How Can Transactions on Crypto Blockchains be Tracked?
So you heard the Blockchain was an anonymous way of sending money, and that’s why you love it so much, but now you’re hearing that your transactions can be tracked?
What do we mean?
How does that happen?
Does it mean you’re no longer safe or can’t continue to transfer crypto without getting tracked?
How can your crypto transactions be tracked?
It’s normal to be a little bit worried but there’s honestly no need to be, it’s safe if you stay careful but let’s take a look at exactly how these transactions can be tracked and what it means.
How does this Happen?
To understand what we mean, you have to understand how the Blockchain works. Blockchain works as a ledger that keeps a history of all the transactions that have ever been carried out on that particular blockchain. What this means is that all the transactions ever made on that particular blockchain are available for anyone to see.
Unlike banks, all anyone ever really needs to see what has been going on on the blockchain is a computer and an internet connection. This however depends on the blockchain on which the transaction was made. If the transaction was a Bitcoin transaction, you’d have to look at the Bitcoin blockchain. If it was an Ethereum transaction, you’d have to look at the Ethereum blockchain. The blockchain contains the transaction data which contains the amount of that cryptocurrency sent, the sender’s and receiver’s address, and even the timestamp. You can confirm this using the transaction ID which is a hash containing all these data, and they can be tracked using a blockchain explorer website.
Tracking the Crypto Transactions
Tracking transactions on the blockchain can be done by anyone at any time. It is not restricted to just those who own a coin or a wallet. There are many explorer websites where you can check these transactions on the blockchain for that cryptocurrency. Below are some cryptocurrencies and websites you can use to track them.
- Bitcoin (website – blockchain.com/explorer)
- Ethereum (website – etherscan.io)
- Litecoin (website – insight.litecore.io)
- Bitcoin Cash (website – explorer.bitcoin.com/bch)
- XRP (website – bithomp.com/explorer.)
There are a lot of other blockchain explorers out there and you can use whichever you like. You can check out other cryptocurrencies as well.
Once you access these websites, it’s pretty easy from there. All you need to do is locate the search field and input whatever data you have that concerns that transaction. It could be the receiver’s address or the sender’s address, or it could be the transaction ID. Once you’ve inputted the data, all you have to do is press enter and the result will display a list of all the transactions carried out so far. If the user has been involved in a lot of transactions, you can just go ahead and search for the exact amount and you’ll find. This can be a cool way to keep track of your investments.
If privacy is a concern for you, you can always choose not to reveal your wallet address to people but just to be safe, it’s always best to use different wallet addresses after each transaction.
Improvements on the privacy of cryptocurrency transactions and in work might just be available soon.