Blockchain technology is an open-source distributed ledger used to securely record transactions between two parties. Various industries have started incorporating blockchain technology into their operations. This will initiate a world that uses digital code to represent transactions. All the transactions will be stored in a shared and transparent database. Thus, the data will be safe from revision, tampering, and deletion.
With the wide adoption of blockchain technology, there will be a revolution in the financial institution, maintaining a digital record of every transaction independently maintained. There won’t be the need for any third parties for transactions. Individuals, businesses, and companies can easily execute transactions and interact with others without any difficulty. This is the strongest point of blockchain technology.
Blockchain supports cryptocurrency. But currently, the potential of blockchain is used across different industries. The technology’s ability to offer transparent and unbiased verification is the main reason behind its acceptance.
Thus, it is clear that the main aim of blockchain is the safe storage of data. However, viewing the transaction history needs some thought. Here is where blockchain explorers are introduced. They serve like search engines that allow users to search critical data regarding a blockchain network, the transactions occurring, the status of transactions, fees, addresses, etc.
What Are Blockchain Explorers?
Blockchain explorers can be considered as an online tool for users to search for information regarding blockchain including data of blocks, addresses, and transactions. Each blockchain explorer will have information on one specific blockchain only. So you cannot use one blockchain explorer for Bitcoin and Ethereum blockchain networks. You require separate explorers for both.
Blockchain explorers are very important while dealing with blockchain technology. You can use them to find all the transactions to and fro from a specific address. It will also display the sender and receiver of a transaction, the amount, as well as the fees paid. Thus, blockchain explorers are similar to search engines and allow users to check the balance of each address and find the details of all blockchain transactions.
How Do Blockchain Explorers Work?
Blockchain explorers will contain all the details regarding the blocks and transactions in a blockchain. Mostly, these explorers work by linking full nodes of a specific network. Thus, they can easily download and save a copy of the whole blockchain. It makes explorers capable of searching and showing data regarding particular blocks and transactions. For example, by entering the address of a specific wallet in an explorer’s search bar, the user will get all the information related to the transactions in the wallet.
Every node will work to gather information associated with newly mined coins and the latest transactions. These collected data will be then forwarded to the database to arrange them into a searchable format. Explorer makes use of an API and SQL for the user to read the responses.
Blockchain explorers provide a user-friendly interface for blockchain users. The bottom and front interface of a blockchain explorer will have the number of daily transactions, expected hash rate, transaction volume, interactions between the user and sender for transactions, etc.