How to Use a Block Explorer to Verify a Crypto Transaction (and Spot Scams)

What is a block explorer?

A block explorer is a public website that lets anyone look up transactions, addresses and blocks on a blockchain; Ethereum.org calls block explorers your portal to the network's data. It shows what the network recorded, not what an app or a 'support agent' claims happened. If an app says 'sent' but the explorer cannot find the transaction hash, nothing has been recorded yet.

Before you start, have three things: the transaction ID (hash) from your wallet or exchange, the receiving address and the network you used, and the real explorer for that network, reached from your own bookmark or from the network's official documentation rather than from a message or an ad. A Bitcoin transaction does not appear on an Ethereum explorer, and vice versa.

Six steps to verify a transaction

Open the correct explorer for the chain and paste the transaction hash into the search box. Never paste a recovery phrase or private key anywhere; an explorer never needs them.

Read the status, then check the from and to addresses. Compare the full receiving address with the one you intended, character by character, because address poisoning copies the first and last characters; see /guides/address-poisoning-lookalike-address-scam.

Check the amount and the fee. The fee goes to the network, not the recipient (on Ethereum the base fee is burned and the priority tip goes to the validator), and Ethereum.org says the fee is paid whether a transaction succeeds or fails, so a failed transaction can still cost you; see /guides/crypto-fees-explained. Finally, save the hash, time, amount and fee in your records (/guides/crypto-tax-recordkeeping-basics).

What do pending, confirmed and failed mean?

Ethereum.org describes the status field as an indication of whether a transaction is pending, failed or a success. 'Not found' usually means the network has not recorded it yet, or you are on the wrong explorer or have the wrong hash: check the network and the hash, wait, and do not resend yet.

Pending means broadcast but not yet included in a block. On Ethereum, a submitted transaction waits in a pool of pending transactions until a validator includes it in a block, and it can wait longer when the network is busy. Avoid duplicate sends; some wallets let you replace a pending transaction, in which case look for the replacement hash.

Confirmed means included in a block. Each further block built on top makes the record harder to change: Bitcoin's developer documentation explains that the cost to modify a block increases with every new block added after it. Exchanges and merchants set their own required number of confirmations.

Success or failed: on smart-contract chains a transaction can be included in a block and still fail. If a transaction runs out of gas, Ethereum.org says the network reverts the changes but the gas provided is still consumed. Do not assume funds are lost: check your balance and what the transaction actually did.

Reading an address page

The balance shows what the chain records for that address, not who owns it. The history shows past transfers; addresses are pseudonymous, not anonymous, and patterns can reveal more than people expect (/guides/is-my-crypto-wallet-anonymous).

Labels such as 'exchange' or 'scam' are third-party tags. They help but can be wrong or missing, and an unlabelled address is not a clean bill of health. On chains with tokens, check which contracts you have allowed to spend your tokens and revoke what you no longer need (/guides/token-approval-revocation-guide).

Five scams an explorer helps you catch

Address poisoning: a tiny transfer from a look-alike address appears in your history so you copy it later. Always copy addresses from your own records and check the whole string. 'Your transaction is stuck, pay to release it': the explorer shows the real status, and no legitimate process charges a fee to unlock a confirmed transaction.

Fake support: an agent says your funds were 'frozen' or 'flagged'. Check the explorer and ignore direct messages (/guides/fake-support-account-takeover). Unsolicited tokens that appear in your wallet often carry links to scam sites, so do not interact with them. Wrong-network sends: the explorer shows which chain actually received the funds, which decides what recovery options exist (/guides/wrong-network-crypto-sends). Clipboard malware that swaps a copied address is covered in /guides/clipboard-hijacking-clipper-malware.

Fake explorers: scammers clone explorers and advertise 'wallet checkers' and 'transaction accelerators'. A real explorer is read-only. If a page asks you to connect a wallet, approve a signature or enter a recovery phrase, close it.

Block explorer glossary in plain words

Hash or TxID: the unique ID of a transaction. Block: a bundle of transactions recorded together. Confirmations: the number of blocks, counting the one that contains your transaction. Mempool: the waiting area for transactions not yet in a block. Gas or fee: payment to the network for processing. Nonce: Ethereum.org defines it as a counter for the transaction number from an account. Contract: code on a smart-contract chain that holds the rules for tokens or apps.

This page contains no affiliate links and names no explorer as best; we cite only the networks' own documentation. Risk: blockchain transfers are generally irreversible, and an explorer cannot undo anything or recover funds. Anyone who contacts you offering to 'recover' or 'accelerate' a transaction for a fee is a likely scammer.

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