- 1. Key Takeaways
- 2. What Is Etherscan?
- 3. How to Use Etherscan in 2026: Step by Step
- 4. How to Read an Etherscan Transaction Page
- 5. Etherscan Gas Tracker
- 6. Token Approvals: How to Check and Revoke Them
- 7. Verified Contracts: Read and Write Tabs
- 8. Etherscan API and API Keys in 2026
- 9. Etherscan Safety Tips
- 10. Frequently Asked Questions
Last Updated: October 29, 2026
Quick Answer: Etherscan is a free block explorer for Ethereum that lets anyone look up transactions, wallet addresses, tokens and smart contracts without an account. To use it, paste a transaction hash, address, token name or ENS name into the search bar at etherscan.io and read the result page. A free account adds watchlists, alerts and an API key, and since the legacy V1 API was deprecated on August 15, 2025, all requests go through API V2, where one key covers more than 60 EVM chains.
Etherscan does not hold funds and cannot send, reverse or recover a transaction. It only reads and displays what is already recorded on the blockchain.
Key Takeaways
- Etherscan is a read-only explorer: it shows Ethereum data but is not a wallet, so you still need a wallet such as MetaMask or a hardware wallet to move funds
- You can search by transaction hash, address, token, block or ENS name without signing up; an account is needed for alerts, private labels and API keys
- A transaction page shows its status, block, sender, recipient, value, fee and gas details, and “Success” means the transaction was executed on chain
- The Token Approval Checker lists the contracts allowed to spend your tokens and lets you revoke them
- The legacy API V1 was deprecated on August 15, 2025; API V2 uses one base URL and a chainid parameter, and the free plan allows 3 calls per second and 100,000 calls per day on selected chains
- Most Etherscan scams rely on lookalike websites, address poisoning and malicious approvals, so bookmark the real domain and check every address character by character
What Is Etherscan?
Etherscan is a block explorer and analytics platform for Ethereum. Every transaction, token transfer and smart contract on Ethereum is public, and Etherscan indexes that data into searchable pages.
Etherscan also runs explorers for other networks, listed in its developer documentation at docs.etherscan.io.
If you are new to Ethereum itself, our Ethereum review explains how the network works, and the Ethereum price page tracks ETH in real time.
How to Use Etherscan in 2026: Step by Step
The search bar at the top of etherscan.io accepts almost any identifier on Ethereum. The main searches are:
| What you paste | What Etherscan shows |
|---|---|
| Transaction hash (0x followed by 64 characters) | One transaction: status, block, sender, recipient, value, fee |
| Wallet address (0x followed by 40 characters) | ETH balance, token holdings, transaction history, token transfers |
| ENS name (for example name.eth) | The address the name resolves to, then the address page |
| Token name or ticker | Matching token pages, with the contract address, holders and transfers |
| Block number | The block’s transactions, miner or proposer, gas used and timestamp |
1. Check a transaction. Copy the transaction hash from your wallet’s activity screen and paste it into the search bar. If the page shows “Success,” the transaction was executed on chain. “Pending” means it is still waiting to be included in a block, and “Failed” means it was included but reverted, in which case the gas fee is still paid.
2. Look up a wallet. Paste any address to see its ETH balance, the tokens it holds and its full history. The “Transactions” tab lists ETH transfers and contract calls, while “Token Transfers (ERC-20)” and the NFT tabs show token movements. Because Ethereum is public, anyone can view any address this way.
3. Find a token’s real contract. Type a token name and open the token page. It shows the contract address, total supply, number of holders and recent transfers. Many tokens share the same name or ticker, so confirm the address against the project’s official website or a data provider such as CoinMarketCap before you buy or add it to a wallet.
How to Read an Etherscan Transaction Page
Each field on a transaction page answers a simple question:
- Transaction Hash: the unique ID of the transaction
- Status: Success, Pending or Failed
- Block and Block Confirmations: the block that contains the transaction and how many blocks have been added since
- Timestamp: when the block was produced
- From and To: the sender, and the recipient address or the contract that was called
- Value: the amount of ETH sent; token transfers appear in a separate “ERC-20 Tokens Transferred” section
- Transaction Fee: the total paid for the transaction, which equals gas used multiplied by the effective gas price
- Gas Price, Gas Limit and Usage: what the sender offered per unit of gas and how much the transaction actually consumed
- Input Data: the instruction sent to a contract, which Etherscan decodes into a function name when the contract is verified
If the “To” field is a contract rather than a wallet, the transaction was an interaction, such as a swap, a mint or an approval. The decoded “Method” column on address pages tells you which function was called.
Etherscan Gas Tracker
The Gas Tracker shows current low, average and high gas prices in gwei, with estimated costs for common actions such as a swap, an NFT sale, bridging or borrowing. It also lists the contracts consuming the most gas. Check it before sending a non-urgent transaction. The figures are estimates, and the final fee depends on network conditions when the transaction is included.
Token Approvals: How to Check and Revoke Them
When you use a decentralized exchange or other DeFi app, you usually sign an “approval” that lets its contract spend a token from your wallet. Many apps request unlimited approvals. If that contract is later exploited, or if you signed an approval on a malicious site, the approved spender can move those tokens without asking you again.
Etherscan’s Token Approval Checker lists every active approval for an address, including the token, the approved spender contract and the allowed amount. To revoke one:
- Open the Token Approval Checker and connect your wallet with the “Connect Wallet” button.
- Review each approval, especially unlimited ones and spenders you do not recognize.
- Select the approvals you want to remove, click “Revoke” (or “Revoke Selected” for several) and confirm the transaction in your wallet.
Revoking is an on-chain transaction, so it costs gas. It also only affects future spending; it cannot recover tokens that were already taken. Our guide to self-custodial wallets covers other ways to protect a wallet you control.
Verified Contracts: Read and Write Tabs
Developers can publish a contract’s source code on Etherscan through its “Verify and Publish” process. Etherscan compiles the submitted code and checks that it matches the bytecode on chain. A verified contract shows a green check mark on its “Contract” tab, along with the source code, the compiler settings and the ABI.
Verified contracts also get two interactive tabs:
- Read Contract calls view functions for free, without a wallet. You can check a token’s total supply, a balance or an owner address directly from the contract.
- Write Contract lets you connect a wallet and call functions that change state, such as claiming or transferring. These are real transactions that cost gas and can move funds.
Verification proves that the published code matches what is deployed, not that the code is safe. Proxy contracts add another layer: the address you interact with forwards calls to a separate implementation, and Etherscan shows “Read as Proxy” and “Write as Proxy” tabs for these.
Etherscan API and API Keys in 2026
Etherscan’s API gives developers access to balances, transactions, token transfers, contract code, event logs and gas data. The biggest recent change is the move to API V2:
- V1 deprecated: according to Etherscan’s migration guide, “As of August 15th, 2025, the legacy Etherscan API V1 endpoints have been deprecated in favor of the new Etherscan API V2.”
- One base URL and a chain parameter: V2 requests go to api.etherscan.io/v2/api and include a chainid, for example 1 for Ethereum.
- One key for all chains: a key created in the Etherscan dashboard “can be used to access all supported chains under API V2,” which the documentation lists as more than 60 EVM chains.
Getting a key. Register a free account at etherscan.io, open the API dashboard, select “Add” to create a key and store it safely. Free daily limits are counted across all keys on an account.
Rate limits by plan (from Etherscan’s rate limits page):
| Plan | Calls per second | Calls per day |
|---|---|---|
| Free | 3 | 100,000 |
| Lite | 5 | 100,000 |
| Standard | 10 | 200,000 |
| Advanced | 20 | 500,000 |
| Professional | 30 | 1,000,000 |
| Pro Plus | 30 | 1,500,000 |
What changed in 2026. Etherscan’s changelog lists several 2026 changes that matter for API users:
- The free plan covers “selected chains,” and paid plans unlock all chains. Etherscan’s supported chains page marks each network as “free tier available” or “paid tier only,” so check it before building on a chain other than Ethereum.
- From July 1, 2026, the free tier returns at most 1,000 records per request, down from 10,000, for ten endpoints including normal transactions, token transfers and event logs.
- Gnosis moved to paid plans on September 1, 2026, and community endpoints for Arc and Robinhood Chain now require a Lite plan or above. Source code and ABI endpoints stay free on all chains.
- Free-tier calls on several networks, including Arbitrum from November 1, 2026, Linea, Celo and Katana, now draw from a shared pool per chain rather than per key.
- Etherscan has ended or is ending support for Scroll, Moonbeam, opBNB, ApeChain and Blast; ApeChain and Blast end on October 31, 2026.
- From November 3, 2026, paid plans (Lite and above) can turn on overage billing, which is off by default, at $0.00003 per call ($3 per 100,000 calls). The free tier stays capped at its daily limit.
- Etherscan also offers a keyless, read-only connection for AI assistants, available as a ChatGPT plugin since September 24, 2026 and a Claude connector since October 8, 2026.
Etherscan Safety Tips
Use the real domain. Type etherscan.io yourself or use a bookmark. Phishing sites copy Etherscan’s design and appear in search ads. Etherscan never asks for a seed phrase or private key, and any page that does is a scam.
Watch for address poisoning. Scammers send tiny or zero-value transfers from addresses that start and end with the same characters as one you use, hoping you copy the wrong address from your history. Always copy addresses from a trusted source and compare the full string.
Do not trust names alone. Anyone can deploy a token called “USDT” or a famous project’s name. Confirm the contract address on the project’s official site, and treat unverified contracts and tokens that appear in your wallet unrequested with caution. Many wallet drains start with approvals signed on fake airdrop or mint sites; our guide to airdrop scams explains the common patterns.
Be careful with Write Contract. Connecting a wallet to Etherscan is safe on the real site, but calling a function on an unknown contract can transfer or approve tokens. If a stranger tells you to “claim” something through Write Contract, it is likely a scam. Our article on how to know if a crypto company is a scam lists further warning signs.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Etherscan used for?
Etherscan is used to look up anything recorded on the Ethereum blockchain. People use it to confirm that a payment arrived, check a wallet’s balance and history, find a token’s official contract address, read verified smart contract code, check gas prices and review or revoke token approvals. Developers also use its API to pull blockchain data into their own applications.
Do I need an account to use Etherscan?
No. You can search transactions, addresses, tokens, blocks and ENS names on Etherscan without registering. A free account is needed for extra features such as watchlists with email alerts, private name tags and notes, and API keys. Revoking an approval does not need an account, but it does require connecting your wallet and paying gas for the transaction.
Is Etherscan safe to use?
The real etherscan.io is a widely used, read-only explorer, and looking up data there is safe. The main risks come from fake sites that copy its design, from signing transactions you do not understand in the Write Contract tab, and from copying poisoned addresses. Etherscan never asks for your seed phrase, and any site that does is fraudulent.
How do I check a transaction on Etherscan?
Copy the transaction hash from your wallet, paste it into the Etherscan search bar and open the result. The status field shows Success, Pending or Failed. The page also lists the block, sender, recipient, amount and fee. If the status is Success, the transaction was executed and included in a block, and it becomes final after further blocks are confirmed.
Can Etherscan reverse or recover a transaction?
No. Etherscan only displays blockchain data and has no control over funds. It cannot cancel, reverse or refund a transaction, and it cannot recover tokens sent to the wrong address. Anyone claiming to be Etherscan support and offering recovery for a fee is running a scam. For stuck pending transactions, your wallet may offer a speed up or cancel option.
What is the Etherscan API V2?
API V2 is the current version of Etherscan’s developer API. It replaced the legacy V1 endpoints, which were deprecated on August 15, 2025. V2 uses a single base URL and a chainid parameter, so one API key can query more than 60 supported EVM chains. The free plan allows 3 calls per second and 100,000 calls per day.
Data sources: Etherscan (etherscan.io), Etherscan developer documentation at docs.etherscan.io (V2 migration guide, rate limits, API key setup and changelog, read October 29, 2026).
