How do you use a blockchain explorer to check a transaction?

A blockchain explorer is a website that works like a search engine for a blockchain. To check a transaction, you paste its transaction ID or a wallet address into the search bar of the right explorer, and it shows whether the transfer is pending or confirmed, how much was sent, the fee paid and how many confirmations it has. Explorers are read-only, so looking something up gives no one access to your funds.

Which blockchain explorer should you use?

Every blockchain keeps its own records, so you need an explorer built for the network your coins moved on. Etherscan covers Ethereum, mempool.space covers Bitcoin, Solscan covers Solana and BscScan covers BNB Chain. Blockchain.com also runs an explorer, and its wallet app lets users open any transaction in it through a "View on Explorer" option.

Searching the wrong explorer usually returns nothing, which can be a clue that a transfer went out on a different network.

How do you find a transaction by its transaction ID?

The transaction ID, also called a transaction hash or TXID, is a long string of letters and numbers that identifies one transfer. Wallets and exchanges show it in the transaction details. Paste it into the explorer's search bar.

The result page typically lists the status, the block the transaction landed in, a timestamp, the sending and receiving addresses, the amount and the fee paid to the miner or validator. On Ethereum, the fee is shown as gas. Our guide to gas fees explains how that is priced.

What can a blockchain explorer address search show?

You can also search a wallet address. On Etherscan, an address page shows the current ETH balance, token holdings and full transaction history. Separate tabs list ordinary transfers, token transfers such as USDT and NFT activity. Ethereum addresses are 42 characters long and start with "0x." Because this history is public, explorers are also one reason crypto can be traced.

What does an unconfirmed transaction mean, and how do confirmations work?

A pending or unconfirmed transaction has been broadcast to the network but has not yet been placed in a block. Blockchain.com describes three stages: pending, then confirming once it is in a block, then confirmed once enough blocks have been added that it is treated as final.

Each confirmation is one block. The block containing your transaction counts as the first, and every block after it adds one more. Bitcoin aims for a new block about every 10 minutes on average, though the gap can be much longer. Many exchanges and merchants have long waited for six Bitcoin confirmations, a convention the Bitcoin Wiki notes is somewhat arbitrary.

The most common reason a transfer sits unconfirmed is a fee that is low compared with other waiting transactions. Mempool.space shows the queue of pending Bitcoin transactions and the fee rates needed for faster inclusion. On Ethereum, Etherscan says a stuck transaction can be replaced by sending a new one with the same nonce, a sequence number for each account, and a higher gas price. If a pending transaction is removed from nodes' waiting pools, Etherscan marks it as dropped. Once a transaction is in a block, it cannot be canceled.

Explorers show what the blockchain records, not who controls an address, so treat any claim about ownership with care.