CHAPTER 11Visualization Systems
In Chapter 10, “Following the Money,” you learned how to follow coin or even contract transactions by clicking destination addresses in a transaction and finding where coins were transferred. To do this manually and just by eye can be extremely difficult even if you take detailed notes. Visualization software helps you by graphically displaying the paths from transaction to transaction, making it easier to analyze the transmission of coins. I have always been a big fan of visualizing data—“seeing” data seems to help with comprehension. Our brains naturally see patterns to help us identify things.
However, visualization systems can still leave you lost and confused in a map of addresses. You need to use such systems thoughtfully and, perhaps, creatively.
In this chapter, I will introduce you to visualization tools, many of which are free to use. I will also reference the market-leading software and its benefits.
Online Blockchain Viewers
Many of the online blockchain viewers have a visualization option. These viewers are free and easy to use but have limited capabilities for searching or formatting the visual data. They can be better than nothing, but I sometimes find that I get just as lost, but even more quickly. I can create a link map, but I'm not sure what the map actually means. The key is to go slowly, always looking and thinking about what you are seeing.
Blockchain.info
The site I have referred to consistently in this book is blockchain.info ...
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