An Introduction to Etherscan and other Blockchain Exlporers

Introduction

Blockchains are well known for their transparency, and the majority of them use publicly available distributed ledgers. These ledgers contain all blockchain data, including transactions, individual blocks, public addresses, etc. However, this data is vast, difficult to read, and hardly searchable. That’s why we need blockchain explorers.

Blockchain Explorer is a tool or database that provides detailed information about the blockchain network since its genesis block. One can search a smart contract or wallet address to track its transaction history, assets held, and other details. Some blockchain explorers also feature real-time data, pending transactions, network hash rate, mining pools, etc. In this article, we will explore Etherscan in detail, understand its working, and how you can read Etherscan.

Etherscan is one of the popular blockchain explorers for the Ethereum blockchain. It is a website that allows you to track smart contracts, individual blocks, wallet addresses, ERC-20 tokens, and other on-chain data. Here are a few use cases of Etherscan:

• Smart contracts: You can easily search and view smart contracts on Etherscan, track their transaction history, verify contract source code, and more.
• Token: Token-specific insights such as transaction history, token holders, and transactions by large token holders can be tracked and analyzed by searching token smart contract addresses on Etherscan. 
• Transactions: Etherscan allows you to view pending transactions on the network and monitor real-time transaction details, including sender and recipient addresses, transaction amount, and status by searching transaction ID.

Read More: Top Ethereum ERC-20 Tokens by Market Cap

How to Check Transactions & Wallet on Etherscan?

Open the etherscan.io website in your browser. On the home page, you will see a search bar where you can enter a specific wallet address, transaction hash(transaction id), block, token address, or domain name to find its info. In the bottom right column, you can discover all the latest individual transactions on the network, including the block number in which the transaction was verified, the sender(From) and receiver’s (To) address, and the total amount of funds sent.

Source: Etherscan

For a more detailed view of a specific transaction, just enter the transaction hash in the search bar, and it will open a window with transaction details as shown.

Source: Etherscan

This page provides transaction status info, the block number it is recorded in, the number of blocks it is verified with, and the date and time of transaction initiation. You can also view the transaction amount, fees paid, and gas price(network fees in Gwei, the smallest denomination of Ethereum). Etherscan lets you view definite information on who performed the transaction and who received funds by clicking on the wallet address.

How to check smart contracts on Etherscan?

To view smart contract info, search for Smart contract address, and you will be able to interact with them. Here is a sample view of NFT smart contracts.

It will provide a contract overview, the contract creator’s id, and transaction hash. You can also click on the Transaction tab to view the list of blockchain transactions, the Contract tab to interact with the smart contract source code, and the Analytics tab for additional data on transaction count, unique senders, etc. 

Additional Read: What is ERC-6551?

How to check gas prices on Etherscan?

Source: Etherscan

Click on the fuel or gas icon on the left corner of the top menu, and you will be able to see real-time gas prices as well as track transaction time for associated gas fees through the displayed chart.

How to check NFTs on Etherscan?

Source: Etherscan

For NFTs, simply search the NFT collection name on Etherscan. It will display an overview of the collection, its total supply, smart contract, and the lowest and highest price of NFT sold. You can click on other tabs: The inventory tab, the Holders tab, the Contact tab, and the Transfer tab for data on holders, view collection, transactions, and more.

Other Blockchain Explorers

There are several other block explorers for different blockchains with their features. Some popular blockchain explorers include Blockchain.com for Bitcoin, Solana Explorer for Solana blockchain, Polygonscan for Polygon, Etherchain for Ethereum, BscScan for BNB Smart Chain, and many more.

Conclusion

In conclusion, understanding Block Explorer tools and blockchain data can help you spot suspicious on-chain activities and stay aware. Furthermore, as these tools have a similar kind of easy-to-interact interface, you can easily adapt and learn them.

FAQs