ROUNDUP · WALLET & ONCHAIN RESEARCH

Crypto Block Explorers for Checking Transactions and Wallets

Compare Etherscan, Solana Explorer, Solscan, BaseScan, and Arbiscan by network coverage and the onchain details they expose.

In brief

A block explorer is a read-only way to look up public blockchain activity. Start with the explorer for the network you used: Etherscan for Ethereum, Solana Explorer or Solscan for Solana, BaseScan for Base, and Arbiscan for Arbitrum. Search the exact transaction hash, wallet address, or token contract, then verify the network and transaction status before drawing conclusions.

What we compared

  • Whether the explorer covers the exact network and environment, such as mainnet or testnet
  • Search support for transaction hashes, addresses, blocks, and token contracts
  • How clearly it distinguishes transaction status, contract calls, token transfers, and indexed labels
  • Whether the task is a one-time lookup or repeatable data access through an API

The tools

  1. Etherscan

    Best for: Looking up Ethereum transactions, addresses, tokens, and verified contracts

    Etherscan provides an Ethereum block explorer for transaction, block, address, token, and contract lookups. Its API is a separate developer service with its own documentation and usage conditions; a browser lookup and an API integration are different workflows.

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  2. Solana Explorer

    Best for: Checking Solana ledger data and selecting the relevant cluster

    The official Solana Explorer supports searches for transactions, accounts, and tokens, with cluster selection. Choose mainnet-beta, devnet, or testnet to match where the activity occurred.

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  3. Solscan

    Best for: Exploring Solana transactions, accounts, and token pages

    Solscan provides detailed transaction, account, and token pages. Its documentation describes fields including signatures, instructions, fees, balances, and token-market information. Confirm token identity with the full mint address.

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  4. BaseScan

    Best for: Looking up Base transactions and contracts

    BaseScan indexes Base ledger data and makes transactions searchable. It is an independent explorer; it cannot reverse a transaction or recover lost funds. Its API is a separate developer interface.

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  5. Arbiscan

    Best for: Looking up Arbitrum One transactions and contract activity

    Arbiscan is an explorer for Arbitrum. Its documentation describes address, token, contract, and transaction data, as well as API access. Check the specific Arbitrum network before searching.

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Pick the explorer by network

We reviewed official explorer and documentation pages on October 25, 2026. This is a guide to documented lookup tasks, not a benchmark of indexing speed, completeness, uptime, or data accuracy. Block explorers index public ledger data and present it in searchable pages, but their labels and summaries can include interpretation on top of the underlying transactions.

First identify the chain and environment. Ethereum, Base, and Arbitrum are separate networks even though they use Ethereum-compatible addresses. Solana has separate clusters, including mainnet-beta, devnet, and testnet. An address alone does not tell you which network to inspect.

Etherscan for Ethereum

Etherscan is the explorer for Ethereum lookups such as transaction hashes, addresses, blocks, tokens, and verified contracts. Open a transaction to check its status, block, sender, recipient, and the value transferred. For a contract interaction, inspect the input and event logs as well as the summary label.

Etherscan also offers API access, but that is a separate developer service with API terms and limits. Use the web explorer for manual checks; choose the API only when an application needs structured, repeatable data.

Solana Explorer and Solscan for Solana

Solana Explorer is the official Solana explorer and lets you select the cluster. The Solana cluster guide lists commonly used explorer destinations. Match the cluster before interpreting an empty result as a missing transaction.

Solscan offers another interface for Solana transactions, accounts, and tokens. Its account documentation describes balance and transaction information, and its token-page guide explains token details. If you are investigating a token, search its full mint address rather than relying on a ticker or display name.

BaseScan for Base

BaseScan indexes and makes Base transactions searchable. Its information center describes it as an independent explorer and explains that explorer operators do not control transactions or hold users’ private keys. A successful explorer lookup confirms what the indexed chain data shows; it cannot reverse a transfer or recover funds.

Arbiscan for Arbitrum

Arbiscan is an explorer for Arbitrum, an Ethereum layer 2 network. Its documentation covers address, token, contract, and transaction data. Make sure the page is for the relevant Arbitrum network, then compare the transaction hash and status with any wallet or application record you are checking.

What to verify in a transaction

Search using the complete transaction hash, then check the network, status, timestamp or block, sender, recipient, and token contract. A top-level transaction can call a smart contract, which may produce several internal calls or token transfers. The page summary is a useful starting point, but open the details when you need to know which assets actually moved.

For token research, verify the contract or mint address through a trusted project source. Tickers and names are not unique. For trade research, do not treat a historical transfer or quoted price as proof that the same order can be executed now; pool liquidity and market conditions may have changed.

Explorers show public records, not a complete explanation of intent. Labels, decoded calls, token prices, and wallet names may come from an explorer’s own indexing or external data providers. When the interpretation matters, compare the raw transaction fields and consult the relevant protocol documentation.

If you want to inspect Solana transactions specifically, continue with Solana block explorers compared. To understand a transaction’s price impact, see slippage, liquidity, and latency.

Sources and review scope

We used the Etherscan explorer, Etherscan API documentation, Solana Explorer, Solana cluster guide, Solscan account documentation, BaseScan information center, and Arbiscan documentation. We did not test comparative indexing speed or data completeness.

Crypto trading involves risk, including loss of funds. Confirm current features, fees, supported markets, and availability with each provider before choosing a tool.