Chapter 2

Block Explorers

Block explorers are the starting point for on-chain analysis. Etherscan and equivalents for other chains let you inspect blocks, transactions, addresses, and contracts in human-readable form.

Every investigation starts in one of these tabs — knowing what each shows saves hours of guesswork.

The four core explorer views

View	What you learn
Blocks	Timestamp, validator, tx count, gas used
Transactions	From, to, value, input data, status
Addresses	Balance, token holdings, tx history
Contracts	Source code, read/write functions, events

Verified contracts decode function calls into readable names. Unverified contracts leave you staring at raw hex.

Verified contract source on Etherscan lets you read Solidity and decode function calls. Unverified contracts show raw hex — harder to audit and easier to hide malicious logic. Always verify token contract addresses against official docs.

Each chain has its own explorer — Arbiscan, Basescan, Solscan. Interfaces are similar; chain IDs and native tokens differ. Cross-chain analysis requires tracking the same entity across multiple explorers or unified dashboards.