Block explorers are the primary tool for reading transaction data on any blockchain. Whether you’re looking to research tokens, track important wallets, or get an in depth view of your own transactions, block explorer literacy is a useful skill to have. 

Mantle Network Explorer is your gateway to every transaction that takes place on the network, be it testnet or mainnet. As a rollup, transaction data shares a lot of similarities with that of Ethereum, so those familiar with Etherscan will feel at home exploring Mantle. 

However, there are some new elements that come into play due to Mantle Network’s modular rollup architecture. These include transactions between layer 1 (L1) and layer 2 (L2), as well as data availability. Here we’re covering all the basics of reading a block explorer, along with the new components specific to Mantle.

Transaction Basics

The transaction below is an address minting the test Mantle token $MNT on testnet, which we’ll use as an example.

• Transaction Hash: Every transaction has a Hash, which is a unique identifier generated upon the creation of the transaction. You can look up a transaction by entering its Hash in the search bar. 

• Result: The current state of a transaction, this will show either success, failed (error), or pending (in progress). 

• Status: This section shows how a transaction on Mantle Network passes through four (4) stages on L2 and L1. All four steps appear green when a transaction has been finalized, meaning it’s been included in the updated state of Ethereum mainnet without being challenged.  

• Block: The ID number for the block in which a transaction was included, you can click on the number to see other transactions in the same block. The timestamp below shows exactly when it was included and how long confirmation took.

• From & Interacted With (To): The From address is the one sending the transaction and the To address is receiving it. In this case the sending address is null, because it’s a $MNT minting contract address. You can tell this by the section below called Tokens Minted, which shows 1,000 $MNT being minted from the null address to a wallet address. 

For transactions where tokens are transferred rather than minted, a section labeled Tokens Transferred will be shown. Here’s an example of what that looks like from a different transaction.

 

Mantle Specific Transaction Elements

Continuing with the same $MNT minting example, there are a few additional sections that have to do with interaction between Mantle Network and Ethereum mainnet, as well as data availability. 

• L1 State Data: Transactions on Mantle Network, and rollups in general, are grouped together in batches before being sent to L1. The Batch Index identifies which Batch the transaction belongs to. Each batch also generates a transaction hash when it is submitted to L1, and clicking on that will take you to Etherscan to view the submission transaction data.  

• Gas Fee Data: Transaction fees on Mantle Network are broken down into three (3) areas: Rollup fees, L1 fees, and DA fees. This is due to the Mantle Network’s modular design, as transaction processing duties are split up between different networks to increase efficiency and lower costs (keep in mind this is all testnet transaction data, and L1 interactions take place on Goerli rather than mainnet).

• Gas Fee Reductions: Since the implementation of the second phase of Mantle Network Testnet, after the successful integration of Mantle DA as powered by EigenDA technology and other updates, visible reduction of up to 70% in gas fees for L2 transactions compared to on-chain L2 can be seen. 
  

Rollup Fees

L1 Fees

DA Fees

Examining Wallets 

Now that we’ve covered how to analyze individual transactions, let’s zoom out to the wallet level. Sticking with the previous example, we can click into the address that minted the 1,000 $MNT.  Wallet address pages have tons of information about what tokens are held, transaction and gas usage totals, and a detailed transaction history. If you find an interesting wallet address on Mantle Network, the first place you’re going to want to look is the token holdings breakdown which include both fungible tokens (ERC-20) and NFTs (ERC 721).

We can see that this wallet has been relatively active on testnet, mainly acquiring tokens and creating LP positions on decentralized exchanges (DEXs), some of which are represented by NFTs. Further information about when tokens were acquired or swapped can be found over on the Transactions page, where a full history of a wallets on-chain activity can be found.

Token Analysis

Another important feature for on-chain research is Token pages, which can be accessed by clicking into one of the blue token names seen above. Let’s take a look at $MNT next.

When searching for a token, Total Supply & Holders are two of the key numbers to consider, both of which can be easily found on the token’s explorer page. For further information on Holders, simply scroll down to the Token Holders section. 

Here you’ll find a list of which addresses hold a given token, sorted from largest to smallest. This is another way to identify important wallets that hold a large amount of tokens, a research method known as whale-watching. Addresses listed here can either be individual wallets or contract addresses, so keep in mind that addresses with large balances are often contracts for platforms like DEXs or lending decentralized applications (dApps).  

Again, everything currently on the block explorer is from testnet, so data like total supply or tokens held isn’t related to the mainnet version of $MNT.

Summary 

The block explorer contains massive amounts of information on everything that takes place on Mantle Network, but with this guide you should have a good feel for navigating your way around. Now you’re equipped to analyze your own transaction history and check transaction statuses, explore what other users are doing on the blockchain, and perform basic on-chain analysis for tokens.

Head on over to the block explorer and try it out for yourself: https://explorer.testnet.mantle.xyz/.