Key Takeaways
Etherscan is a blockchain explorer for the Ethereum network. It allows you to search through transactions, blocks, wallet addresses, smart contracts, and other on-chain data.
Etherscan is one of the most popular Ethereum blockchain explorers and is free to use. It can help you understand how you interact with the blockchain, other wallets, and DApps. This knowledge can also help you stay safe and spot suspicious behavior.
You can also use Etherscan to interact with smart contracts, check gas fees, and search for airdrops.
Introduction
If you use Ethereum for more than just HODLing or sending a few transactions, learning how to navigate the blockchain is hugely beneficial. Etherscan is an excellent place to start learning the basics.
You can use most of Etherscan’s features without connecting a crypto wallet or opening an account. Let's run through the most common ways to use Etherscan and what you can do with the information you find.
What Is Etherscan?
Etherscan is a block explorer that lets you view public data on transactions, smart contracts, addresses, and more on the Ethereum blockchain.
All interactions on Ethereum are public, and Etherscan allows you to look through them like a search engine. You can use a transaction hash (transaction ID) to check all related activity, including tokens, smart contracts, and wallet addresses.
Do I Need an Account to Use Etherscan?
You don't need to sign up for Etherscan, but you can create an account for extra functionality. For example, you can set alerts to be notified of incoming transactions, access developer tools, and create data feeds.
To use Etherscan, you'll need a wallet address, transaction ID (TXID), contract address, or another identifier to paste into the search field. The information you'll see will depend on your search, but most of it will include associated transactions, addresses, timestamps, and amounts.
Etherscan doesn't provide you with a crypto wallet. To make transactions, you'll need a wallet such as Binance Web3 Wallet, MetaMask or Trust Wallet.
Why Should I Use Etherscan?
Having more knowledge of how you interact with the blockchain can help you better understand what's going on with DApps and transactions. This knowledge can also keep you safe and help you spot suspicious blockchain activity.
For example, whale alerts let you know if large amounts of a cryptocurrency have been moved onto an exchange. While not always the case, this information might suggest a large sell-off. You can also see what the founders of a project are doing with their project's tokens. This can help you spot potential scams or rug pulls, where developers abandon their projects and sell their coins.
How to Find a Transaction or Wallet on Etherscan
A basic feature of Etherscan is tracking transactions. To illustrate, we will pick a random transaction from the list of recent transactions.
For example, imagine you’ve sent 1.23 ether (ETH) from your wallet to the following public address: 0x52a94197CCCB021c930aC17EA1b309296dA16ea1.
After making the transaction, your wallet displays this TXID:
0xf248c7e015245926f150006c8a5584d84259a23a8c5171282c95e3c2e2a1c292
Let's say you want to check the number of confirmations the transaction has and see if it has been sent successfully.
1. Head to the Etherscan homepage and look for the search field at the top of the page.
2. Next, copy and paste the transaction ID into the search field and press the search icon.
3. Now you can see all the details regarding your specific transaction:
You can also press the [Click to show more] button for more detailed information.
4. Let’s go through the default display elements.
From the data above, it's simple to see the transaction was successful and received enough confirmations. You could also check the status of your transaction by looking at the receiving wallet.
For this, you’ll need to go back to the search bar and paste the receiving wallet address:
0x52a94197CCCB021c930aC17EA1b309296dA16ea1
At the bottom of the page, we can see the list of all transactions associated with the address:
The transaction in red is the 1.23 ETH you originally sent. You can see it marked as In, showing that the address you searched was on the receiving end. At the top of the page, you can also see an overview of the wallet's balance.
How to Find a Token Contract Address on Etherscan
If you're regularly interacting with smart contracts in DApps, it's a good idea to learn how to find them on Etherscan. This way, you can double-check that you're interacting with the correct smart contract address. In addition, if you ever need to add a new token to your wallet, you'll likely need the token's address.
To find a token contract address, you can check Etherscan’s Token Tracker page, which contains a list of tokens. Alternatively, you can also search for it on CoinMarketCap, CoinGecko, or the project's official channels.
By default, Etherscan’s Token Tracker will sort the tokens by market cap.
Click on a token in the list to find the token contract. It will be under the “Other Info” section.
How to Look Up Smart Contracts on Etherscan
Let's take a closer look at the Uniswap ERC-20 token on Ethereum:
0x1f9840a85d5af5bf1d1762f925bdaddc4201f984
1. Copy and paste the smart contract address into the search field.
2. You'll now see details on the contract balance and other general information regarding the Uniswap (UNI) token contract.
3. Underneath, we have more options to look at, including transactions, a comments section, and the smart contract itself. Click [Contract] next to see the options available for interacting with and reading Uniswap’s contract rules.
4. The [Read Contract] tab shows you general contract information. It allows you, for example, to query the balance of specific addresses or wallets that have permission to use the token in your wallet.
Clicking [Write Contract] allows you to interact directly with the UNI smart contract. This can be useful when DeFi platforms and DApps are unavailable, perhaps due to a technical issue or website outage.
In other words, you can try to interact with the smart contract through Etherscan instead of using the project’s website. Just make sure you are using the correct contract address.
Clicking [Connect to Web3] will allow you to connect a crypto wallet like MetaMask or Binance Chain Wallet and interact with the contract.
The simplest action here would be a transfer of coins. For example, [transfer] lets you transfer the contract’s associated token from your connected wallet. The transaction below would send 1 UNI from our connected wallet to the receiving wallet address pasted in. You also have to make sure to include the correct amount of decimals for the amount you want to send.
Using [transferFrom], you can transfer tokens from an address you control to other addresses.
Most users won’t ever need to use these features. However, it’s still useful to know where they are in case you need to access funds stored in a smart contract.
How to Check Gas Prices on Etherscan
Gas prices are part of Ethereum’s transaction fees. These fees change depending on the block in which your transaction is included. Each block has a set fee that differs depending on the data and network traffic.
Etherscan’s Gas Tracker shows you the difference in price and time at varying gas prices. It’s a useful tool to predict roughly how congested the network is and how much you’d likely need to pay to make a transfer or interact with a smart contract.
Closing Thoughts
Etherscan is free and easy to use. It's a great tool when you need more information than your wallet or exchange can show. Etherscan is also the basis for other block explorers like BscScan, making your skills easily transferable. Whether you want to confirm a transaction’s status or look at your favorite DApp’s smart contract, Etherscan is a good place to start.
Further Reading
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