WhatsOnChain adds tag, tag stats, to view blockchain trends by application

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There’s a new way to see what applications are experiencing the most traffic on the BSV network. Blockchain explorer WhatsOnChain has added real-time statistics and charts to transaction output tags, giving real-time updates on usage.

WhatsOnChain uses a pattern-matching technique to identify an application or protocol in transaction data. Alternatively, developers can tag their own app using WhatsOnChain’s documentation if they’d like to ensure their work is tagged sooner and appears by name on the charts.

Explore @WhatsOnChain's new feature, the 'Tag Stats.' Select ranges from 24hrs up to all time! Here are the tag stats for the last 24 hrs, showcasing @RekordGlobal, @1SatOrdinals, @certihash, @PeergameEng & Bitcom as leading BSV brands.

Learn more: https://t.co/oIoFfg0RfF pic.twitter.com/SduNHLm0eH

— BSV Blockchain (@BSVBlockchain) February 15, 2024

The named tags are ranked by a number of transaction outputs and identified by category (e.g., gaming, social media, finance, wallet, etc.). The top five with the most activity appear in a line chart at the top of the page. Users and researchers can see which protocols are currently most popular, while developers can track their apps’ activity and gain valuable data on when they’re experiencing their heaviest workloads. It’s also possible for a single transaction to have multiple tags.

At the time of writing, the highest-ranked protocols on the BSV blockchain by transaction output (not including OP_RETURN or “nonstandard”) are Rekord IoT, 1SatOrdinals,
Certihash, Peergame, and Bitcom. The charts show timeframes such as past 24 hours, past week/month, past 90 days, and all-time. Trend lines also show how their traffic has risen and fallen.

There are clearly marked buttons to add or remove chosen tags on the trendline chart and adjust the timeframe. It’s also possible to sort the tables according to a particular column.

Speaking to CoinGeek, WhatsOnChain Product Manager Matija Hanzevacki also pointed out the “Mempool Stats” page, which gives a high-level overview of transactions in the mempool (by protocol) as well as mining statistics like transaction sizes and fee rate
distribution. Again, viewers can see current data in real time and choose custom time ranges for past events.

“The cool thing about that is, you can expand on all of these with sub-pages, e.g., there’s more information about what is the most popular tags in the mempool right now, and this change dynamically as things change in the mempool.”

WhatsOnChain is keen for project developers to get in touch with them directly to chat about using the Tags feature and other ways to enhance their data. Their Telegram group is the preferred and most responsive way, but they also have a presence on X/Twitter and
Discord. All links can be found on the website under “Contact Us.”

“What we’re trying to do is really build relationships with application and protocol developers so that they tell us what to expect in their transaction outputs—so that we can be more confident we can tag their transactions,” Hanzevacki said. “Also if they change anything, to reach out to us to keep an eye on changing patterns in their transactions and update our tagging.”

Building these relationships assists both developers and Whatsonchain, he added, as it helps protocols/apps gain visibility and makes sure WhatsOnChain’s data is more correct.

WhatsonChain also plans to add more data points and features to its list and invites suggestions on how to improve the way its information gets presented.

The site’s approach to design and layout is as straightforward as its name. All information is laid out clearly and easily, showing all information regarding on-chain activity a user could want to know. It’s user-friendly both from a high-end (developers, researchers) and lower-end (ordinary user) perspective.

It’s always possible to look around and find things you’ve never thought of before—the “fun stats” page is also interesting for finding historically significant transactions, statistical outliers and records, and other curiosities.

Watch: Building WhatsOnChain to fit Bitcoin SV’s needs