TL;DR
- Etherscan is a block explorer providing reliable Ethereum blockchain data.
- Through Etherscan, users interact with Ethereum smart contracts and wallets.
- Etherscan provides crucial information on the status of smart contract execution and allows users to verify the source code.
- With a wallet address, contract address, transaction ID (TXID), or other unique identifiers, users can source information on Etherscan relating to user blockchain activity.
What is Etherscan?
Etherscan is the transparent block explorer and analytics hub for the Ethereum blockchain; it functions as a search engine where users can find transactions executed on Ethereum. Etherscan also enables smart contract interaction, allowing suspicious activity monitoring and detection. Often confused with a wallet, Etherscan is an information center that works by tracking Ethereum transactions (through Etherscan.io), indexing the information, and publicizing it on the website.
Why use Etherscan?
Etherscan gives crypto users crucial information that allows them to have a greater understanding of industry operations, helping them spot nefarious activities and anticipate market movements with ease. Users can see "whale alerts" whenever large-scale cryptocurrencies are moved into an exchange, which may indicate a massive sell-off or a rug pull.
Etherscan users don’t require an account to access the application; however, creating an account enables access to additional features, including tracking addresses or receiving transaction notifications.
Using Etherscan
Etherscan enables users to:
Confirm Transactions and Wallets
Etherscan tracks transactions, allowing users to follow their cryptocurrency after transaction execution. A user can send crypto from their wallet to a public address and use the transaction ID (TXID) they receive after paying gas to follow the exchange via Etherscan. The process is straightforward:
- Open Etherscan.
- Copy and paste the TXID into the search box and click on the search icon.
- Follow all the transaction details as displayed. Users can confirm their transaction status and reveal more information by selecting the “click more” button.
Etherscan also reveals other transactions associated with the wallet.
Explore Smart Contracts
Adding new tokens to a wallet requires a token’s contract address that contains its logic, which users can find via Etherscan; it provides pivotal counterchecking mechanisms allowing users to confirm transaction details before execution.
To countercheck transaction details:
- Open Etherscan.
- Copy and paste the smart contract address in the search box and click on the search icon.
- Confirm the transaction details as displayed; more details will be underneath the results.
Check Gas Price
Etherscan features a gas tracker highlighting expected gas prices and user TX fees. Ethereum Gas Tracker provides an accurate overview of network congestion and state.
Etherscan Benefits
Users of the platform have several advantages:
- Etherscan improves the management of its user‘s crypto portfolio via features like a gas fee calculator.
- Users can identify and avoid rug pulls and other crypto frauds through transaction monitoring and smart contract information.
- Users have control over dApp access to their wallets.
- Etherscan provides easy token management and exploration of user crypto wallets and transaction history.
Etherscan is a crucial tool for all Ethereum ecosystem users, and users can improve their trading and market observation strategies by inventively using Etherscan. As a free tool with no registration required for some features, Etherscan remains a reliable and easy-to-use tool for obtaining reliable Ethereum blockchain data.
Additional blockchain networks also feature similar exploration and analytics tools; Polygon has polygonscan.com, Avalanche has snowtrace.io, and Binance Smart Chain has bscscan.com. Each of these protocol search engines serves users in their respective networks, allowing them to access crucial transaction data and analytics to improve their crypto experience.
About Ooki
Ooki is a protocol for margin trading, borrowing, lending and staking enabling the building of Decentralized Applications for lenders, borrowers, and traders to interact with the most flexible decentralized finance protocol on multiple blockchains. Ooki is a fully decentralized, community-run DAO, governed by the community vote for all major changes to the protocol. Ooki users can engage in margin trading with up to 15x leverage using a fully decentralized trading platform.