In crypto, public blockchains are permissionless and every on-chain transaction is recorded and stored on the public ledger. This article will talk about several on-chain analytics tools in crypto readily accessible for you.

For instance, all the transactions on the Ethereum blockchain are all stored on the blockchain for everyone to see. Every swap and every NFT purchase can be tracked on-chain.

With that said, there’s no better place to get alphas than on the chain itself. Everyone wants to be an on-chain wizard but not many know where to start and what tools to use.

Without further ado, here are the top 5 tools that will turn you into an on-chain wizard:

1. Etherscan

Etherscan is a blockchain explorer for the Ethereum network. The website allows you to search through transactions, blocks, wallet addresses, smart contracts, and other on-chain data.

On the surface, Etherscan is just a block explorer that normies use to look at transactions. But deep down, Etherscan can be used for a variety of functions from making transactions to reading token data.

I think the best function of Etherscan is the ability to make transactions on it. It is easy to use and users can bypass buggy websites & crappy UI to interact directly with the smart contract.

Want to master Etherscan? Here Are 10 Ways To Master Etherscan And Discover The Next Crypto Alpha Before Everyone Else

2. Debank

Debank is an all-in-one cryptocurrency portfolio tracker designed to manage DeFi assets.

Debank allows users to track their full portfolio through various chains, compare interest rates, manage assets, find DeFi projects, analyze risks, and enable users to perform token swaps on token exchange.

The simple and user-friendly interface also makes it easy to track whale wallets and their activities. With a click on the button, you can see a detailed breakdown of their portfolio and holdings.

Read More: Crypto Scams Took 14 Billion USD In 2021 – How To Prevent Your Funds From Getting Stolen

3. Nansen

Nansen is a Singapore-based blockchain analytics platform that combines on-chain data with a massive database containing millions of wallet labels.

“Nansen is currently the best on-chain analytics tool available on the market. It is my go-to dataset when attempting to dissect on-chain movements and to the learned eye, contains plentiful bouts of alpha. Definitely a must-use for crypto professionals”

Wangarian – DeFiance Capital

Nansen comes with an endless list of features and dashboards. Token God Mode, Smart Money and Hot Contracts are some of the most popular features of Nansen.

The on-chain data platform just acquired Ape Board, one of the top portfolio tracker platform, for over US$10 million. It plans to incorporated it into its upcoming all-in-one super app.

Nansen just released a new lite version for free. Read more about it here: Crypto Analytics For Free: How To Use Nansen’s New Lite Version Of Its Analytics Platform

4. Dune Analytics

Dune Analytics is by far one of my favourite on-chain analytic tools. It is a powerful tool for blockchain research. It offers on-chain analytics dashboard for both technical and non-technical investors.

Dune gives you all the tools to query, extract, and visualize vast amounts of data from the blockchain, unlocking the power of public blockchain data by making it accessible to everyone.

The beauty of Dune is the flexibility it offers. There are thousands of different dashboards made by the community and some of the dashboards offer great insight into the on-chain activities.

5. Excel

Bet you’re not expecting to see Excel on this list but Excel is actually able to help with wallet tracking.

Basic Excel functions like VLOOKUP will help to make your life easier when scanning through thousands and thousands of transactions.

Rather than manually filtering, there is an in-built filter button on Excel that is also able to filter out all the unwanted or erroneous data.

Here is a more detailed step by step guide by StrategicHash on how to use excel for wallet tracking:

How to track influencer wallet addresses – NO python, NO API calls, NO coding needed. Only prerequisite is excel

— StrategicHash (@StrategicHash) April 14, 2022

Closing thoughts

Mastering these 5 tools would definitely help you level up your game and give you an edge over the other crypto newbies.

And the best of all, all these tools are free! All you have to do is to set some time aside to master these tools and incorporate them into your due diligence process. If done correctly, you will be finding alphas before they are up on Twitter.

Anyway, we have a whole list of crypto tools on our website. You can check them out over here.

[Editor’s Note: This article does not represent financial advice. Please do your own research before investing.]

Featured Image Credit: Chain Debrief

Also Read: Your First Step Into The Crypto World: Top 10 Free Crypto Tools

Keeping the crypto you just bought on centralised exchange (CEX) is the easiest way to hold your token. But is it truly safe?

In 2021 alone, there were been more than 20 hacks on centralised exchanges, where hackers walked away with at least US$10 million.

A recent, high-profile hack saw Singapore based Crypto.com losing over US$30 million in Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Though Crypto.com made moves to repay all the funds and beef up its privacy and safety protocols, not all centralised exchanges will bear the losses.

Thus, cryptocurrency wallets can provide more protection but it is a bit more complicated. Cryptocurrency wallets can be categorised into two main types — hot and cold wallets.

Hot wallets explained

A hot wallet is a form of software wallet that is connected to the Internet. It can come in many forms from web-based wallets to mobile wallets. The best thing of all is that hot wallets are free!

In the event that you want to venture out and explore what decentralised finance (DeFi) has to offer, the most convenient way to interact with decentralized applications (dApps) is via a hot wallet.

Funds on hot wallets are also easily accessible and there is no need to transition between offline and online to make a transaction.

Cold wallets, on the other hand, would require users to transfer the funds into a hot wallet before they are able to make a transaction.

Do note that because hot wallets are connected to the Internet, they are still vulnerable to digital attacks.

MetaMask

Without a doubt, MetaMask is the most popular digital wallet in the crypto space with over 21 million users worldwide. There is even a swap function that allows users to swap tokens with ease.

It doesn’t end on the Ethereum blockchain. MetaMask also allows users to tap onto the Binance Smart Chain network to store and transact using BEP-20 tokens. It also supports other layer 2 networks like Polygon and Fantom.

Phantom

Phantom is the number one crypto wallet on the Solana blockchain. Similar to MetaMask, it is a non-custodial digital wallet and is installed like a regular plugin.

There is an inbuilt gallery where users can see their NFT straight from the wallet. Phantom also just released an IOS version so iPhone users can easily access Phantom from their mobile devices.

Cold wallets explained

Cold wallets or cold storage is a physical device that is able to store cryptocurrencies completely offline. Many come in the form of a USB stick and can range from US$30 to over US$200.

Because the device is able to store crypto offline, it can protect the investment from online hacks and digital attacks.

There is a trade-off between accessibility and security as cold wallets are less convenient because the device must be connected to the Internet before any transaction can be made.

Most established CEXs will use a combination of hot and cold wallets. They will store majority of their fund in a cold wallet and only just enough liquidity in a hot wallet to service withdrawal transactions. This will ensure that majority of the fund are kept safe and sound.

Only buy cold wallet from an authorised dealer as second-hand device might be tampered with.

Ledger

Ledger is by far one of the most popular cold wallets in the world. Its most popular product — the Ledger Nano S has sold over one million units worldwide. The wallets are equipped with industry-leading security to help keep crypto assets secure at all times.

It is also ready to launch their very own crypto debit card called the Crypto Life card. It is scheduled to launch in UK, France and Germany in Q1 of 2022 and would start to roll out in the US in Q2 of 2022.

Trezor

Trezor was the world’s first hardware wallet ever created. It prides itself on its open-source software and hardware that can be viewed publicly on GitHub.

It is almost impossible to hack as there is no username and password for the account. The credential is the Trezor device itself. This is why it is one of the safest ways to store cryptocurrency.

Wrapping up

In a nutshell, both hot and cold wallets are generally more secure than storing crypto on the CEX. While hot wallet is more user friendly and simpler to use, it is not advisable to hold large amount of crypto on a hot wallet.

It is by far more secure to keep crypto in a cold wallet instead. Even though it is more cumbersome to use. It is a small price to pay for peace of mind.

[Editor’s Note: This article does not represent financial advice. Please do your own research before investing.]

Featured Image Credit: Chain Debrief

Also Read: How To Use MetaMask To Take The First Step Into The World Of Decentralized Finance