A blockchain explorer is a tool that lets you search and view all transactions on a blockchain — essentially, a "search engine for the blockchain." A well-known example for Ethereum-based networks is Etherscan, which has come up in other articles for checking suspicious tokens and warning labels.
Etherscan is specific to Ethereum. If you'd like to search on BNB Smart Chain or Polygon PoS, use BscScan or PolygonScan instead. The usage is largely the same across all of them.
This article uses Etherscan as an example to walk through the basics.
What You Can Do with a Blockchain Explorer
- Check a wallet address's balance and transaction history
- Check the details of a specific transaction (sender, recipient, gas fee, etc.)
- Check the contract address of a token or NFT
- Check whether a contract has a warning label such as "Fake_Phishing"
Looking Up a Wallet Address
Go to Etherscan and paste the wallet address you'd like to check (a string starting with "0x") into the search bar.
The results page has several tabs. The main ones are:
- Transactions: A history of transactions the wallet made directly, such as sending/receiving ETH or calling smart contracts
- Token Transfers (ERC-20): A history of ERC-20 token transfers, such as USDT, USDC, and JPYC
- NFT Transfers: NFT (ERC-721, etc.) sales and transfers
- Assets: A list of currently held tokens and NFTs (ETH balance is included here as well)
If you want to get a general sense of your balance and activity, the Transactions, Token Transfers (ERC-20), and Assets tabs are a good place to start.
If you'd like to look up your own address on Etherscan directly from your Avacus wallet, tap the three-dot menu in the top right and select "View on Etherscan."
Checking a Contract Address
If you come across a suspicious token, look up its contract address on Etherscan.
Tickers (display names) that mimic ETH, USDT, JPYC, and others can easily be faked, but a contract address is unique to a single token and cannot be faked. Don't judge a token by its display name alone — check whether its contract address matches the one listed on the official website or other official sources.
Checking Warning Labels
Addresses identified as being used for scams or phishing may be given a warning label on Etherscan, such as Fake_Phishing. Avoid interacting with any address or token that carries this label.
That said, the absence of a warning label doesn't necessarily mean something is safe. New scam sites or tokens may not have a label yet.
Related articles: Unrecognized Tokens or NFTs Received / Unrecognized Transfers Shown in My Activity