# Etherscan: A Seemingly Harmless Blockchain Explorer By [Smoytoo](https://paragraph.com/@smoytoo) · 2022-08-18 --- One of the main attractions of a blockchain is that it is a public document. Anyone, anywhere can view every cryptocurrency transaction on the blockchain. Etherscan is the most popular BlockExplorer for the Ethereum blockchain. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Historically, it has been rather difficult to monitor and examine cryptocurrency transactions on different networks, as a certain amount of computer knowledge is required just to understand what it would entail. In recent years, however, some apps have been created that allow even the least tech-savvy crypto investor to keep tabs on the movements of their digital assets. These apps enable a smooth transition between user and exchange, providing peace of mind as well as much-needed security and stability on their network of choice. Etherscan is an example of this with its favorite network, Ethereum. This type of database is crucial for tracing transactions and identifying malicious acts, blockchain Ethereum Etherscan allows users to monitor suspicious activities. Additionally, they can be used as a learning tool for newcomers and experienced users alike, giving them additional tools to interact with on blockchain, crypto wallets, and other forms of decentralized applications like analysis of Etherscan data. (Picture → [Cloudoo Etherscan](https://opensea.io/assets/ethereum/0x495f947276749ce646f68ac8c248420045cb7b5e/107211598420753857358894350444659532148581644287766629299751228494649889914881/)) What does Etherscan offer? -------------------------- When using the Etherscan application , all one has to do is enter the address of the Ethereum wallet one wishes to search for in the search bar. From there, are afraid to see the balance of this address and all the transactions that have been carried out through it. [Etherscan](https://etherscan.io/) is the explorer for a large number of users, partly because of its speed and reliability, but also because it incorporates other useful features, such as the gas tracker. This application is very useful in determining the viability of any transaction made with ETH, or simply when using the Ethereum network. For example, there are several ways to check your account balance, one of the easiest and most effective ways is to use the ETH account balance checker provided by Etherscan. This app allows Etherscan users to search for an Eth address by providing a block number or date (for the balance you want to check) and an Ethereum transaction ID (if they want to check a specific ETH transaction) . You can also verify a smart contract. The platform requires all token contracts to be verified before they can be updated with any information submitted by the contract owner themselves, thus ensuring compliance with security measures. ### The data on each transaction: * **Transaction hash:** A unique identifier that can be used to locate a specific transaction. * **Status:** The current state of a transaction (successful, failed, or pending). * **Block:** The block number in which the transaction was included. * **Timestamp:** Time the block was mined in UTC. * **From:** The account that originally sent the transaction. * **To:** The account to which the transaction is addressed. * **Value:** The amount of Ether included in the transaction. * **Transaction fee:** The amount of Ether paid to the miner for processing the transaction, which is calculated by multiplying the amount of gas used by the gas price. * **Gas Limit:** The upper limit of the amount of compute and storage work the sender is willing to devote to the transaction. * **Gas used per transaction:** The amount of compute and storage work used in the transaction. * **Gas price:** the amount of ether per unit of gas the user is willing to pay for the transaction, usually stated in a subunit of ether known as Gwei * **Nonce:** the number of transactions sent from the account. The number is initialized to 0 and is incremented by 1 with each transaction sent. * **Input Data:** Information passed to a smart contract when a transaction is sent to its address. However, if the transaction creates a contract, the bytecode of the contract is placed in the input data field. Data analysis ------------- Etherscan is a Malaysian-based company founded in 2015 that helps improve overall blockchain security by providing transparency and fluidity to its users. Now many questions arise about access to information such as the analysis of Etherscan data. For example Nansen who since 2019 is one of the main data and analytics providers for Ethereum. This analytics platform combines blockchain data with a massive and constantly growing database of millions of wallet details. [Nansen](https://www.nansen.ai/) includes information about ENS ownership of the wallets (past and present), and in some cases this could reveal an association between an individual and a wallet. Interestingly, in its privacy policy, Nansen explains that while it may remove data points from their platform that could potentially reveal personal identities, it believes it is best for users to be informed that this information is already in the public domain, available to anyone.‍ They specify that project co-founders, advisers, and other public figures who have shared their addresses in the public domain (for example, in reports or articles by hurry). In these cases, they can add wallet information with their names, since it is already in the public domain. Nansen announced in June this year an extended multi-year collaboration with Google Cloud to provide real-time access to blockchain market information. The startup is therefore expanding its database management capabilities to support 10 additional blockchains and provide insights into fast-emerging sectors of the non-fungible token (NFT) market. [The NFT Price Estimator](https://www.nansen.ai/research/utilizing-nansen-investing-in-nfts#section9) is another example of Nansen's optimal use of his technical talent. To provide investors with price estimates for any given NFT, Nansen turned to Google Cloud's Vertex AI to bring the feature to life in weeks, rather than spending months building pipelines. learning (ML) from scratch. ![NFT Estimator](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/b4b01556858c5c7c07c6cc7ebf4012f327084e3111a82213d66e2ce6a26a8d6d.png) NFT Estimator Another company [Dune Analytics](https://dune.com/home) decodes data from Ethereum smart contracts so you can perform powerful analysis with simple SQL queries through their interface. Below is the dashboard of the founders of the NFT Factory, which gives you some amazing data on their NFT collections, in the Web before we did not have this level of information on people and their investments , except perhaps on CrunchBase for fundraising! We will have it is certain in the years to come from the positions of the regulators, who will have to show flexibility so as not to kill innovation , but allow the protection of people on the subject of transaction data. [https://twitter.com/NFTmorning/status/1551659566248730624?s=20&t=vTllb2FaC5Ks5kCJD5tT8A](https://twitter.com/NFTmorning/status/1551659566248730624?s=20&t=vTllb2FaC5Ks5kCJD5tT8A) Indirect attack --------------- A recent attack raises doubts that displaying Wallet addresses is not without risk. According to MetaMask security researcher Harry Denley, some 73,399 wallet addresses connected to Uniswap received [a malicious token](https://www.fxempire.com/news/article/hackers-steal-8-million-worth-of-eth-via-uniswap-phishing-attack-1062348) masquerading as a token airdrop. Malicious smart contract code deployed on Etherscan has not been verified, which is what legitimate projects usually do. The information in the smart contract then led to a website that supposedly allowed users to redeem their new tokens for Uniswap, worth $5.34 each. The message claimed to send UNI tokens to liquidity providers based on the number of fake LP tokens they had received. After deployment, the hacker tricked users into signing a transaction that gave the hacker access to all Uniswap LP tokens held by the user. In effect, the phishing message authorized the underlying smart contract to transfer assets and take full control of a user's wallet. According to data from Etherscan, more than 74,000 wallets have so far interacted with the phishing scam smart contract. On the other hand, blockchain data further shows that the attacker started transferring stolen funds via the Tornado Cash privacy protocol on Tuesday. One day or another, Etherscan will have to allow authentication as is done on different blockchain profiles such as the Tezos profile to access information. Countries will also have to think about having sovereign tools on this subject, including for analysis tools, but that's another subject! --- *Originally published on [Smoytoo](https://paragraph.com/@smoytoo/etherscan-a-seemingly-harmless-blockchain-explorer)*