A Comprehensive Guide to Analyzing the Celestia Network

In the expanding landscape of blockchain technology, Celestia has emerged as a significant player. Its mission to bring decentralized solutions to various industries is embodied in its latest initiative, the Blockspace Race testnet program. Launched in Q2 2023, the program’s five-phase structure encourages both participants and observers to test transactions, delegate to validators, and interact with the testnet environment.

With Celestia’s mainnet launch on the horizon, set for Q3 2023, anticipation for this blockchain project is growing. The potential impact of Celestia is widely recognized, making it one of the most closely watched projects this year.

For users to fully leverage Celestia, understanding how to analyze the network and identify key parameters is crucial. This allows users to gain insights into the network’s performance and the ability to mine critical data. Whether users are looking to track the progress of their transactions or gain insights into network performance, these explorers can provide valuable information and insights.

In light of the upcoming mainnet launch, let’s delve into how to effectively analyze the Celestia network with the help of network explorers and other tools.

Key Network Explorers

Brochain

Brochain is a web-based tool that allows users to search and explore the Cosmos Ecosystem Blockchains, including Celestia Incentivized Testnet. With the blockchain explorer, users can view transaction details, track the movement of tokens, and monitor the network’s overall health and performance. 

Furthermore, users can view the current state of the network, including the number of validators and stake tokens.

To start staking, you need to connect the Keplr Wallet to Explorer and delegate tokens. If you are up for staking to earn passive income, check our detailed guide on How to stake Celestia (TIA) using Keplr Wallet.

When the wallet is linked to the Explorer, it enables the user to oversee and handle the wallet’s activity. This includes reviewing the balance, delegating, redelegating, unbonding tokens, and checking transactions.

Pros:

• User-friendly interface with straightforward navigation and well-organized information

• Comprehensive block and transaction details are available

• Offers a search bar for users to easily locate specific blocks, transactions or addresses

• Possibility to connect Keplr wallet, checking its main information

• Staking availability

• Provides real-time network statistics for important metrics 

Cons:

• The website does not provide a lot of information about the team or company behind the explorer

Mintscan

Mintscan is another explorer for Celestia’s testnet that provides real-time updates on testnet activity, including the latest blocks and transactions. Users can also view testnet validators and their status, as well as search for specific transactions.

The explorer includes functionality to monitor ongoing proposals for different modifications to the network. For instance, users can verify the proposal details, description, metadata, proposal types, status, and voting deadlines.

Mintscan also offers a deep dive into validator-specific data. It provides users with a detailed overview of the validator’s operational status, uptime, commission rates, delegator base, voting power, and voting history. The proposed metrics provide comprehensive information on the validator, which means users get all the necessary data to make an informed decision and select a reliable validator. This information is crucial, especially for mainnet launch, as it enables users to make informed decisions when choosing a validator to delegate.

Pros:

• Provides comprehensive information on the Celestia testnet, including blocks, transactions, validators, and token metrics

• Has a user-friendly interface that allows for easy navigation and exploration of the network

• Offers a range of features, such as searching for specific transactions, viewing transaction history, and tracking network activity

• Provides access to detailed information about validators, including their uptime and staking status

• Offers a feature that enables users to monitor their own staking activity

• The explorer is regularly updated to ensure accurate and up-to-date information

Cons:

• The user interface could benefit from further improvements to enhance usability and functionality

• No information about how to stake tokens or delegate to validators

Tiascan

Tiascan offers a general overview of the Celestia blockchain. Specifically designed for the Blockspace program, this explorer is an effective tool that simplifies tracking the validator uptime and missed blocks. 

It allows users to check their uptime for bridge nodes, full storage nodes, and light nodes, which is particularly useful for those who want to run a node. With Tiascan, users can easily keep track of their node’s performance, ensuring it remains stable and efficient.

Pros:

• Provide maps with nodes geography

• Clear and organized information about participants of the Blockspace Race program

• Provides information about validator uptime & missed blocks, and uptime for bridge, full storage and light nodes

Cons:

• Limited information about the validators and other nodes

• Only provides information about Celestia

• No information about how to stake tokens or delegate to validators

Exploreme

Exploreme is another Celestia blockchain that can help analyze networks. This explorer provides users with detailed information on blocks, transactions, proposals, utilities, and network activity. Even better, users can also view validator details and search for specific transactions/addresses/block heights.

Exploreme is excellent in its depiction of the network’s functionality. Its utility goes beyond surface-level monitoring, offering users a deeper dive into the network’s parameters. It enables users to review various aspects such as governance, slashing, staking, and distribution parameters. 

Additionally, it provides details on miscellaneous parameters like the Cosmos SDK Version, further enriching user understanding of the network’s functionality.

Furthermore, explorer allows users to access and review detailed information on individual blocks. This includes essential details such as the block number, proposer, hash, fee, date, signatures, and other pertinent information.

Pros:

• Provides comprehensive information on the Celestia testnet, including future token metrics.

• Offers to check active/inactive validators

• Offers a range of features, such as searching for specific transactions, viewing transaction history, and tracking network activity.

• Provides access to proposals, available and pending

• Offers to check utilities of Celestia Testnet, its main parameters like slashing, staking, distribution, etc

Cons:

• No information about how to stake tokens or delegate to validators

NG Explorer

NG Explorer offers a user-friendly interface for exploring the Celestia blockchain. Users can view transaction details, track the movement of tokens, and monitor the network’s overall health and performance. 

The explorer also provides users access to critical information such as block height, block time, transaction confirmations, supply, community pool and active/inactive validators.

With this explorer, users can delve into the specifics of each transaction, including details such as the transaction hash, height, status, fee, messages, type, and time. Such granular information is crucial for overseeing transactions and maintaining network transparency.

As in Exploreme, here you can also find out and check the network parameters.

Pros:

• Allows users to explore and search the blockchain, including viewing transaction histories for individual accounts.

• Provides real-time information about network activity and status, such as the number of active validators and staking information

• Offers a range of statistics and charts to help users understand the performance of the network over time, like supply or community pools

Cons:

• No information about how to stake tokens or delegate to validators

Essential Tools

Keplr Wallet

Keplr Wallet is the first web wallet that allows users to interact with Celestia and other blockchain networks. Its support for staking, along with sending and receiving tokens, makes it an indispensable tool for anyone planning to engage with the Celestia network. Importantly, Keplr Wallet integrates seamlessly with Brochain Explorer, enabling users to delegate tokens and actively participate in network activities.

Celestia CLI

The Celestia command-line interface (CLI) is a tool for developers and advanced users who want to interact with the network programmatically. It allows users to create and manage transactions, query network data, and deploy smart contracts. For a deeper dive into the useful CLI commands, follow Helpful CLI commands.

Key Resources for Celestia Users

Celestia Documentation: Celestia’s official documentation provides detailed information on the network’s concepts, running a node, and sovereign chains. This includes tutorials and guides for developers and users who want to interact with the network.

Celestia Community: Celestia has a vibrant community of developers, users, and validators who are passionate about the network’s mission. Joining the community can provide users with valuable insights, support, and opportunities to collaborate. 

Celestia Github: Celestia’s GitHub repository contains the network’s source code, smart contracts, and other resources. Developers and advanced users can use this repository to contribute to the network’s development or build their own applications on top of Celestia.

The Takeaway

Celestia is a promising blockchain platform that has garnered attention for its innovative solutions and recently launched the Blockspace Race testnet program. To make the most out of this platform, users need to understand how to analyze the network and which parameters to pay attention to. 

The explorers discussed in this guide, such as Brochain, Mintscan, Tiascan, Exploreme, and NG Explorer, provide valuable insights into the network’s performance and transaction details. Additionally, tools like Keplr Wallet and Celestia CLI can help users interact with the network programmatically. 

By utilizing these resources and joining the vibrant Celestia community, users can gain valuable insights and support and contribute to the platform’s development.