diff --git a/apps/playground/src/components/cardano/mesh-wallet.ts b/apps/playground/src/components/cardano/mesh-wallet.ts
index 971476ca9..295dd4107 100644
--- a/apps/playground/src/components/cardano/mesh-wallet.ts
+++ b/apps/playground/src/components/cardano/mesh-wallet.ts
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ import { BlockfrostProvider, MeshWallet } from "@meshsdk/core";
 
 export function getProvider(network = "preprod") {
   const provider = new BlockfrostProvider(
-    `/api/blockfrost/${network}/`,
+    `https://cardano-${network}.blockfrost.io/api/v0/`,
   );
   provider.setSubmitTxToBytes(false);
   return provider;
diff --git a/apps/playground/src/pages/providers/blockfrost.tsx b/apps/playground/src/pages/providers/blockfrost.tsx
index e8d2f78f6..a6001e954 100644
--- a/apps/playground/src/pages/providers/blockfrost.tsx
+++ b/apps/playground/src/pages/providers/blockfrost.tsx
@@ -43,7 +43,8 @@ const ReactPage: NextPage = () => {
 
   const blockfrostKey = useProviders((state) => state.blockfrostKey);
 
-  const provider = new BlockfrostProvider(blockfrostKey ?? "");
+  // replace with your Blockfrost API key
+  const provider = new BlockfrostProvider(blockfrostKey ?? "preprod12345");
 
   return (
     <>
diff --git a/packages/mesh-common/src/data/parser.ts b/packages/mesh-common/src/data/parser.ts
index 5cbb22ade..db9cecf98 100644
--- a/packages/mesh-common/src/data/parser.ts
+++ b/packages/mesh-common/src/data/parser.ts
@@ -28,7 +28,8 @@ export const stringToHex = (str: string) =>
  * @param hex The string to be checked
  * @returns True if the string is a hex string, false otherwise
  */
-export const isHexString = (hex: string) => /^[0-9A-F]*$/i.test(hex);
+export const isHexString = (hex: string) =>
+  hex.length % 2 === 0 && /^[0-9A-F]*$/i.test(hex);
 
 /**
  * Converting hex string to utf8 string
@@ -43,9 +44,8 @@ export const hexToString = (hex: string) =>
  * @param hex The hex or utf8 string to be converted
  * @returns The bytes
  */
-export const toBytes = (hex: string): Uint8Array => {
-  if (hex.length % 2 === 0 && /^[0-9A-F]*$/i.test(hex))
-    return Buffer.from(hex, "hex");
+export const toBytes = (hex: string): Buffer => {
+  if (isHexString(hex)) return Buffer.from(hex, "hex");
 
   return Buffer.from(hex, "utf-8");
 };
@@ -56,8 +56,7 @@ export const toBytes = (hex: string): Uint8Array => {
  * @returns The hex string
  */
 export const fromUTF8 = (utf8: string) => {
-  if (utf8.length % 2 === 0 && /^[0-9A-F]*$/i.test(utf8)) return utf8;
-  return bytesToHex(Buffer.from(utf8, "utf-8"));
+  return Buffer.from(utf8, "utf-8").toString("hex");
 };
 
 /**
diff --git a/packages/mesh-common/test/data/parser.test.ts b/packages/mesh-common/test/data/parser.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..95d019237
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/mesh-common/test/data/parser.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,60 @@
+import {
+  bytesToHex,
+  fromUTF8,
+  hexToBytes,
+  hexToString,
+  isHexString,
+  parseAssetUnit,
+  stringToHex,
+  toBytes,
+  toUTF8,
+} from "@meshsdk/core";
+
+describe("Data parser utils", () => {
+  const hexStr = "626f6f6f";
+  const str = "booo";
+  const buf = Buffer.from(str);
+  const asset =
+    "d65287fa32b1c9880150b548ce32d503000152fe1cc3e3947eb151901370db9a";
+  const assetUnit = {
+    policyId: "d65287fa32b1c9880150b548ce32d503000152fe1cc3e3947eb15190",
+    assetName: "1370db9a",
+  };
+
+  it("converts bytes array to hex string", () => {
+    expect(bytesToHex(buf)).toStrictEqual(hexStr);
+  });
+
+  it("converts hex string to bytes array", () => {
+    expect(hexToBytes(hexStr)).toStrictEqual(buf);
+  });
+
+  it("converts utf-8 string to hex string", () => {
+    expect(stringToHex(str)).toStrictEqual(hexStr);
+  });
+
+  it("verifies hex string correctness", () => {
+    expect(isHexString(hexStr)).toBeTruthy();
+  });
+
+  it("converts hex string to utf-8 string", () => {
+    expect(hexToString(hexStr)).toStrictEqual(str);
+  });
+
+  it("converts hex or utf-8 string to bytes", () => {
+    expect(toBytes(hexStr)).toStrictEqual(buf);
+    expect(toBytes(str)).toStrictEqual(buf);
+  });
+
+  it("converts utf-8 string to hex string", () => {
+    expect(fromUTF8(str)).toStrictEqual(hexStr);
+  });
+
+  it("converts hex string to utf-8 string", () => {
+    expect(toUTF8(hexStr)).toStrictEqual(str);
+  });
+
+  it("parse asset unit into an object with policyId and assetName", () => {
+    expect(parseAssetUnit(asset)).toStrictEqual(assetUnit);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/packages/mesh-provider/src/blockfrost.ts b/packages/mesh-provider/src/blockfrost.ts
index 0f9cfc00f..441ab51f2 100644
--- a/packages/mesh-provider/src/blockfrost.ts
+++ b/packages/mesh-provider/src/blockfrost.ts
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ import { OfflineFetcher } from "./offline/offline-fetcher";
 import { BlockfrostAsset, BlockfrostUTxO } from "./types";
 import { parseHttpError } from "./utils";
 import { parseAssetUnit } from "./utils/parse-asset-unit";
+import { inferNetworkFromURL, isURL } from "./utils/url";
 
 export type BlockfrostCachingOptions = {
   enableCaching?: boolean;
@@ -78,21 +79,40 @@ export class BlockfrostProvider
    * @param version The version of the API. Default is 0.
    * @param cachingOptions Optional caching configuration
    */
-  constructor(projectId: string, version?: number, cachingOptions?: BlockfrostCachingOptions);
+  constructor(
+    projectId: string,
+    version?: number,
+    cachingOptions?: BlockfrostCachingOptions,
+  );
 
   constructor(...args: unknown[]) {
     let cachingOptions: BlockfrostCachingOptions | undefined;
-    
-    if (
-      typeof args[0] === "string" &&
-      (args[0].startsWith("http") || args[0].startsWith("/"))
-    ) {
-      this._axiosInstance = axios.create({ baseURL: args[0] });
-      this._network = "mainnet";
+
+    const first = args[0];
+    if (typeof first !== "string") {
+      throw new Error("First argument must of type string");
+    } else if (first.length === 0) {
+      throw new Error("First argument cannot be an empty string");
+    }
+
+    if (isURL(first)) {
+      this._axiosInstance = axios.create({ baseURL: first });
+      const n = inferNetworkFromURL(new URL(first));
+      if (n === undefined)
+        throw new Error("Provided URL have an unrecognized network");
+      this._network = n;
       cachingOptions = args[1] as BlockfrostCachingOptions | undefined;
     } else {
-      const projectId = args[0] as string;
+      const projectId = first as string;
       const network = projectId.slice(0, 7);
+
+      const supported = ["mainnet", "preprod", "preview"];
+      if (!supported.includes(network)) {
+        throw new Error(
+          `Unsupported type of network: ${network}. Please provide one of the following: ${supported}`,
+        );
+      }
+
       this._axiosInstance = axios.create({
         baseURL: `https://cardano-${network}.blockfrost.io/api/v${
           args[1] ?? 0
diff --git a/packages/mesh-provider/src/utils/parse-http-error.ts b/packages/mesh-provider/src/utils/parse-http-error.ts
index 86d8a229e..93faecd81 100644
--- a/packages/mesh-provider/src/utils/parse-http-error.ts
+++ b/packages/mesh-provider/src/utils/parse-http-error.ts
@@ -8,7 +8,11 @@ export const parseHttpError = (error: unknown): string => {
         headers: error.response.headers,
         status: error.response.status,
       });
-    } else if (error.request && !(error.request instanceof XMLHttpRequest)) {
+    } else if (
+      typeof XMLHttpRequest !== "undefined" &&
+      error.request &&
+      !(error.request instanceof XMLHttpRequest)
+    ) {
       return JSON.stringify(error.request);
     } else {
       return JSON.stringify({ code: error.code, message: error.message });
diff --git a/packages/mesh-provider/src/utils/url.ts b/packages/mesh-provider/src/utils/url.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a30e3fca5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/mesh-provider/src/utils/url.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+import { BlockfrostSupportedNetworks } from "../blockfrost";
+
+export function isURL(str: string) {
+  try {
+    new URL(str);
+    return true;
+  } catch (e) {
+    return false;
+  }
+}
+
+export function inferNetworkFromURL(
+  u: URL,
+): BlockfrostSupportedNetworks | undefined {
+  let h = u.hostname.toLowerCase();
+
+  if (h.includes("cardano-mainnet")) return "mainnet";
+  if (h.includes("cardano-preprod")) return "preprod";
+  if (h.includes("cardano-preview")) return "preview";
+
+  return undefined;
+}
diff --git a/packages/mesh-provider/test/blockfrost/constructor.test.ts b/packages/mesh-provider/test/blockfrost/constructor.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f5432951e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/mesh-provider/test/blockfrost/constructor.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+import { BlockfrostProvider } from "@meshsdk/provider";
+
+describe("Blockfrost constructor", () => {
+  it("fails to initiate a new instance with a wrong first argument", () => {
+    expect(() => new BlockfrostProvider({})).toThrow();
+    expect(() => new BlockfrostProvider("")).toThrow();
+    expect(() => new BlockfrostProvider("http://google.com")).toThrow();
+    expect(
+      () =>
+        new BlockfrostProvider("`https://cardano-testnet.blockfrost.io/api/v1"),
+    ).toThrow();
+  });
+});
diff --git a/packages/mesh-provider/test/blockfrost/evaluator.test.ts b/packages/mesh-provider/test/blockfrost/evaluator.test.ts
index a7f31e314..5a24a2fcc 100644
--- a/packages/mesh-provider/test/blockfrost/evaluator.test.ts
+++ b/packages/mesh-provider/test/blockfrost/evaluator.test.ts
@@ -4,7 +4,10 @@ import { BlockfrostProvider } from "@meshsdk/provider";
 
 dotenv.config();
 const apiKey = process.env.BLOCKFROST_API_KEY_PREPROD;
-const provider = new BlockfrostProvider(apiKey ?? "", 0);
+const provider = new BlockfrostProvider(
+  apiKey ?? "https://cardano-preprod.blockfrost.io/api/v1",
+  0,
+);
 
 const successTx =
   "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";