Block Explorer: Etherscan
Etherscan (a.k.a. ‘Ethplorer’) is a block explorer and analytics platform that allows you to access details on any pending or confirmed Ethereum blockchain transactions. It is one of the most reliable and confident tools to navigate the public Ethereum data, including smart contracts and transaction records. It is self-contained and it is not controlled by the Ethereum Foundation (although the platform is centralized). The Etherscan team consists of seasoned developers and professionals of the industry who created the tool to make the blockchain more accessible.
Etherscan is not a wallet service provider but the application can track Ethereum blockchain transactions and all the activities on an Ethereum wallet address. The application helps everyday users to find transaction details and displays the results like any regular search engine.
- There is no need in a specific account to use the application, but signing up grants access to some additional features, including:
- Tracking address and receiving notifications, no matter when the transaction takes place
- Free access to Etherscan blockchain explorer data and APIs
- Tracking investments by adding addresses to the watch list
- Getting information on transactions via email
- Getting access to developer services
- Getting information about transactions (such as the hash, amount of transaction, the number of blocks having recorded the transaction data, addresses of the sender and the receiver, gas fee)
Nothing special is needed to use Etherscan. The user has to enter a search request at the Etherscan.io homepage. After that the user would see all the transactions, connected with their address. The list of all wallet transactions and transactions with gas can be found in the “transactions tab’.
The use of the application is completely secure, private keys or any other sensitive information can be viewed. The private keys are not stored on the platform. However, it can not help with solving a transaction failure.
Etherscan features
Etherscan offers users broad functionality which would make their life and transactions safer, easier and less stressful.
- Etherscan gas tracker. The feature provides users with the information about differences in prices and helps to estimate transaction costs by examining pending transactions on the Ethereum. It allows users to adjust timing of the transactions to avoid hold-ups due to ‘network traffic jams’, which helps to save on transaction costs.
- Etherscan analytics. With its help users can check wallet balance, fees paid for the transactions and the entire transfer history.
- ‘Read ‘and ‘Write’ contract features. The specialists can read and edit their contracts. Application tabs provide developers with real-time information. These features also help to approve smart contract transactions.
- Token approval checker. This feature helps users to review their approved token lists and smart contract interactions with their wallet. It also helps to block a token’s access to their wallets. If a user gets suspicious about the security of a DApp they’ve used to buy tokens, they can revoke the access of the possibly compromised application to their wallets by clicking ‘revoke’.
Etherscan use cases
Etherscan can be helpful for everyday users in many cases, including:
- Calculation of Ethereum gas fees with the gas tracker
- Smart contracts verification
- Viewing crypto assets associated with the user’s public address
- Observing live transactions. Viewing all transactions, including failed and pending ones
- Searching for a particular transaction done from any Ethereum wallet
- Viewing which smart contracts were audited or have verified code
- Tracking the number of smart contracts, authorized with the particular wallet
- Reviewing and revoking access for DApps to a wallet
- Tracking progress of an incoming transfer with the help of its hash key
- Analyzing on-chain metrics, tracking the user’s portfolio and monitoring the wallet’s history for any suspicions activities
