What is Etherscan? How to become an Etherscan PRO?

 Etherscan is an Ethereum blockchain explorer that lets you track transactions, check addresses, interact with smart contracts, and access other on-chain data.




Etherscan is a blockchain explorer for the Ethereum network. The website allows you to search through transactions, blocks, wallet addresses, smart contracts, and other on-chain data. It's one of the most popular Ethereum blockchain explorers and is free to use.


You can better understand how you interact with the blockchain, other wallets, and DApps by using Etherscan. This information can also aid in keeping you secure and identifying questionable activity.


A wallet address, transaction ID (TXID), contract address, or other identifier can be pasted into the search area to utilize Etherscan. Depending on what you're looking at, you'll see different information, but for the most part, you'll see connected transactions, addresses, timestamps, and quantities.


Additionally, you may use Etherscan to directly communicate with smart contracts to conduct transactions, check gas prices, and look for airdrops.




Learning how to use the blockchain is really helpful if you use Ethereum for more than simply HODLing or sending a few transactions. Etherscan is one of the most widely used choices, making it a great place to start while learning the fundamentals. The majority of the functions may be used without connecting your wallet or even creating an account. Let's go over the most popular applications for Etherscan and what you can do with the data you discover.




What is Etherscan?


You may access the public data on transactions, smart contracts, addresses, and other items on the Ethereum blockchain using Etherscan, a block explorer. Since every transaction made on Ethereum is visible to everyone, you may search through all of them using Etherscan. To inspect all associated activities, including tokens, smart contracts, and wallet addresses, you may utilize a transaction hash (transaction ID).


Etherscan doesn't need registration, although doing so gives you access to more features. For instance, you may use developer tools, set up data feeds, and establish alerts to be informed of incoming transactions.


Etherscan doesn't provide you with an Ethereum wallet to use or store any of your private keys. You also can't use it for trading. It only acts as a source of blockchain information and a database of smart contracts. To make transactions or store crypto, you'll need a crypto wallet such as Trust Wallet, MetaMask, Math Wallet, or Binance Chain Wallet.



Why should I use Etherscan?


One of the most dependable and well-known block explorers for Ethereum is Etherscan. It's more crucial to comprehend why you should inspect on-chain data using a block explorer like Etherscan. Understanding how you interact with the blockchain can improve your comprehension of how DApps and transactions work. Additionally, this information might help you stay secure and identify shady blockchain activities.


For instance, whale alerts notify you when significant quantities of a cryptocurrency are transferred to an exchange. This information could indicate a significant sell-off, albeit this isn't always the case. Additionally, you can track what a project's creators are doing with their tokens. This will let you to recognize possible scams or "rug pulls," when creators sell their currencies and quit their projects.



How to look up a transaction and wallet on Etherscan?


A basic feature of Etherscan is tracking transactions. Understanding how to follow your cryptocurrency is a key to unlocking all the rest of a blockchain's information. For example, imagine you’ve sent 0.025 ether (ETH) from your wallet to the following public address: 0x480bbcb368197d44c6f54a738e59c33eff004b6a.


You also paid a 0.001559212674537 ETH transaction fee on top. After making the transaction, your wallet displays this TXID:


0x80a3cc0f344651b3de745b2f1efbe8d35d4f348e95b345c8a840ebf955414fa5


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 (TXID) into the search field and press the search icon.





3. Now you can see all the details regarding your specific transaction:






4. You can also press the [Click to see More] button for more detailed information, but for now, let’s go through just the default display:


Transaction Hash

The string of numbers and letters (TXID) associated with your particular transaction.

Status

Whether your transaction has failed, is in progress, or was successful.

Block

The block number your transaction was included in. You can also see how many times your transaction has been confirmed. This is the number of blocks added to the chain after your transaction's block.

Timestamp

The timestamp of the block your transaction was added to.

From

The wallet address that made the transaction..

To

The receiving address or smart contract.

Value

The amount sent in the transaction.

Transaction Fee

The fee paid for making the transaction.

Gas Price

TXN Type

Information on whether a transaction was conducted under the old legacy gas system (1) or the new EIP-1559 block fee system (2).



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 taking a look at the receiving wallet.

For this, you’ll need to go back to the search bar and paste the receiving wallet address:

0x480bbcb368197d44c6f54a738e59c33eff004b6a





The transaction in red is the 0.025 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 look up smart contracts on Etherscan?



It's a good idea to understand how to locate smart contracts on Etherscan if you frequently interact with them in DApps. By doing this, you can be sure that your money is going to the right contract.


You'll need to locate the token's contract address if you ever need to add a new token to your wallet. The token's functionality, including how transfers between tokens work and other actions, is included in the smart contract address.


Visit CoinMarketCap, CoinGecko, or the project's official website to locate a token address. You might also look https://etherscan.io/tokens



Always make sure you're adding the correct token address by double-checking it with the websites mentioned above. Let's take a 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 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 with the contract directly. This is useful when DeFi platforms and DApps are unavailable, perhaps due to a technical issue or website outage. In some cases, you can try to interact with the smart contract instead, without using the project’s API.

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. Using [transferFrom], you can transfer tokens from an address you have permission over to other addresses.

[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.




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?



The transaction costs for Ethereum include gas expenses. Depending on the block that your transaction is a part of, these fees vary. The set cost for each block varies according to the network traffic. You can see the price and time differences at various gas prices with the Etherscan gas tracker. It's a helpful tool to estimate how crowded the network is and how much you'd probably have to spend to conduct a straightforward transfer or engage with a more complex smart contract.


https://etherscan.io/gastracker




What are Gas Fees on the Ethereum Blockchain?


READ MY BLOG HERE.





How to find airdrops on Etherscan?



Etherscan also acts as a database for ongoing airdrops on the Ethereum network. Each airdrop will have its own rules to participate in that you can view in the [Details] column. You can find the airdrop list by heading to https://etherscan.io/airdrops.








What Is a Crypto Airdrop?


READ MY BLOG HERE.





Here’s how to become an Etherscan pro










One of the greatest ways to get an understanding of the project's potential is to follow the smart money and figure out who holds what and how much. In general, you may tell a project is worthwhile to investigate if you notice a lot of influential people holding it.


Additionally, you may view the amount of money coming in, leaving, and changing holdings. This can reveal a lot about the rise of the coin, including whether or not the wealthy are selling it or are purchasing more. One of the greatest summaries of the ETH environment may be found here.



With Etherscan, you can search up transactions.



Keep in mind that it is crucial that you do not just copy trade. When performing research, use these tools as only one piece of information.


You can find smart contracts on Ethereum.


https://etherscan.io/searchcontract 


There are so many scams in crypto. It is very easy to send money to the wrong address. Using Etherscan, you can find the accurate contract address. Go to the token page (link above) → click on the token you’re looking into → Click on the contract address.





This will retrieve a ton of helpful data on transactions, ether balance, and more. You can even see the contract's code if you link your wallet, which will enable you rapidly determine whether the address is legitimate.



NFT mints & transactions


You can monitor NFT transactions and mints using Etherscan. Like the token breakdown, Etherscan gives you a ton of really helpful information for NFT research. You may get data about the contract, the holders, and more.


https://etherscan.io/nfttracker#mint


This is the breakdown for a recently released NFT collection. You may look at holdings, transfers, and more with this useful tool. These can provide insight into how an NFT is performing or will perform. Most people ignore this information, yet it may provide you a significant advantage.





The same is true for trading pairs and Dexs. Etherscan is a very effective tool. Blockchains are open and transparent, thus there is much value in reviewing and evaluating the data. The greatest researchers and analysts invest countless hours on their data for a purpose.





Thank you for reading!


Hi! I'm Adil

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credit: Binance Academy & Covduk



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