Block explorers are windows into the world of Web3. They offer a search engine for data about a particular chain—transactions, addresses, events, blocks, smart contracts and more. While Web2 brought in an era of user-generated content curated within closed networks, Web3’s value proposition is decentralized open data networks. Block explorers are a core component of this vision, allowing users to explore trends like largest transactions sent in the past 24 hours, track wallets minting popular NFT collections, or to look up the history of a wallet address. Etherscan, Blockscout, Etherchain, Ethplorer, and Blockchair are some examples of popular explorers that are in use today.

As we transition to a world driven by Web3, however, there is an urgent need to deliver more streamlined experiences to navigate on-chain data. A majority of the experience today involves reading too much granular information while being overwhelmed by the different variables being presented. Degens, power-users and programmers tend to have a significant advantage, being familiar with the interfaces, nomenclature and technology. New users on the other hand have to invest time to understand various blockchain mechanics to verify even their most basic transactions.

The issue of scale can only be addressed if we create more human-readable systems of understanding that don’t simply advantage niche users. Prior to the introduction of block explorers, users had to run their own nodes via customized scripts to view on-chain data. With the creation of explorers, we ushered in a new set of adopters who no longer needed the expertise to operate their own nodes. The next evolution in block exploration requires simplified, efficient and easily comprehensible interfaces to prime Web3 for mass adoption.

Web2 platforms were able to achieve the scale necessary for rapid growth by controlling the data and the user experience they delivered. Closed data systems, API extensions, and closed source applications allowed companies to create applications based on user behavior that was both pre-defined and easy to predict. With the next iteration of the web, sovereignty lies in the hands of users. Web3 systems have been engineered to deliver open data with trustless integration, making it a difficult design problem. The transition from closed to open operative models requires us to re-think the user experience of the traditional “search engine” and innovate on how we deliver open-data to end users.

How users consume blockchain data is important to us. We are working to change the face of block exploration with .earth. We’re building a tool so you can seamlessly find all the interesting stuff that is happening on chain. We’re making it easier for you explore on-chain activity so you spend far less time being much more informed.

Block explorers are windows into the world of Web3. They offer a search engine for data about a particular chain—transactions, addresses, events, blocks, smart contracts and more. While Web2 brought in an era of user-generated content curated within closed networks, Web3’s value proposition is decentralized open data networks. Block explorers are a core component of this vision, allowing users to explore trends like largest transactions sent in the past 24 hours, track wallets minting popular NFT collections, or to look up the history of a wallet address. Etherscan, Blockscout, Etherchain, Ethplorer, and Blockchair are some examples of popular explorers that are in use today.

As we transition to a world driven by Web3, however, there is an urgent need to deliver more streamlined experiences to navigate on-chain data. A majority of the experience today involves reading too much granular information while being overwhelmed by the different variables being presented. Degens, power-users and programmers tend to have a significant advantage, being familiar with the interfaces, nomenclature and technology. New users on the other hand have to invest time to understand various blockchain mechanics to verify even their most basic transactions.

The issue of scale can only be addressed if we create more human-readable systems of understanding that don’t simply advantage niche users. Prior to the introduction of block explorers, users had to run their own nodes via customized scripts to view on-chain data. With the creation of explorers, we ushered in a new set of adopters who no longer needed the expertise to operate their own nodes. The next evolution in block exploration requires simplified, efficient and easily comprehensible interfaces to prime Web3 for mass adoption.

Web2 platforms were able to achieve the scale necessary for rapid growth by controlling the data and the user experience they delivered. Closed data systems, API extensions, and closed source applications allowed companies to create applications based on user behavior that was both pre-defined and easy to predict. With the next iteration of the web, sovereignty lies in the hands of users. Web3 systems have been engineered to deliver open data with trustless integration, making it a difficult design problem. The transition from closed to open operative models requires us to re-think the user experience of the traditional “search engine” and innovate on how we deliver open-data to end users.

How users consume blockchain data is important to us. We are working to change the face of block exploration with .earth. We’re building a tool so you can seamlessly find all the interesting stuff that is happening on chain. We’re making it easier for you explore on-chain activity so you spend far less time being much more informed.