Etherscan Why is it Nicknamed the Ethplorer A Cryptocurrency Tool

• Etherscan serves as a block explorer for the Ethereum blockchain. 
• Block explorers are used to access specific data in the huge database, like transaction details, wallet details, or smart contracts legitimacy.
• Etherscan keeps users updated on real-time gas price and ether price.

You may have heard or read many times that Ethereum is a decentralised, open blockchain where all the data in its database, i.e., transactions history, block history, gas fees, pending transactions, and much more, is accessible to all.

But have you ever wondered how exactly one can see this data and find details of a particular transaction in this enormous ocean of data? Well, we have block explorers for our rescue.

Block Explorers, the Blockchain Search Engines

In simple words, block explorers can be called search engines for a blockchain, which on taking input such as wallet address, transaction ID or Hash or contract ID, directs you to that particular block, providing you with all the information.

Block explorers are websites with an easy interface such that people with no expertise can also browse and benefit from them. Some popular block explorers out there are

BlockChain.com, BlockCypher, Tokenview, Blockchair, and CoinMarketCap, among others. There are some block explorers that provide insights into several blockchains like Bitcoin and Ethereum, while some are made for a specific blockchain.

Etherscan, the Ethplorer

Ethereum is the world’s second most popular blockchain and Ethereum serves as the perfect search engine for it. Etherscan is a simple website available on Google, maintained by autonomous developers, which provides all the insights and detail of the Ethereum blockchain.

The platform provides users with all different kinds of data, of which some are:

The last transaction, with its to and from ID’S, amount transferred, gas fees charged,its block number.

Transactions in the last 24hr, pending transactions in the last one hour and the average transaction fees. 

Wallet address, wallet balance, the last transaction of that wallet, and transaction status.

Why Etherscan?

Etherscan is a powerful tool to move through the ethereum blockchain and stop only on the relevant data you need.Users can know the average gas fees currently on the platform, as gas fees vary according to network congestion, and can decide if it is the best time for a transaction.

Whale wallets are those which have a huge number of tokens in their account and the activity of which influences the price of ether. Users can keep a track on their wallet and guess the ups and down in prices.

Users can look into the details of smart contracts of their dApps and can prevent them from falling in scams or a possible hoax.

These features are for anyone just visiting the website and doesn’t need an account. Although making a free account, it fills you with more data like: alerts on any transaction or incoming tokens, access to the developer tools of the website, Token ignore list to hide your tokens, or build data streams. 

Also people in general use Etherscan, as a tool to remain updated about the Ethereum ecosystem, with latest developments and features. 

Visiting the Etherscan

The homepage:

Let’s take a walk around Etherscan and discover its features. 

This is the homepage for the Etherscan website, where the current ETH Price, and the current Gas Fees are mentioned on the top left.

It has a search box, which prompts the user for an address/ Txn Hash/ Block/ Token/ Domain Name. 

The latest transactions and blocks up to 5 secs ago are mentioned, including the From and To Ids.

Transaction details and wallet details: 

Lets copy a Txn ID into the search box and see what we can learn.

Txn ID: 0xA8C62111e4652b07110A0FC81816303c42632f64

We are presented with the ETH balance of the account, Its ETH value and all the transactions the account has made to date, with date and time. 

Smart Contracts details:

To check whether the smart contract of your dApp is legitimate and fulfils the necessary conditions, you can check them on Etherscan.

Lets ‘s consider the smart contract ID, 0x1f9840a85d5af5bf1d1762f925bdaddc4201f984

and learn its details. 

Visit Developers > Verify Contract.

Enter the details and select the type of compiler, its version, and the Licence Type.

Finally, click continue and see the result. 

This is a legitimate smart contract, and the user can check further contract details by clicking the prompt to view source code.

Are you an Ethplorer?

Thus, Etherscan is a powerful tool that makes the block chain decentralised and open for everyone, fulfilling the essence of Ethereum. 

So if you are an ethplorer, then dive deep into the ocean and discover its hidden gems.