When you start getting serious about holding and trading cryptocurrencies, it is time to get a blockchain explorer. Trading crypto without a blockchain explorer is very much like trying to use the internet without Google. You’re left very much in the dark because the reality is, most people don’t fully understand what blockchains do.
Blockchains are essentially public databases so a blockchain explorer allows cryptopreneurs to search for information on the blockchain. There are a lot of good options to choose from so to make it easier, we’ve selected some of the best blockchain explorers around.
What is a blockchain explorer?
A blockchain explorer is basically a search engine that allows you to conduct searches and easily navigate through a blockchain to track and trace blockchain transactions. Bitcoin and altcoin traders rely heavily on top blockchain explorers to keep track of and confirm transactions on the bitcoin network among others.
You can track the balance of public addresses, coin transfer histories and transaction confirmations. It provides an easier way to manage and view cryptocurrency. To think of it simply, blockchain explorers are the Google of the crypto world. It is important to note that you need to use a blockchain explorer that supports the blockchain you wish to track. If you try using a Bitcoin block explorer to track Ethereum transactions, you’re not going to get very far.
A blockchain explorer can also provide you with important decision-making statistics like the current hash rate, fees, transaction dates. In addition to this, the best blockchain explorers will display the following information:
- List of recent blocks allowing you to explore recently mined blocks
- Transactions in a given block
- Transaction history of a given public address
- Existing and previous public address balances
- Explore unconfirmed transactions via Mempool Status
- The ability to search for blocks, transactions and public addresses
- View the largest transaction of the day
- Double-spend incidents
- Orphaned blocks
- Genesis blocks (the first ever mined block)
For a more technical explanation of how they, here’s a step-by-step overview:
- They use APIs, rational databases and SQL databases along blockchain nodes to fetch information from the network.
- The explorer software works by aggregating blockchain data to display in a searchable format.
- Users can then use the blockchain explorer to search for information on a blockchain network such as transactions, addresses and more. The explorer responds to search requests in the same way a search engine would by displaying a list of results.
- Search results are then displayed in a readable and easy to understand format.
Why do we need blockchain explorers?
While a crypto wallet can provide similar data, it is limited to the keys the wallet manages. Explorers, however, can be used to view data on transactions carried out on all wallets on a given blockchain. They provide invaluable information to crypto investors and developers. Some of the benefits of using a blockchain explorer include:
- Transparent transactions by enabling users to check the balances and transaction history of smart contract addresses;
- Check the validity of a blockchain address before sending someone crypto
- Check whether the transaction has gone through to the correct person by checking wallet balances. It can give you a form of “proof of payment” to the receiver;
- Explorers can help you troubleshoot delayed transactions by picking up errors or displaying the stage of confirmation;
- Access to current information on fees and gas prices to help manage costs more effectively;
- They can aid wallet programmers to check whether the wallets are functioning as they should;
- They can be used to corroborate data and confirm whether third-party software is working correctly;
- Aid companies, individuals and groups in making better financial decisions
Best blockchain explorers
When selecting the best blockchain explorers, we looked at a number of factors when making our selections. They have great user interfaces to make it easy to see the information you need most - obviously, this is the whole point of making use of a blockchain explorer in the first place.
The most powerful blockchain explorer should also support the coins you trade and be compatible with your wallet provider.
Blockchain.com
Cryptocurrency users are increasingly drawn to using the Blockchair.com blockchain explorer. They offer more information than Blockchain.com which is the best blockchain explorer choice for users who need detailed transaction information.
Users are able to search for transactions, public addresses, blocks and embedded data. In addition to showing information related to specific transactions, Blockchair.com also collects useful data including transactions per block, on-chain volume and circulation.
Blockchair.com is the best blockchain explorer to search multiple chains. It supports Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin SV, Cardano, Dash, Dogecoin, Ethereum, Groestlcoin, Litecoin, Mondero and Ripple.
Tokenview
Tokenview is, in our opinion, one of the best blockchain explorers in the market. It has everything you could ever want and need in a blockchain explorer. It is considered to be one of the best Bitcoin blockchain explorers and as an added bonus, supports over 100 cryptocurrencies - significantly more than any other blockchain explorer service. Aside from being an excellent Bitcoin blockchain browser, it also does support Bitcoin Cash blockchain, Ethereum and other popular chains.
TokenView offers very useful tools such as a list of pending transactions on a blockchain, daily trading volumes, block rewards winners, active wallets by day and that’s just scratching the surface.
Because of the enormous volume of data this system processes, loading times can be on the slow side but what it lacks in speed, it certainly makes up for in information as far as a block explorer goes.
Etherscan
Do you trade primarily in Ethereum? Then look no further than a blockchain explorer built exclusively for the Ethereum blockchain. Ethereum users can easily search for, confirm and validate transactions.
With the popularity of Initial Coin Offerings (ICO) on the rise and selling out fast, Etherscan can quickly verify whether the Ether from your wallet went through to the BAT address successfully. The platform uses API’s to build decentralized apps (DApps) which can also be used as tools to gather more information and data on the blockchain.
BTC.com
BTC.com is new on the scene but despite this it hasn’t taken long to establish itself as one of the best blockchain explorers available to crypto traders. It is a fast and reliable blockchain explorer, especially useful for Bitcoin holders, and is free to use.
BTC.com is one of the largest mining pools in the world and will often pop up on block reward winning charts. You can use the leading blockchain explorer to get information about transactions, block size, block IDs and more on Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash and Ethereum blockchain networks.
It has a great user interface and an in-built calendar to make searching for transactions easier. In addition to the above data, it also shows unconfirmed transactions, transaction fees, rich lists and historical fees. A unique feature that BTC.comoffers users is data on how many times a particular Bitcoin public address has been mentioned on the web.
An added benefit of BTC.com is that it is available in 25 languages.
CoinMarketCap
New to the block, CoinMarketCap is already popular amongst almost all crypto users who need important information regarding the cryptocurrency market to make better investment decisions.
CoinMarketCap provides users with rankings of cryptocurrencies and exchanges, sorted by market capitalization. In addition, you can easily view all your transactions using this service. Compared to some of the other blockchain explorers, CoinMarketCap provides a clean and seamless user interface, making it very enjoyable to use.
Its only limitation is that it only supports Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin, so is only useful for mainstream cryptocurrency holders.
Blockcypher
Blockcypher offers a wealth of information and as an open-source software, is continually being improved upon and developed to include new features. In addition to the standard blockchain information provided by most blockchain explorers, you will also be able to access additional information like blockchain confirmation predictions, estimated fees and Bitcoin public address notifications for hardware wallets.
BlockCypher has a very sleek user interface which makes viewing data much easier, with real-time information provided.
BlockCypher only supports Bitcoin, Dash, Dogecoin and Grin.
Out of interest, you might want to find out more about the best blockchain explorers for Ripple. The Ripple (XRP) Explorer gives you detailed information on Ripple transactions, addresses and blocks. Here are the best Ripple blockchain explorers:
- XRP Charts
- Bithomp XRP explorer
- XRP ledger explorer
- XRPL explorer ledger
Solana blockchain explorers
The Solana blockchain is an increasingly popular investment avenue, so it makes sense if you’re pouring money into trading SOL, you should use a blockchain explorer designed exclusively for Solana.
Solana Block Explorer (Official)
The Solana Block Explorer is the official block explorer developed by the team behind Solana. It can help you track and trace transactions on the Solana blockchain in addition to slots, block height, cluster time, a live transaction count, transactions per second and average ping time. It provides real-time data which is helpful when snap decisions need to be made.
Solscan.io
Solscan.io is powered by the official Solana blockchain and offers some handy features to Solana traders. This web-based tool makes it simple and easy to scan the Solana blockchain for valuable data to make better trading decisions.
SolScan allows you to scan the blockchain for specific addresses, transactions and smart contracts. You can get detailed information about transactions including transaction amounts, gas prices and the addresses of the sender and receiver. You can easily monitor portfolios in real-time and analyze market trends.
Solana.fm
While it is still only a Beta version and under development, SolanaFM offers an easy-to-use blockchain explorer with their catch phrase even being, “a friendly Solana explorer.”
The web-based blockchain explorer gives you an overview of the Solana blockchain in one place with data on the current SOL price, transactions per second, real-time updates on the current block and Solana nodes near you. Their goal is to simplify transaction information and make visualizing the flow of money less complex.
Cardano blockchain explorers
Cardano blockchain explorers are built exclusively for the Cardano blockchain. The public ledger stores all the data about Cardano transactions, wallet addresses and balances. You can use Cardano blockchain explorers to quickly and easily search through the ledger to find specific addresses, transactions and balances.
Cardano Block Explorer (Official)
The official Cardano Block Explorer is available in English, Dutch and Chinese. It has more limited search functionality than other blockchain explorers, only allowing users to search for epochs, transactions, addresses and blocks. It doesn’t have the same tools and special features that some other blockchain explorers offer. It does, however, provide a decent overview of the blockchain and can be useful when only basic data is required, such as confirming a transaction.
Adaex
As one of the first Cardano blockchain explorers, Adaex which is now referred to as Cexplorer.io, is a trusted and reliable blockchain explorer. The dashboard provides an overview of the most important information related to the network such as the price of ADA coins, current epoch, the number of ADA coins in circulation and the number of staked coins.
In addition to this, you can view transactions, addresses and balances to confirm transactions. For users who would like to look deeper into the Cardano network, you can do so using the analytics tools available on the platform.
CardanoScan
Last but not least, CardanoScan is one of the best blockchain explorers designed exclusively for the Cardano blockchain. The platform fetches data from the network and displays it in an easy-to-understand way. You can select to explore specific blocks in more detail for the epoch, transaction IDs, addresses and more.
Conclusion
If you are serious about investing in cryptocurrency or are a wallet developer, it is essential to use a blockchain explorer. These web-based platforms make it quick and easy to view important information about blocks, transactions and the market to make better investment decisions. It acts as the official search engine for a blockchain (or multiple chains), allowing you to find a lot of valuable information about the blockchain.
Blockchain explorers are an important tool in making the cryptocurrency community decentralized, transparent and open. It is very useful to be able to track transactions in real time in order to validate they were successfully sent and received by both parties.
With the majority of explorers being web-based applications, it is quick and easy to access them. You can visit the website and enter the information you require to pull up results. If you need to look at the Mempool to view a pending transaction for example, you can do this by entering the transaction ID provided by your wallet or exchange.
As we mentioned, explorers are not only for cryptocurrency investors. Those simply interested in blockchain technology and seeking to learn more about the various blockchains can use them to “explore” and analyze the blockchain. Interesting information such as the largest transaction of the day, genesis block and most recently mined block can usually be found on the dashboard.
Despite the ability of these explorers to create a more transparent network, do not get complacent about following good security measures to keep your digital assets secure. It is still essential to always use a reputable crypto wallet. If you can afford to do so, a hardware wallet is always the best option for keeping your crypto as safe as possible.
