Introducing Chainscanner

This post was originally published on Ankr

An all-in-one platform for interacting with app-specific blockchains.

Application-specific chains (AppChains) are providing a new way to solve the scalability challenges of blockchain technology. With a dedicated blockchain serving each application in some of the most popular ecosystems like Binance, Polygon, and Avalanche, we can provide a Web3 experience with much higher levels of performance, usability, and interoperability.

This is already opening opportunities for Web3 developers to build extremely customizable blockchains that are uniquely suited for their applications. However, once these AppChains are built, they need to accommodate a growing user base with a platform that allows users to easily access all the tools they are used to having at their disposal in Web3, such as block explorers, staking interfaces, and governance portals.

This is why Ankr has just released Chainscanner, a new platform that combines all of the critical features that will provide a seamless UX for AppChain users. Chainscanner includes everything users will need to connect with their desired blockchains while learning about new applications and games that catch their interest.

What is Chainscanner?

Chainscanner is an all-in-one platform for application-specific blockchains that provides a central hub where AppChain developers and users alike can view important data and interact with their desired AppChains. Chainscanner is a part of Ankr AppChains, our end-to-end solution for creating app-specific chains on ecosystems like BAS — it is just one of our infrastructure building blocks that makes building and launching your own AppChain easy.

Instead of needing multiple different platforms for tools like block explorers and staking interfaces, (like Etherscan, BscScan, or Ankr Staking), users can save time and avoid confusion by having everything they need on Chainscanner.

On Chainscanner, users will be able to interact with many different app-specific chains with resources that help them with nearly any task they could need to complete. They can search for things like transaction info, stake their tokens, vote on governance proposals, access development resources, and learn more about how specific AppChains work.

Chainscanner’s Components

Block Explorer

Chainscanner users can access a powerful multi-chain block explorer to view on-chain data and transactions for any AppChain that is a part of the platform. Users can search and find data for transaction addresses, blocks, NFTs, tokens, events, and more across AppChains in one place.

Staking Platform

Users will be able to stake tokens to support their favorite AppChains with an incredibly easy-to-use platform. Within the staking interface for each AppChain, they will have access to validator information, staking, unstaking, claiming rewards, and much more in a single place.

Validator Enrollment

AppChain owners also have the option to enlist the support of new validators to help strengthen and decentralize their network. Those who are seeking to run validators and gain fees can apply to run their nodes on accepting AppChains through the ChainScanner interface.

Governance Portal

Users will also be able to see all active governance proposals and vote on key items in their selected AppChain. Participating in AppChain governance will be as simple as visiting the governance section of Chainscanner and taking action — something that will greatly improve the UX, accessibility, and the number of users involved in decision-making with AppChains.

Development Resource

Chainscanner also offers developers an easy place to acquire testnet tokens so they can assess the functionality of on-chain operations easily. The testnet faucets will dispense testnet tokens for any of the supported AppChains on the platform. Additionally, developers can keep an eye on the pulse of on-chain activity easily to gauge how their project is growing with stats like total token holders and total staked.

Information Source

Users and developers can see transparent data and stats for validators, active users, token info, token holders, and more front and center on the Chain Data page for each AppChain. This is an excellent resource to have when gauging growth and scaling applications. Additionally, devs can access the technical documentation for chains quickly via a tab on Chainscanner.

Giving Web3 Users Unique Insights, Analysis, and Education

Chainscanner doubles as a tool that provides a unique look into blockchains that goes a step further than helpful data collectors such as CoinMarketCap or CoinGecko. Users have a sweeping view of data taken directly from AppChain nodes that gives them everything they need for their due diligence before buying or staking their tokens. They’ll also be introduced to new applications and games they may be interested in while finding all the resources they need to learn about them before diving in.

How Chainscanner Benefits Everyday dApp Users

Chainscanner will support AppChains with a wide variety of different use cases. Say, for instance, that you are a player of a Web3 game that was built on an AppChain. You’ve acquired a good amount of in-game currency as well as unique NFT characters from time spent playing. Now, you want to check out what you can do with your new assets.

As a user/player, you could:

Stake the crypto that you’ve acquired or won in-game on Chainscanner
Search for all the NFTs you own for all supported AppChains with the block explorer
Vote on the direction of the chain/game via the governance platform
Learn more about the game’s blockchain and how it all works

How Web3 Developers Can Leverage Chainscanner

Chainscanner is an incredibly powerful tool that helps AppChain owners grow and monetize their applications while keeping tabs on all important data.

AppChain owners receive:

An open data structure for AppChain clients to promote the stats behind their AppChain and offer a call to action for consumers and nodes to get involved with the chain.
A new marketing tool to showcase their product and educate new users.
Ways to capture a larger audience while gaining more visibility and demand from all active Chainscanner users.
An easy way for users to become involved contributors in governance, staking, or development.

Creating the Most Powerful Development Environment With Ankr AppChains & Chainscanner

AppChains Provide Scalability, Flexibility, and Customizability

With only one dApp per chain within ecosystems like BAS, projects can eliminate the need to compete for network resources. With a blockchain dedicated to processing transactions and providing computational power just for one application, we can deliver extremely high throughput chains with tens of thousands of TPS.

AppChains Enhance Interoperability

AppChains bring the interoperability advantages of ecosystems like Cosmos and Polkadot and impart them directly into other extremely popular EVM-compatible developer environments like BNB and Polygon edge. These ecosystems have the advantage of already having a thriving community of apps, development, tools, and other resources at their disposal.

With Chainscanner, AppChains Provide a Superior UX for Web3

Having all resources readily accessible for users means that we can provide the type of UX it takes to provide the simplicity of web2 apps with all the decentralization and earning potential of Web3 apps. This is the way to open the floodgates for adoption to onboard millions of new users to Web3.

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Introducing Chainscanner was originally published in Ankr on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.