There’s Google for searching stuff on the Internet, but any crypto trader would know that they can search for crypto transaction activity as well. A block explorer does this.
Transactions occur when a transfer of crypto is made from one wallet address to another. Each transaction is processed and recorded on the blockchain. You can thus think of block explorers as search engines that track this activity.
Examples of widely-used block explorers include BscScan and Etherscan, but do note that each block explorer is affiliated with a specific blockchain. This means that you can only search and retrieve information for BNB Chain transactions on BscScan and not on Etherscan.
Block explorers are useful for:
- Traders, to check statuses of transactions when buying or selling crypto.
- Miners, to check if a block has been mined successfully to receive rewards.
- Analysts, to monitor and analyze transaction data including hash rate, block height and block difficulty.
What searches to use:
- Transaction hash: Look up details of a specific transaction and to confirm whether the transaction is successful.
- Wallet address: Provides an overview of your transaction history, the type and number of tokens you hold and which wallet addresses you have interacted with.
- Smart contracts: Search for a token’s smart contract to find out data such as its market capitalization and circulating supply.
- Block number: Find out details relating to the block including block height, block time and translation information. Many retroactive airdrops refer to block height to decide on which users to airdrop tokens to.
For example, searching the APX token smart contract on BscScan shows you the total supply, number of holder addresses, number of transactions and transaction details, among others. You can also click into transaction hashes or wallet addresses to find out more granular details.
APX smart contract search on BscScan
Typing a different search into the search bar will generate a new treasure trove of data. Happy exploring!
The views expressed in this article are the author's alone and do not necessarily represent the views of ApolloX.
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Risk Reminder: Crypto trading carries a risk. All trading activities are done at your discretion and at your own risk. The information here should not be regarded as financial or investment advice from ApolloX. ApolloX will not be liable for any loss that might arise from your use of any financial product.
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