How to Read a Solana Transaction on Solscan: A Step-by-Step Guide
Every Solana transaction tells a story. Learn how to decode a transaction on Solscan — what each field means, how to trace token flows, and what red flags look like on-chain.
The skill that lets you verify anything on-chain yourself
Solscan.io is the most widely used Solana blockchain explorer — a website that makes the raw blockchain data readable by translating binary on-chain records into human-readable displays. Understanding how to navigate Solscan and interpret what you see is one of the most practically valuable skills for any Solana participant. It allows you to verify token security data yourself, trace fund movements, understand what happened in a failed transaction, and detect manipulation patterns that automated tools might miss.
Finding a transaction
Every Solana transaction has a unique identifier called a transaction signature — a 88-character string of letters and numbers. To find a specific transaction:
- Go to solscan.io
- Paste the transaction signature into the search bar
- Press Enter
Reading the transaction overview
Signature: The unique transaction ID. Useful for sharing a specific transaction with others for verification.
Block: Which block this transaction was included in. Clicking the block number shows all other transactions in the same block — useful for identifying coordinated same-block transactions.
Timestamp: Exactly when the transaction confirmed, in UTC. Critical for understanding the timeline of events around a token launch or suspected manipulation.
Result: Success or Failed. A "Failed" result means the transaction was submitted but not completed — the user still paid the base fee. Common causes: insufficient slippage tolerance, insufficient SOL for fees, program error.
Fee: How much SOL was paid in transaction fees. The base fee is 0.000005 SOL per signature.
Signer: The wallet address that signed and submitted the transaction — effectively "who did this."
Reading the token balance changes
The most practically useful section for most users is the token balance changes — a table showing which wallet's balances changed as a result of this transaction, and by how much. For a swap:
- Your wallet: SOL decreased (you paid), new token increased (you received)
- Liquidity pool: SOL increased, new token decreased
- Fee wallets: small amounts of various tokens for protocol fees
Common verification tasks on Solscan
Verify mint authority revocation: Search the token mint address → Token Info panel → check Mint Authority field.
Verify freeze authority revocation: Same location — Freeze Authority field.
Check a wallet's transaction history: Search wallet address → Transactions tab → see all transactions this wallet has ever made, in chronological order.
Find when a token was created: Search the token's mint address → look at the very first transaction in its history — this is the token creation transaction.
Trace liquidity movement: When a token rugpulls, find the transaction where liquidity was removed → check the Token Balance Changes section → follow where the SOL went by searching the receiving wallet.
Solscan is the primary verification layer underneath Hannisol's automated analysis. Start at Hannisol.
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