Do you know that you can start verifying your blockchain transaction history and balances through a block explorer? If you still do not know what is Block explorer and how to read block explorer, this article will help you to understand it.
What is a block explorer?
A block explorer is an online tool for viewing all past and current transactions on the blockchain. They provide useful information such as network hash rate and transaction growth. Blockchain Explorer allows you to scan the blockchain network for important data including transactions, addresses, fees, blocks, and more.
Every crypto user should know how to use a blockchain explorer, also known as a block explorer. This is an important tool that provides a window into what is going on inside the blockchain network.
Many people, even those familiar with cryptocurrencies, don't really understand the intrinsic value of blockchain explorers. However, with Bitcoin and other specific altcoins, there are many things that can be done and discovered using a blockchain explorer.
Most block explorers also report unconfirmed transactions and whether mining difficulty is increasing or decreasing. This helps show network congestion and the potential for rising fees.
How to read Blockexplorer?
For those unfamiliar with cryptocurrency trading, this may seem confusing. A mix of numbers and letters. Let's break it down into smaller parts and review each part individually. Here are the steps-by-steps process:
- The transaction Hash ID: A transaction hash, also known as a transaction ID, is an identifier for that particular transaction. In short: it is the code associated with this transaction. If you want to see the details of a transaction, you need to enter this code string into the block explorer.
- The sending address(es): This section shows which address is sending the cryptocurrency associated with it, and how much it is sending. You can also click on the address to view its incoming and outgoing transaction history. When you create a transaction, you will send the full balance of your address. Of course, it's not all your friends. They received 0.1 BTC as expected. The remaining 0.9 BTC will be sent to your changed address. This address is completely under your control.
- The fees: Most cryptocurrency networks have fees associated with transactions. Bitcoin is no different in this regard. In this section, you can view the fee cost of the transaction. These fees are paid to those validating blocks of the network, which are filled with transactions.
- The receiving address(es): In this section, we can see which addresses are the intended destinations for transactions. For each address, we can see how much they received. Similar to the sending address, you can click the receiving address to view its transaction history. Usually at the bottom of these addresses is the change address explained earlier.
- The transaction's status: An often overlooked but very important part of a transaction: its state. For transactions to be completed and considered valid, they first need to be confirmed by the person who verified them. Unconfirmed transactions like the one shown above can still be ruled invalid or canceled. It's better to treat an unconfirmed transaction as "not yet received" and wait for it to actually be confirmed.
You can also see multiple send or receive addresses. This will be achieved through a more advanced feature called "transaction batching". This is a feature commonly used by cryptocurrency exchanges, where they send cryptocurrency to multiple people in a single transaction to reduce the cost of fees.
I hope now you will know what is Block explorer and how to read Block explorer. Reading blockchain data can be confusing at first, but once you know what each bit of data means, everything will fall into place. Armed with this new-found knowledge and the techniques described in this article regarding Bitcoin’s anonymity, you can easily track users or addresses across blockchains and record all their transactions.
