Two objects show up everywhere on this explorer: transactions and blocks. Understanding them makes every other page easier to read.
Transactions: the instructions
A transaction is a signed instruction submitted to the network. The most common kind says "move this much value from this address to that one," but transactions can also create tokens, deploy a contract, or call one.
Every transaction is signed by the sender's private key. On QRL that signature is quantum-resistant — XMSS on Legacy, ML-DSA-87 on QRL 2.0 — which is how the network proves the sender really authorised it without ever seeing the private key itself. A transaction typically carries:
- a from and to address,
- an amount,
- a fee (paid to the block producer), and
- a hash — its unique fingerprint, which you can paste into search.
Blocks: the batches
The network doesn't confirm transactions one by one; it groups them into blocks. A block bundles many transactions and adds:
- a height — its sequential position in the chain (block #1, #2, …),
- a timestamp,
- the hash of the previous block (the link that forms the chain), and
- who produced it (a miner on QRL Legacy, a validator on QRL 2.0).
New blocks arrive at a roughly regular cadence. On QRL 2.0, that cadence is anchored to 60-second slots.
Confirmations and finality
When your transaction lands in a block, it has one confirmation. Each new block built on top adds another. Because rewriting a block means redoing every block after it, more confirmations means the transaction is harder to reverse — effectively permanent once it's deep enough. QRL 2.0's Proof-of-Stake design also adds an explicit notion of finality through the beacon chain.
What's different between the two chains
- QRL Legacy transactions are a fixed set of types (transfers, the mining reward, token and message operations). One transfer can pay multiple recipients at once.
- QRL 2.0 transactions are EVM-style: simple transfers, plus contract creations and calls, with fees metered in gas. Validator rewards arrive as separate protocol withdrawals, not as ordinary transactions.
Where to go next
- Reading a block explorer — how to navigate these objects here.
- Wallets, addresses and keys — who sends and receives.
- Gas and fees explained — what the fee pays for.