the data is explained to non-technical users

• pricing & onboarding (including a free trial)

I’d love feedback from builders:

• Does the value proposition make sense?

• Is the hardware angle clear enough?

• What would you expect from a tool like this?

Thanks 🙏