Transactions · 45 / 127 · 2 min
Block explorers
An explorer is a website that reads the chain and draws it. The drawing is their report.
The label is the website's. The balance it prints can be a token's own claim.
A worked case
A person checks an explorer, sees a large balance, and treats it as saleable. The token charges a fee on transfer, or blocks the sale. The explorer showed what the contract reported. The contract was the costume.
A window
The site shows transactions, balances, and labels. The labels are the site's. The chain does not store the firm's name next to the address.
A token that lies
A token contract can report a balance the explorer displays. The display is not a promise you can sell it. A honeypot still looks like a balance.
A site that reads the chain
A block explorer is a website with a copy of the history and a search box. It can add names, warnings, and colours. None of those labels are fields in the chain. They are the site's editorial layer.
A token can report any balance it likes. The explorer will often print the report. A number on the explorer is a reason to read the contract, not a reason to skip it.
Read it yourself
These links are the record. They are not a recommendation, and they are not instructions. A news story or a court paper can still be wrong about a detail. The check does not change because a famous name is in the story.
Apply the check
Open a question. The line is about this topic. It is not a verdict that anything is safe.
The explorer, if it sells the labels. The token's seller, if you buy.
The explorer, for the label. The contract, for the balance.
The contract, by freezing or taxing the transfer. The site, by being wrong or late.
Check yourself
Write it in your own words. The course's answer opens after that. Nothing is sent.
After this you can treat the explorer as a report, and read the contract when the balance matters.