Surfing the Blockchain with Block Explorers

How to track your bitcoin, Ethereum, and other crypto transactions by using a block explorer.

Many are drawn to blockchain technology because of the anonymous nature of the technology. Financial privacy has a lot of perks, but it also means that transactional data must be tracked in a new way. To prove that you have ownership of your cryptocurrency, your transaction must be found on a blockchain. That‘s where block explorers come in.

Blockchains Are Not the Same as a Bank

When a bank keeps track of your money, it attaches all of your withdrawals, deposits, and transactions to your bank account. Banks keep track of this data using their own systems, meaning that they have all of your financial records logged and accessible to them at all times. This also means that your data can be lost if they lose these records.

Blockchains, on the other hand, keeps track of the financial information via many volunteer nodes. This assures that no matter what, your transactional records cannot be lost. For some, this is also where the confusion comes in. Unlike a bank, blockchains don’t keep track of your name or any identification numbers that may make it easier to locate a transaction. It does, however, keep track of the transaction ID, aka the TXID.

Why use a block explorer?

The best way to find transactional data from a blockchain is by using a block explorer. There are a few ways to find the information that you need, including your address or the aforementioned TXID. Before you can get started, though, you will need to know which block explorer to use. That‘s because different cryptocurrencies use different block explorers.

Many cryptocurrencies have multiple block explorers available, but experienced crypto users can attest that some are better than others. Let’s talk about some of our favorites.

Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash: Blockchain.com

Blockchain.com is quick and intuitive. If you‘re trying to find the details for a Bitcoin Cash or a Bitcoin transaction, you will be hard-pressed to find a more attractive block explorer. Simply copy the TXID or your Bitcoin/Bitcoin Cash address and paste it into the search bar. Within seconds, you‘ll locate the transactional information that you need.

Ethereum and ERC-20 Tokens: Etherscan.io

Etherscan.io is perfect for anyone that holds a variety of ERC-20 tokens. You don’t need to know the type of token when you enter your address or your TXID, as Etherscan will find it no matter which token it is. Your wallet, however, may use the same address for Ethereum as it does for ERC-20 tokens, so we recommend searching by TXID whenever possible. This will offer you more specific transactional data. If you must search by your address, pay attention to the “To” section in the list of transactions. This will tell you what type of token the transaction was for.

Very occasionally, Etherscan.io goes down for maintenance. If you’re looking up an Ethereum (ETH) transaction, you can always use Blockchain.com. ERC-20 tokens, while they will show up on Blockchain.com, will only be displayed as ETH, so in these rare instances, you may want to wait for Etherscan to become available once more.

Chainz.cryptoid.info, aka Chainz, is kind of a one-stop-shop for many altcoins. If you have a coin that is not an ERC-20 Token and you don’t know which block explorer to use, we recommend checking Chainz. Like other block explorers, simply drop your TXID or address in the search bar and let the block explorer do the rest of the work.

Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Ethereum, Dash, Ripple, Stellar, Dogecoin, and More: Blockchair.com

Blockchair, while it does not have data for as many coins as Chainz, it offers a few unique options that Chainz does not. If you are searching for Ripple’s XRP, bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, or Dogecoin, and other block explorers are not doing the trick, Blockchair will locate your transaction if you simply input your TXID or address.

Monero (XMR), is a unique type of crypto. Unlike most cryptocurrencies, Monero is a privacy coin. Due to this, you will not be able to see many transactional details without a special key that is personalized to you. This is called a private viewkey.

You also cannot search for Monero transactions via address alone. You will need to search the TXID, the block height, or the block hash. Once you locate your transaction, you can scroll to the bottom, enter your address and your private viewkey, and then decode the outputs. This will display any extraneous transactional data that you may need to see.

Where Do I Get My TXID or Address?

To use a block explorer, you will need to have something to search for. Otherwise, you will never find the information you need. To best understand how to locate a transaction, let’s walk through an example via ShapeShift.