Key Points

• BscScan is a blockchain explorer that allows users to easily track transactions on the BNB Smart Chain (BSC), view wallet balances, and interact with smart contracts.

• BscScan also offers a range of other features, such as monitoring gas prices, tracking BEP-20 tokens, and verifying the number of unique addresses.

• These metrics help users assess network activity, identify congestion, and measure token performance, which is crucial for investors, traders, and blockchain developers.

Introduction

It is often said that public blockchains are permissionless, allowing anyone with an address to interact with them. But did you know that development on the blockchain is also permissionless? Anyone with the relevant expertise can deploy their DApps on the blockchain without any restrictions.

This has driven rapid development in the decentralized finance (DeFi) space. The BNB Smart Chain (BSC) has only been around for a short time but has achieved remarkable growth. You may ask, just how remarkable is it? In fact, there is a wealth of publicly available on-chain data that traders and investors can easily view regarding the network's activities.

If you want to access this on-chain data, using blockchain explorers like BscScan is the simplest method, allowing you to look up whatever you want.

What is BscScan?

BscScan is a blockchain explorer developed by the same team behind Etherscan. It provides an analysis platform for the BNB Smart Chain, along with many convenient features. If you want to keep track of DeFi projects on BSC, this platform is an excellent source of information.

BscScan also has the following features:

1. View transactions and transaction progress.

2. View the latest blocks added to the blockchain.

3. View wallet balances and transaction history.

4. Search, browse, and interact with smart contracts deployed on the blockchain.

5. Research the supply of tokens and other cryptocurrencies.

All information can be viewed completely free of charge without registering an account. The blockchain explorer can display all of the above information, and the interface is simple and easy to navigate.

Why choose BscScan?

BscScan is built by a trusted development team behind the popular Ethereum block explorer EtherScan. In addition to having a good reputation, BscScan can help you explore the world of blockchain. Once you master the basics, you can quickly resolve simple issues and questions.

For example, knowing how to find smart contracts on BscScan is a very convenient skill for users of DApps. You can see if a user's smart contract has been verified, and you can even interact with it directly via BscScan, which is particularly useful when the DApp's API is not accessible. However, the uses of on-chain data go far beyond querying smart contracts and basic transactions.

For example, you can also set whale alerts to track large transactions. In some cases, a large amount of cryptocurrency flowing into a trading platform may indicate an upcoming sell-off. You can even track the wallets of DeFi protocol founders to see if they are transferring tokens. Let's delve into some of the most commonly used tools and metrics on BscScan.

How to query the average gas price on the BNB Smart Chain?

First, hover over [Resources], click on [Charts and Statistics], and then click on [Average Gas Fee Chart].

You will see the average gas price chart, which is commonly used to calculate the gas fees users need to pay for BSC transactions.

As mentioned earlier, the fees on BSC are relatively low. On BSC, 1 gwei equals 0.000000001 BNB. The average gas price is about 3.5 gwei, so the cost of sending 100 BNB should be less than 10 cents. In fact, even sending 10 times or even 100 times this amount, the fees generally do not exceed 30 cents.

Based on transaction history, we can see that users are paying transaction fees that exceed the daily amounts. Some users may have brought their old habits from Ethereum or other blockchains to BSC, which is completely unnecessary. The BNB Smart Chain is currently far from congested, and under stable network conditions, 3.5 gwei is sufficient to cover the cost of a simple transaction.

How to query the number of unique addresses on the BNB Smart Chain?

If you want to roughly estimate the number of users on the network, you can refer to the number of unique addresses on BscScan. To find the number of unique addresses, hover over 'Resources', click on 'Charts and Statistics', and then click on 'Unique Address Chart'.

If a blockchain has 100 unique addresses, does that mean it has 100 unique users? Of course not! Anyone can create multiple addresses. Moreover, thanks to strong cryptography, even if they do this, our addresses can be used for quite a long time. Until the addresses run out, it is also difficult to determine whether these addresses belong to the same entity.

We now know that anyone can create multiple addresses, so the metric of unique addresses is higher than the estimated number of users, but it still helps us understand the growth of network users roughly.

How to query the daily transaction volume on the BNB Smart Chain?

This chart shows us the total number of transactions generated on the BNB Smart Chain within a given date. This data can also be found in the 'Charts and Statistics' section.

Although some smart contracts require more transactions than others, this chart still allows us to grasp the activity of the network and whether the network may be congested. This is also a signal to judge whether the network is operating healthily.

What are the popular BEP-20 tokens?

Through the token tracker page, you can track popular BEP-20 tokens by market cap or daily trading volume. Based on this data, you can find out which tokens have the highest cumulative value and trading volume on the BSC blockchain.

It is important to pay attention to token information here. Token/contract owners can update their token information on BscScan, providing more details about the token. If the token contract address has not been verified by the BscScan team, its credibility is lower.

On this page, you will learn about many wrapped tokens. Wrapped tokens are tokenized versions of cryptocurrencies or tokens from another blockchain, such as ETH pegged to Binance.

This means that users do not need to move funds on BSC to the Ethereum blockchain in order to buy and sell the BSC version of ETH. In other words, wrapped ETH on BSC is a tokenized version of the original ETH, which belongs to the Ethereum blockchain.

Is BscScan compatible with NFTs?

Like other digital assets supported by BSC, you can easily find individual NFTs and their smart contracts. BEP-721 and BEP-1155 tokens are the most common NFT standards on BSC. Let's look at a simple example. This is a PancakeSwap NFT from the Pancake Squad collection:

Copy the contract address (0x0a8901b0E25DEb55A87524f0cC164E9644020EBA) into the search bar on BscScan to find the contract creator and token tracker.

Click the 'Token Tracker' link to view the total supply, number of holders, and total transfer count. Additionally, you can find detailed information about various metrics and other details, such as inventory and contract source code, in the tabs below.

How to query the validators on the BNB Smart Chain?

In short, validators are the people who ensure the normal operation of BSC. By staking Binance Coin, they can process transactions and confirm new blocks. They earn transaction fees through network activities as a reward for their premium service.

The BNB Smart Chain is based on a consensus mechanism called Proof of Staked Authority (PoSA). This consensus model has short block times and lower fees. You can view the top validators on the BNB Smart Chain in the validator ranking under the 'Validators' tab.

Who can become a validator? Basically, anyone can, but the eligibility requirements are relatively high. After all, it concerns network security. For detailed information on how to become a validator on the BNB Smart Chain, please refer to the official BNB Chain documentation.

How to verify a smart contract on BscScan?

BscScan users can enter any contract address for verification, checking if the compiled code matches the code running on the blockchain. Verification is simple — you will see a green checkmark next to the contract in the toolbar and receive a notification that 'Contract Source Code Verified'.

The ability to support users in auditing and verifying code is crucial for enhancing the overall transparency of the BNB Smart Chain ecosystem. You can also link cryptocurrency wallets like Metamask to interact directly with smart contracts.

Conclusion

Whether you are a veteran in the DeFi space or a newcomer just getting acquainted with BSC, learning to use BscScan helps you dive deeper into the world of blockchain. Always keep in mind that the market is unpredictable and extreme volatility periods can easily occur. Doing your own research is key to success in trading, which includes verifying whether a token has been certified by the BscScan team, whether the contract is open source and audited, and checking project blogs or social media accounts for in-depth information. Before entering the market, ensure you understand the risks of participating in DeFi.

Further Reading

• Introduction to BNB Smart Chain (BSC)

• What is BNB Chain?

• What is Etherscan and how to use it?

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