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Arbiscan: How to Use It

Posted on Sep 19, 2024
Arbiscan: How to Use It

In our newest guide, discover how to use Arbiscan—the block explorer for the Arbitrum network. We cover everything you need to know, from understanding transactions to verifying smart contracts and more.

What is Arbiscan?

Arbiscan is the leading blockchain explorer, search tool, API, and analytics platform for the Arbitrum network—a Layer 2 scaling solution for the Ethereum blockchain. It provides users with a comprehensive platform to monitor their funds and transactions within the Arbitrum blockchain. With Arbiscan, individuals can effortlessly track their money and gain insights into various activities on the network, including transactions, addresses, tokens, and prices.

For developers, Arbiscan offers extensive data access through APIs, allowing them to enhance their decentralized applications (dapps) by leveraging valuable information about transactions and other pertinent details specific to the Arbitrum blockchain. Power users can also sign raw transactions directly through the platform.

Designed exclusively for the Arbitrum network, Arbiscan serves as an indispensable tool for both users and developers seeking to navigate and optimize their experiences within this innovative blockchain ecosystem.

What Can You Do with Arbiscan?

Arbiscan provides several key features:

  • Read and Analyze Transactions: View and examine all transactions happening on the Arbitrum network.
  • Read and Analyze Blocks: Explore details of each block added to the blockchain.
  • Verify Smart Contracts: Check and confirm the code of smart contracts deployed on Arbitrum.
  • Sign Raw Transactions: Advanced users can sign transactions directly without a user interface.
  • Extract Data via APIs: Developers can access blockchain data through APIs for their applications.
  • View Tokens: See information about various tokens on the network.
  • View Statistics: Access comprehensive statistics about the Arbitrum network.

The homepage offers an overview of all available data: the latest blocks, recent transactions, current ETH price, current Arbitrum price, and basic statistics.

At the top, there's a Search bar where you can look up individual addresses, tokens, smart contracts, transactions, or blocks.

How to Read an Address Page on Arbiscan

You can view any individual address on Arbiscan by using the Search function. Whether you're looking for a wallet address or a smart contract, you can navigate to its address page.

On this page, you'll see an overview of the address, including its balance in ETH, the total value of the ETH held, and the balances of other tokens.

Below the overview, you can find the address's activity in terms of transactions. These transactions are organized separately by type:

  • Transactions: Initiated by external addresses.
  • Internal Transactions: Triggered by smart contracts.
  • ERC-20, ERC-721, and ERC-1155 Token Transactions: Involving fungible tokens (ERC-20), non-fungible tokens or NFTs (ERC-721), and multi-token standards (ERC-1155).

How to Read Transactions on Arbiscan

The search field is very useful when you want to look up specific transactions. Once you open a transaction page, you will see an overview containing the following details:

  • Transaction ID (Hash): A unique identifier for the transaction.
  • Status: Indicates whether the transaction was successful, pending, or failed.
  • Block Number and Timestamp: Shows which block the transaction is part of and the exact time it was processed.
  • From and To Addresses: The initiating address and the destination address, or the smart contract involved.
  • Gas Fees Paid: The amount of gas (transaction fees) paid to process the transaction.

This information helps you understand all the key aspects of the transaction in a clear and straightforward way.

How to Read Transaction Status on Arbiscan

To view a specific address on Arbiscan, use the Search function at the top of the homepage. Whether you're looking for a wallet address or a smart contract, you can navigate to its address page:

On this page, you'll find an overview of the address, including:

  • Balance in ETH: The amount of Ether held by the address.
  • Value of ETH Held: The current monetary value of the ETH.
  • Token Balances: A list of other tokens and their amounts held by the address.

Below the overview, you can see the address's activity, organized by transaction type:

  • Transactions: Initiated by external addresses.
  • Internal Transactions: Triggered by smart contracts.
  • ERC-20, ERC-721, and ERC-1155 Token Transactions: Involving fungible tokens (ERC-20), non-fungible tokens or NFTs (ERC-721), and multi-token standards (ERC-1155).

How to Read Transactions on Arbiscan

The search field is helpful for finding specific transactions. When you open a transaction page, you'll see an overview containing:

  • Transaction Hash: A unique identifier for the transaction.
  • Status: Indicates if the transaction is pending, successful, or failed.
  • Block Number and Timestamp: Shows which block the transaction is part of and when it was processed.
  • From and To Addresses: The initiating address and the destination address or smart contract.
  • Gas Fees Paid: The transaction fees paid to process the transaction.

How to Read Transaction Status on Arbiscan

By using the transaction hash, you can check the status of a transaction:

  • Pending: The transaction is in progress but hasn't been added to a block yet.
  • Successful: The transaction has been included in a block and is confirmed on the blockchain.
  • Failed: The transaction was rejected, possibly due to insufficient gas fees or technical issues with third-party services like dApps. In this case, the transaction was not executed, and you may need to try again.

How to Read Blocks on Arbiscan

Blocks are numbered sequentially on Arbiscan, starting from zero. The block number is referred to as the Height. A block page includes information such as:

  • Timestamp: When the block was mined.
  • Number of Transactions: How many transactions are included in the block.
  • Gas Used: The total gas consumed by the transactions in the block.

How to Read Smart Contracts on Arbiscan

Arbiscan allows you to interact with smart contracts in several ways:

  • Verify Code: Check if the smart contract's code is verified.
    • Go to Blockchain > Verified Contracts to see a list of all verified contracts.
    • On an individual contract page, under Contract > Code, you can see if the code is verified.
  • Read Contract: View the source code and details of the smart contract.
  • Write Contract: Interact with the contract by executing functions or making changes, if permitted.

How to Read Gas Information on Arbiscan

Gas represents the computational effort required to process transactions on the blockchain. On a transaction page, you'll find detailed gas information:

  • Gas Price Bid: The gas price you offered for the transaction.
  • Gas Price Paid: The actual gas price that was paid.
  • Ether Price: The price of ETH at the time of the transaction.
  • Gas Limit & Usage by Transaction: The maximum gas allocated and the actual amount used.
  • Gas Fees:
    • Base Fee: The network's minimum fee at the time.
    • Max Fee: The maximum amount you're willing to pay.
    • Max Priority Fee: The extra amount you're willing to pay to prioritize your transaction.

How to Read Tokens on Arbiscan

You can explore various tokens on Arbiscan, including:

  • ERC-20 Tokens: Standard fungible tokens.
  • ERC-721 Tokens: Non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
  • ERC-1155 Tokens: Tokens that can be both fungible and non-fungible.

On a token page, you'll find:

  • Overview:
    • Token Type: Indicates whether it's ERC-20, ERC-721, or ERC-1155.
    • Price: Current market value of the token.
    • Total Supply: Total number of tokens in existence.
    • Holders: Number of unique addresses holding the token.
    • Transfers: Total number of transfers made.
  • Profile Summary:
    • Contract Address: The unique address of the token contract.
    • Decimals: The number of decimal places the token uses.
    • Official Site and Social Profiles: Links to the project's website and social media.

Additional details like transfers, holders, and the smart contract's source code are available further down the page.

How to Find Token Decimals on Arbiscan

  1. Use the search bar to find the token you're interested in.
  2. On the token's page, look under the Profile Summary section on the right side.
  3. The Token Decimals are listed beneath the contract address.

How to Review and Revoke Token Approvals on Arbiscan

To manage your token approvals for decentralized applications (dApps):

  1. Navigate to the Token Approvals page.
  2. Connect your wallet to Arbiscan.
  3. You'll see a list of all token approvals for ERC-20 and ERC-721 tokens.
  4. To revoke an approval, click the Revoke button next to the specific token.

How to Track NFTs on Arbiscan

To explore NFTs:

  1. Go to the Top ERC-721 Tokens section.
  2. You'll see a list of popular NFTs, along with transfer data over the last 24 hours or 7 days.
  3. Click on a token's name to view detailed information about it, including the full contract details.

Useful Profile Features of Arbiscan

While you can use Arbiscan without an account, registering unlocks additional features:

Profile page on Arbiscan

  • Watchlist: Add addresses to receive notifications about their transactions. You can choose to be notified about incoming, outgoing, or all transactions.
  • Transaction Private Notes: Add personal notes to specific transactions for future reference. These notes will appear in your profile and on the transaction's overview page.
  • Private Name Tags: Assign custom names to addresses, creating a personalized address book for easy identification.
  • Token Ignore List: Hide specific tokens from appearing in token lists across the site. Hidden tokens won't contribute to the total token value displayed.

In Summary

This guide provides the essentials for confidently navigating Arbiscan and utilizing its full range of features. For more in-depth information, consider exploring Etherscan's knowledge base, which offers valuable insights applicable to Arbiscan as well.

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