What is Etherscan?

Etherscan is a block explorer that makes public Ethereum records searchable. You can look up a transaction hash, wallet address or contract address. Searching retrieves information about activity recorded on the network; it does not initiate a transfer.

What does Etherscan show?

A transaction page can show its status, block, network fee and token movements. For example, a USDT transfer without an ETH payment displays the native currency amount separately from the token transfer. Reading the ETH amount alone is not enough to conclude that no tokens moved.

For the steps involved in choosing the right address and network, see our crypto transaction tracking guide.

Is Etherscan a wallet?

No. Etherscan does not store private keys or reverse completed transfers. You do not need to share recovery words to read a public transaction record.

A verified source code label does not establish that an investment is safe: matching code and assessing security are different checks. Our Etherscan review examines the interface's strengths and limits using an actual transaction.

Example

Suppose you send 50 USDT on Ethereum. Etherscan may show a transaction value of 0 ETH while the token transfers section records 50 USDT sent to the recipient. The network fee is a separate ETH amount. Looking only at the 0 ETH value would miss the USDT payment.