Blockchain Explorer Guide
Learn how to read transaction hashes, confirmations, and smart-contract state on popular blockchain explorers. A must-have skill for debugging deployments and verifying dApp behavior.
What is a blockchain explorer?
A blockchain explorer is a public search engine for on-chain data. Enter a transaction hash, address, or block number, and the explorer shows the matching record pulled from the network. It is the fastest way to confirm that a transaction succeeded, inspect how much gas was paid, and read the state of a deployed smart contract.
Every student in the SolForge Staking Lab should know how to verify a staking transaction on Basescan Sepolia. This guide teaches the same workflow for Bitcoin, Dogecoin, and Solana explorers.
Explorer comparison for the lab
Basescan
Following EVM transactions and reading verified contract state on Base Sepolia.
- •Transaction Hash (TxHash) — the unique fingerprint of the transaction.
- •Status — Success, Failed, or Pending (a failed tx still consumes gas).
- •From / To — sender and recipient or contract address.
- •Value — amount of native token transferred.
- •Gas Used & Gas Price — actual fee paid by the sender.
- •Logs — emitted events such as Transfer, Staked, or Claimed.
Mempool.space
Tracking UTXO transactions, confirmation count, and fee rate in sats/vByte.
- •Transaction ID — the hash of the signed transaction.
- •Inputs & Outputs — which UTXOs are spent and where the funds go.
- •Fee — the miner fee paid, usually shown in sats/vByte.
- •Block height — the block that included the transaction, if confirmed.
- •Confirmations — how many blocks have been mined on top since inclusion.
Solscan / SolanaFM
Inspecting Solana accounts, signatures, and program interactions.
- •Signature — the Solana equivalent of a transaction hash.
- •Slot — the block-like unit that confirmed the transaction.
- •Fee — paid in lamports, usually a tiny fraction of SOL.
- •Instruction logs — which program was called and what changed.
- •Account inputs — every account read or written by the transaction.
Lab exercise: follow your staking transaction
- 1
Copy the transaction hash
After you stake ETH in the SolForge Staking Lab, MetaMask shows a transaction hash. Click it to open the explorer, or copy it manually.
- 2
Paste into Basescan Sepolia
Go to sepolia.basescan.org and paste the hash into the search bar. Press Enter to load the transaction details page.
- 3
Read the status and confirmations
A successful tx shows a green checkmark. Confirmations grow as new blocks are added; for a class exercise, one confirmation is enough.
- 4
Decode the event logs
Open the Logs tab. Look for a Staked event with your address and the amount. This proves the contract recorded your deposit.
- 5
Inspect the contract state
Paste your deployed SimpleStaking address into the explorer. On the Contract tab, call read functions like balanceOf(yourAddress) to verify your stake.
Frequently asked questions
What is a blockchain explorer?
A blockchain explorer is a website that reads public ledger data and displays it in a human-readable format. It lets anyone verify transactions, balances, and smart-contract state without running a node.
Do I need a wallet to use an explorer?
No. Explorers are read-only public tools. You only need a wallet when you want to sign and send a transaction.
Why does a failed transaction still cost gas?
EVM validators still execute the transaction up to the failure point and include it in a block. Because the block space is consumed, the sender pays the gas used before the revert.
How many confirmations are safe?
For classwork on a testnet, one confirmation is fine. On mainnet Bitcoin, six confirmations is a common rule of thumb; Ethereum usually finalizes within a few minutes under Proof of Stake.