It’s happened to almost every crypto trader, especially during high volume trading times. You send a transaction, and then you wait, and wait (and wait some more) for your coin to arrive in the wallet you sent it to, and then you wonder if you should start to panic.
Thankfully, there are tools called block explorers that can help you track down transactions and check the balances of wallet addresses. Block explorers show information on the blocks making up a particular blockchain – Ethereum for example, but block explorers let you do much more than just look up individual network block. They can also search for transaction IDs and wallet addresses, making them a valuable tool for checking on specific transactions. Note: examples provided do not represent an endorsement of these products. As always, do your own research.
Psst – if you’re feeling a little lost just reading these terms, check out our Crypto Glossary.
Different types of cryptocurrencies exist on different blockchains and use different block explorers. There are multiple block explorer websites for major cryptocurrency blockchains like Bitcoin and Ethereum:
Popular Bitcoin block explorers:
Popular Ethereum block explorers:
But what if you’re transferring an altcoin? If you’re looking for an ERC20 or other Ethereum based token, use an Ethereum block explorer. For other coins or tokens, check the coin’s listing on Coin Market Cap. Just visit the site, search for the coin, and then visit the link marked “explorer”.
Once you’re on the right explorer, simply enter your transaction hash (sometimes called a transaction ID or abbreviated Tx hash) and click search. The results will display the to and from address, as well as the number of confirmations for the transaction. In cases where you see a transaction marked as successful or completed on the sending end (i.e., your exchange account) but not on the receiving end (i.e., your hardware wallet), it’s often because the transaction is in process, but the receiving address requires more confirmations to be completed.
You can also enter your wallet address in the block explorer to check your balances and find transaction hashes. This can be especially useful for newer ERC20 tokens which may not automatically display on wallets like MEW.
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