Lesson 05 · 6 min
Reading the chain yourself
Block explorers let you check any address's balance and history without trusting anyone.
What an explorer shows
Paste any public address into an explorer and you see its balance, every token it holds, and every transfer in and out with dates.
This is read-only. Looking up an address gives nobody any power over it, including you.
Where to look
Bitcoin addresses on mempool.space or blockstream.info.
Ethereum and its tokens on etherscan.io.
Solana and its tokens on solscan.io or explorer.solana.com.
Turning history into leads
An old outgoing transfer often points at another wallet you controlled. Following those links is the most reliable way to rebuild a picture of what you once held.
Worth remembering
- Explorers are free, public and read-only.
- Each network has its own explorer.
- Old transfers are breadcrumbs to your other wallets.