How to use Etherscan: reading transactions, gas fees and smart contracts with real examples

The information provided in this article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Cryptocurrency investments carry a high degree of risk. Always conduct your own research.Etherscan shows every movement on the Ethereum blockchain, free of charge and without sign-up. This guide uses real examples to explain how to read transactions, fees, tokens and smart contracts, and how to protect yourself from address poisoning.Etherscan makes every transaction on the Ethereum blockchain publicly verifiable.Add as a preferred source on GoogleFollow on Google NewsEtherscan is a free search engine for the Ethereum blockchain: you enter an address, a transaction ID or a token name and immediately see what happened there. You can use it to check whether a transfer has arrived, how high the fee was, which tokens an address holds and whether a smart contract is genuine. You need neither an account nor a wallet to do so. The technical term for such a tool is block explorer: a website that reads in, sorts and makes searchable all the data on a blockchain. Etherscan is the best-known explorer for Ethereum and, by its own account, is run independently, meaning it is nei...