· 
by Admin
· Updated on 3 September 2020
· 3 mins read
CoinSutra » Cryptocurrency » What
Is A Block/Blockchain Explorer?
A blockchain
explorer is a browser for the blockchain, similar to how we have browsers like
Mozilla or Google Chrome for internet web pages.
All Bitcoin and
altcoin users rely heavily on blockchain explorers to track their transactions.
But very few users really
appreciate the full potential of these explorers. These browsers provide much
more valuable information than just tracking of transactions.
Note: I will be
using the terms “blockchain explorer” and “block explorer”
interchangeably. They mean the same thing.
Page Contents [hide]
o What Can You Do With A Block Explorer?
o Example Of Exploring A Public Bitcoin
Address
What Is A Block
Explorer?
A block explorer
allows you to explore the whole entire blockchain of the platform you are
using.
But it needs to be
noted that you can’t use a block explorer for a blockchain it wasn’t meant for.
For example, you can’t track Litecoin transactions with a Bitcoin block
explorer.
You’ll need a
Litecoin block explorer for that… (like this one https://live.blockcypher.com/ltc/).
Now that we got
that out of the way…
What Can You Do
With A Block Explorer?
For the sake of
explaining things, I will be talking about Bitcoin block explorers, but each blockchain
interfaces and functions in the same way with its respective explorer.
1. Blocks Feed – Block
explorers allow you to explore recently mined blocks on the Bitcoin blockchain.
Typically all Bitcoin block explorers provide a live feed of all the blocks
that are being added to the blockchain in real time.
2. Transaction
Feed – Block explorers allow you to explore any transaction in any block
that has already been mined and is currently attached to the Bitcoin
blockchain.
3. Transaction
History Of A Given Address – Using a Bitcoin block explorer,
you can check the history of any public Bitcoin address and audit how many
transactions it has received, its balance, etc.
4. Receiving
Address & Change Address – Using a Bitcoin block explorer, you
can see the Bitcoin receiving address and the Bitcoin change address.
6. Largest
Transaction Of The Day – Some block explorers keep data
for the largest Bitcoin transactions done in a day (like blockchain.info).
7. Mempool
Status – Through a Bitcoin block explorer, you can see the status of mempool, where you will find a total number
of unconfirmed transactions along
with transaction details.
8. Double Spend
Incidents – Some advanced block explorers also record how many double
spend Bitcoin transactions were done in the last 10 minutes.
9. Orphaned Blocks
– You can check the number of blocks that were orphaned and not attached to the Bitcoin
blockchain.
10. Block Relayed
By – You can check which mining pool found the block. For example, you
can see this block was
relayed by ViaBTC mining pool.
11. See Genesis
Block – A block explorer will show you the genesis block of that
blockchain. You can see Bitcoin’s genesis block here which
was mined in 2009 by Satoshi
Nakamoto.
Example Of
Exploring A Public Bitcoin Address
There are many
different Bitcoin block explorers available in the market. A simple Google
search will pop up many of them.
For this example, I
will be using blockchain.info, one of the most popular
Bitcoin block explorers out there. Let’s examine this public Bitcoin address –1Eu7LUP2Ht2gs46JYyxg6W125T1bgtaJgm.
#1 Go to blockchain.info and
search for 1Eu7LUP2Ht2gs46JYyxg6W125T1bgtaJgm in the search
bar.
#2 See total
balance and BTC received on this public address in the below image.
#3 Exploring the
transaction ID for this public address, you will find input and output amounts,
fees charged for this transaction, and number of confirmations.
Using A Blockchain
Explorer
As mentioned here,
there are many reasons to use a block explorer.
They are an
invaluable resource and one of the best ways to explore a blockchain.
Having open-source
explorers like these are what makes all of these cryptocurrencies transparent
and immutable. Giving the public access to the blockchain ledger allows for a
decentralized honor system to take place.
That’s the beauty
of blockchain tech.
So that’s all from
my side in this exploration article of a block explorer. Stay tuned to
CoinSutra for more blockchain talk!
If you have any
questions, ask away in the comments below.
And if you enjoyed
this article and found it informative, do share it with your friends!