Block Explorer is a real-time online blockchain service that provides information about transactions from digital asset addresses and when those transactions occurred.
In addition to transactions carried out by that address, block explorer can view balances at that address. This is possible because digital assets are pseudonymous, where the address of the digital asset can be seen, but there is no owner’s name.
Block Explorer connects directly to specific blockchains, such as Bitcoin or Ethereum. They allow users to view and query individual blocks, giving anyone visibility of individual crypto asset holders’ transactions or other actions.
This is an important part of the mission of transparency and decentralization of crypto assets, and the universal visibility of all transaction data is one of the main differentiators between crypto assets and conventional currencies.
A variety of Block Explorers are available online, with the most popular ones including Mempool, Bitaps, Blockstream, Multihash, Blockchain Info, and Bitupper Explorer.
Most include the same or similar information at a glance, focusing on the last block that was added to the blockchain and the block that will be added next.
Within each block, information is provided about the block height, blockage, block reward, identity of the user or set of users mining the block, the TX (or transaction list) indicating the number of transactions in the block, and the status of the transaction, i.e., whether the transaction is pending or confirmed. Block Explorer users must enter a specific query to explore a specific block or transaction.
Most commonly, this is the TXID, or transaction hash — a hex sequence used to identify a particular transaction uniquely.
While there are many that Block Explorer is a real-time online blockchain service providing all kinds of information about digital asset transactions, relatively few support SegWit, the upgrade to the Bitcoin blockchain enabled in 2017.
SegWit-enabled Block Explorers include Bitaps, Apirone, Blockchain, Bitupper, Cryptoid Chainz, and Poolin Explorer.
