diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index 31377ac22..bc5bbcf85 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -1919,8 +1919,10 @@ dependencies = [
  "hex",
  "ipld-core",
  "k256 0.13.3",
+ "lru 0.10.1",
  "multibase 0.9.1",
  "once_cell",
+ "reqwest",
  "serde",
  "serde_ipld_dagcbor",
  "serde_json",
diff --git a/event/src/unvalidated/event.rs b/event/src/unvalidated/event.rs
index c55417a11..0dcdb36ac 100644
--- a/event/src/unvalidated/event.rs
+++ b/event/src/unvalidated/event.rs
@@ -48,6 +48,31 @@ fn get_time_event_witness_blocks(
         blocks_in_path.push(serde_ipld_dagcbor::from_slice(block_bytes)?);
     }
 
+    // make sure the last item truly does point to prev
+    match blocks_in_path
+        .last()
+        .expect("blocks_in_path is not empty")
+        .get(
+            *parts
+                .last()
+                .ok_or_else(|| anyhow!("Time Event path must have at least one item"))?,
+        )?
+        .ok_or_else(|| anyhow!("Time Event path failed to resolve last element"))?
+    {
+        Ipld::Link(cid) => {
+            if *cid != event.prev() {
+                bail!(
+                    "the anchor commit proof {} with path {} points to invalid 'prev' commit. Expected prev='{}' but found '{}'",
+                    event.proof,
+                    event.path,
+                    event.prev(),
+                    cid,
+                )
+            }
+        }
+        _ => bail!("Time Event path does not index to a CID"),
+    }
+
     Ok(blocks_in_path)
 }
 
diff --git a/validation/Cargo.toml b/validation/Cargo.toml
index 166109d06..d59ac022d 100644
--- a/validation/Cargo.toml
+++ b/validation/Cargo.toml
@@ -20,8 +20,11 @@ ed25519-dalek.workspace = true
 hex.workspace = true
 ipld-core.workspace = true
 k256.workspace = true
+lru.workspace = true
 multibase.workspace = true
 once_cell.workspace = true
+reqwest.workspace = true
+serde.workspace = true
 serde_json.workspace = true
 sha3.workspace = true
 ssi.workspace = true
diff --git a/validation/src/blockchain/eth_rpc.rs b/validation/src/blockchain/eth_rpc.rs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e4fc38731
--- /dev/null
+++ b/validation/src/blockchain/eth_rpc.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,283 @@
+use std::{
+    num::NonZero,
+    str::FromStr,
+    sync::{Arc, Mutex},
+};
+
+use anyhow::{anyhow, Context, Result};
+use lru::LruCache;
+use once_cell::sync::Lazy;
+use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
+use ssi::caip2;
+use tracing::trace;
+
+const TRANSACTION_CACHE_SIZE: usize = 50;
+const BLOCK_CACHE_SIZE: usize = 50;
+
+static HTTP_CLIENT: Lazy<reqwest::Client> = Lazy::new(reqwest::Client::new);
+
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Serialize, Deserialize, PartialEq, Eq, Hash)]
+/// A blockchain transaction
+pub struct ChainTransaction {
+    /// Transaction hash
+    pub hash: String,
+    /// Transaction contract input
+    pub input: String,
+    /// Information about the block in which this transaction was mined.
+    /// If None, the transaction exists but has not been mined yet.
+    pub block: Option<ChainBlock>,
+}
+
+impl ChainTransaction {
+    fn new_from_tx(tx: EthTransaction) -> Self {
+        ChainTransaction {
+            hash: tx.hash,
+            input: tx.input,
+            block: None,
+        }
+    }
+
+    fn try_new_with_block(tx: EthTransaction, block: EthBlock) -> Result<Self> {
+        Ok(ChainTransaction {
+            hash: tx.hash,
+            input: tx.input,
+            block: Some(block.try_into()?),
+        })
+    }
+}
+
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Serialize, Deserialize, PartialEq, Eq, Hash)]
+/// A blockchain block
+pub struct ChainBlock {
+    pub hash: String,
+    /// the block number
+    pub number: i64,
+    /// the unix epoch timestamp
+    pub timestamp: i64,
+}
+
+#[async_trait::async_trait]
+pub trait EthRpc {
+    fn chain_id(&self) -> &caip2::ChainId;
+
+    async fn get_block_timestamp(&self, tx_hash: &str) -> Result<Option<ChainTransaction>>;
+}
+
+#[derive(Debug, Serialize, Deserialize)]
+pub struct RpcResponse<T> {
+    jsonrpc: String,
+    id: i32,
+    result: Option<T>,
+}
+
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Serialize, Deserialize, PartialEq, Eq, Hash)]
+#[serde(rename_all = "camelCase")]
+/// The expected payload for eth_getTransactionByHash. It's a contract transaction
+/// and expects fields (e.g. input) to exist that aren't required for all transactions.
+struct EthTransaction {
+    /// Block hash if mined
+    block_hash: Option<String>,
+    /// Transaction hash
+    hash: String,
+    /// Contract input data
+    input: String,
+}
+
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Serialize, Deserialize, PartialEq, Eq, Hash)]
+/// The block information returned by eth_getBlockByHash
+#[serde(rename_all = "camelCase")]
+struct EthBlock {
+    hash: String,
+    /// 0x prefixed hexadecimal block number
+    number: String,
+    /// 0x prefixed hexademical representing unix epoch time
+    timestamp: String,
+}
+
+impl TryFrom<EthBlock> for ChainBlock {
+    type Error = anyhow::Error;
+
+    fn try_from(value: EthBlock) -> std::result::Result<Self, Self::Error> {
+        Ok(ChainBlock {
+            hash: value.hash,
+            number: i64_from_hex(&value.number).context("invalid block number")?,
+            timestamp: i64_from_hex(&value.timestamp).context("invalid block timestamp")?,
+        })
+    }
+}
+
+#[derive(Debug)]
+/// Http client to interact with EIP chains
+pub struct HttpEthRpc {
+    chain_id: caip2::ChainId,
+    url: reqwest::Url,
+    tx_cache: Arc<Mutex<LruCache<String, EthTransaction>>>,
+    block_cache: Arc<Mutex<LruCache<String, EthBlock>>>,
+}
+
+impl HttpEthRpc {
+    /// Create a new ethereum VM compatible HTTP client
+    pub async fn try_new(url: &str) -> Result<Self> {
+        let url = reqwest::Url::parse(url).context("invalid url")?;
+        let chain_id = Self::eth_chain_id(url.clone()).await?;
+        let chain_decimal = i64_from_hex(&chain_id)?;
+        let chain_id = caip2::ChainId::from_str(&format!("eip155:{chain_decimal}"))?;
+        let tx_cache = Arc::new(Mutex::new(LruCache::new(
+            NonZero::new(TRANSACTION_CACHE_SIZE).expect("transaction cache size must be non zero"),
+        )));
+        let block_cache = Arc::new(Mutex::new(LruCache::new(
+            NonZero::new(BLOCK_CACHE_SIZE).expect("block cache size must be non zero"),
+        )));
+        Ok(Self {
+            url,
+            chain_id,
+            tx_cache,
+            block_cache,
+        })
+    }
+
+    /// Retrieve the caip2 Chain ID
+    ///
+    /// ❯ curl https://cloudflare-eth.com/v1/mainnet -X POST --data '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"eth_chainId","params":[],"id":0}'
+    ///    {"jsonrpc":"2.0","result":"0x1","id":0}
+    ///
+    /// ❯ curl https://rpc.ankr.com/filecoin -X POST --data '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"eth_chainId","params":[],"id":0}'
+    /// >>  {"id":0,"jsonrpc":"2.0","result":"0x13a"}
+    async fn eth_chain_id(url: reqwest::Url) -> Result<String> {
+        let resp: RpcResponse<String> = HTTP_CLIENT
+            .post(url.clone())
+            .json(&serde_json::json!({
+                "jsonrpc": "2.0",
+                "method": "eth_chainId",
+                "params": [],
+                "id": 0,
+            }))
+            .send()
+            .await?
+            .json()
+            .await?;
+        resp.result
+            .ok_or_else(|| anyhow!("failed to retrieve chain ID"))
+    }
+
+    /// Get a block by its hash
+    ///
+    /// curl https://mainnet.infura.io/v3/{api_token} \
+    ///     -X POST \
+    ///     -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
+    ///     -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"eth_getBlockByHash","params": ["0x{block_hash}",false],"id":1}'
+    /// >> {"jsonrpc": "2.0", "id": 1, "result": {"number": "0x105f34f", "timestamp": "0x644fe98b"}}
+    async fn eth_block_by_hash(&self, block_hash: &str) -> Result<Option<EthBlock>> {
+        if let Some(blk) = self.block_cache.lock().unwrap().get(block_hash) {
+            return Ok(Some(blk.to_owned()));
+        }
+        let resp: RpcResponse<EthBlock> = HTTP_CLIENT
+            .post(self.url.clone())
+            .json(&serde_json::json!({
+                "jsonrpc": "2.0",
+                "method": "eth_getBlockByHash",
+                "params": [block_hash, false],
+                "id": 1,
+            }))
+            .send()
+            .await?
+            .json()
+            .await?;
+        let block = match resp.result {
+            Some(blk) => blk,
+            None => return Ok(None),
+        };
+
+        let mut cache = self.block_cache.lock().unwrap();
+        cache.put(block_hash.to_string(), block.clone());
+        Ok(Some(block))
+    }
+
+    /// Get the block_hash and input from the transaction
+    ///
+    /// curl https://mainnet.infura.io/v3/{api_token} \
+    ///   -X POST \
+    ///   -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
+    ///   -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"eth_getTransactionByHash",
+    ///        "params":["0xBF7BC715A09DEA3177866AC4FC294AC9800EE2B49E09C55F56078579BFBBF158"],"id":1}'
+    /// >> {"jsonrpc":"2.0", "id":1, "result": {
+    /// >>    "blockHash": "0x783cd5a6febe13d08ac0d59fa7e666483d5e476542b29688a6f0bec3d15febd4",
+    /// >>  "blockNumber": "0x105f34f",
+    /// >>  "input": "0x97ad09eb41b6408c1b4be5016f652396ef47c0982c36d5877ebb874919bae3a9b854d8e1"
+    /// >>  }}
+    async fn eth_transaction_by_hash(
+        &self,
+        transaction_hash: &str,
+    ) -> Result<Option<EthTransaction>> {
+        if let Some(tx) = self.tx_cache.lock().unwrap().get(transaction_hash) {
+            return Ok(Some(tx.to_owned()));
+        }
+        let resp: RpcResponse<EthTransaction> = HTTP_CLIENT
+            .post(self.url.clone())
+            .json(&serde_json::json!({
+                "jsonrpc": "2.0",
+                "method": "eth_getTransactionByHash",
+                "params": [transaction_hash],
+                "id": 1,
+            }))
+            .send()
+            .await?
+            .json()
+            .await?;
+        let tx = match resp.result {
+            Some(tx) => tx,
+            None => return Ok(None),
+        };
+        let mut cache = self.tx_cache.lock().unwrap();
+        cache.put(transaction_hash.to_string(), tx.clone());
+        Ok(Some(tx))
+    }
+}
+
+#[async_trait::async_trait]
+impl EthRpc for HttpEthRpc {
+    fn chain_id(&self) -> &caip2::ChainId {
+        &self.chain_id
+    }
+
+    async fn get_block_timestamp(&self, tx_hash: &str) -> Result<Option<ChainTransaction>> {
+        // transaction to blockHash, blockNumber, input
+        let tx_hash_res = match self.eth_transaction_by_hash(tx_hash).await? {
+            Some(tx) => tx,
+            None => return Ok(None),
+        };
+        trace!(?tx_hash_res, "txByHash response");
+
+        let blk_hash = if let Some(hash) = &tx_hash_res.block_hash {
+            hash
+        } else {
+            return Ok(Some(ChainTransaction::new_from_tx(tx_hash_res)));
+        };
+
+        // for now we ignore how old the block is i.e. we don't care if it's more than 3
+        // it's left up to the implementer in
+        // https://chainagnostic.org/CAIPs/caip-168 and https://namespaces.chainagnostic.org/eip155/caip168
+        // this means nodes may have a slightly different answer to the exact time an event happened
+
+        let blk_hash_res = self.eth_block_by_hash(blk_hash).await?;
+        trace!(?blk_hash_res, "blockByHash response");
+
+        let block = match blk_hash_res {
+            Some(blk) => blk,
+            None => return Ok(Some(ChainTransaction::new_from_tx(tx_hash_res))),
+        };
+
+        Ok(Some(ChainTransaction::try_new_with_block(
+            tx_hash_res,
+            block,
+        )?))
+    }
+}
+
+/// Get an i64 integer from a 0x prefixed hex string
+fn i64_from_hex(val: &str) -> Result<i64> {
+    val.strip_prefix("0x")
+        .map(|v| i64::from_str_radix(v, 16))
+        .transpose()?
+        .ok_or_else(|| anyhow!("string is not valid hex: {}", val))
+}
diff --git a/validation/src/blockchain/mod.rs b/validation/src/blockchain/mod.rs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f46b927ca
--- /dev/null
+++ b/validation/src/blockchain/mod.rs
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+pub mod eth_rpc;
diff --git a/validation/src/lib.rs b/validation/src/lib.rs
index 244572228..f0a8632ad 100644
--- a/validation/src/lib.rs
+++ b/validation/src/lib.rs
@@ -1,8 +1,10 @@
+mod blockchain;
 pub mod signature;
 pub mod siwx_message;
 #[cfg(test)]
 mod test;
 mod verifier;
 
+pub use blockchain::eth_rpc;
 pub use ceramic_event::unvalidated::signed::cacao;
 pub use verifier::{cacao_verifier, event_verifier, opts::VerifyCacaoOpts};