Today I’m going to explain something that completely changed the way I look at the crypto market – a tool called Nansen. If you’re a complete beginner and don’t even know what the word “onchain” means, don’t worry. In this article, I’ll explain everything step by step, so by the end you’ll understand how you can use this tool to your advantage when making crypto decisions.
Before we begin, I need to tell you something important: Nansen is not a magic wand that will “print money” for you. It’s an analytics tool that shows you what the most successful investors in the crypto market are doing. That means that instead of guessing or going with your gut feeling, you can base your decisions on data.
If you’re just learning the basics and are interested in how to even start earning with crypto, I recommend signing up for my free webinar, where I explain everything from the beginning: 👉 Sign up for the free webinar here.
What Is Nansen, Anyway? (An Explanation for Complete Beginners)
Before we get into the details, we need to clarify a few basic terms, because without them the article won’t make sense.
Cryptocurrency is digital money that doesn’t exist in physical form (like a banknote), but only in electronic form, recorded on what’s known as a “blockchain.” The best-known example is bitcoin, followed by thousands of other cryptocurrencies.
Blockchain is a kind of public, digital ledger in which all cryptocurrency transactions are recorded. This ledger is publicly accessible – which means anyone in the world can see who sent money to whom (of course, users’ names are hidden behind long encrypted addresses, not real names).
Onchain data is therefore all the data recorded directly on this blockchain – who bought which token, how much money someone moved, which wallet sold its cryptocurrency, and so on. Because all of this is publicly visible, there are tools that read this enormous amount of data for you and tell you what it means.
And this is where Nansen comes in.
Nansen is an onchain data analytics platform that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to scan millions of wallets and transactions and turn them into understandable information. Instead of you looking through endless rows of encrypted data, Nansen tells you: “This wallet, which has made a lot of money several times in the past, just bought this token” or “A large amount of bitcoin just left this exchange, which can be a sign that people are buying it to hold for the long term.”
Nansen has labeled more than millions of wallets across various blockchains (Ethereum, Solana, Base, and others) in its database, which means it has a truly broad view of what’s happening in the market.
Why Tracking “Smart Money” Is So Important
One of the key concepts you need to understand before you start using Nansen is “Smart Money.”
This is a term for a group of wallets that Nansen has determined, by analyzing historical data, consistently achieve good results. These can be investment funds, experienced investors, or institutions that have access to better information, more experience, and more carefully considered strategies than the average individual.
Think of it this way: if you knew that your friend, who has always bought the right stock or cryptocurrency at the right time over the past few years, was buying a certain token right now – that would be interesting information for you, right? Nansen lets you spot something similar – not with one friend, but with thousands of wallets that have proven to be successful.
Of course, this doesn’t mean you should blindly copy their every move. But it does mean you get an additional signal, an extra piece of information you can factor into your decision. And in a world where most people buy and sell based on emotions or a “gut feeling,” every additional data-driven signal is worth its weight in gold.
If you’re interested in how I approach crypto decisions and how I combine signals like these into a comprehensive strategy, I recommend joining my free webinar, where I explain the entire process from the beginning.
The Main Nansen Features You Need to Know
Nansen isn’t just a single tool, but a whole set of features divided into four main areas: discovering, trading, tracking, and rewarding. Let’s look at each one separately, in language that even a complete beginner can understand.
1. Discovering Opportunities (Discover)
This part of Nansen is designed to help you discover interesting opportunities in the market before most people notice them. The system tracks which tokens (a general term for individual cryptocurrencies that run on a particular blockchain) the labeled successful wallets are buying, and displays it for you in a clear way.
It’s similar to having a friend who works at a brokerage firm and tells you: “Look, a lot of smart investors just started buying this company.” Except here, instead of one friend, you get an overview of thousands of wallets at once.
2. Trading (Trade)
Nansen has recently become more than just a tool for browsing data – it also lets you trade directly inside the app. This means that when you spot an interesting opportunity, you can buy or sell a token right away, without having to leave the platform and look for another exchange.
For the complete beginner: trading simply means buying or selling cryptocurrency with the goal of making a profit from the price difference. Nansen supports this for instant (spot) purchases as well as for more advanced forms of trading, which I don’t recommend at all when you’re just starting out, until you have enough knowledge.
3. Portfolio Tracking (Track/Monitor)
This feature lets you monitor your cryptocurrencies in one place across different wallets and multiple supported blockchains. You can see the total value of your portfolio, how it has changed over time, and whether you’re currently in profit or at a loss.
This is extremely useful, because many beginners have their funds spread across several wallets and different blockchains, so they quickly lose track of their portfolio. Nansen brings it all together on a single, clear screen, where you can see in one place how much your portfolio is worth and how it changes over time.
4. Rewards (Earn/Stack)
This section is intended for users who collect Nansen Points (NXP) by using the platform. You earn points through a subscription, trading, staking, referring friends, and completing certain tasks within the platform.
As you collect more points, you advance to higher levels (tiers) that unlock various perks, such as lower trading fees, access to exclusive rewards, partner benefits, and other features within the Nansen ecosystem. Points are not used up when you redeem rewards – they stay in your account.
How to Start Using Nansen – Step by Step
Now that you understand what Nansen is and what it offers, let’s look at how you actually start using it.
Step 1: Create a free account. Nansen offers a free plan that lets you get to know the platform’s basic features before you decide whether to upgrade. You don’t need any documents to sign up – an email address is enough.
Step 2: Explore the main dashboard. Once you log in, you’ll see a market overview – which wallets are active, what’s happening with the major cryptocurrencies, and similar information. At the beginning, I recommend just looking around to see how everything is set up, without buying anything.
Step 3: Find the wallet tracking feature. Here you can enter the address of a specific wallet (or choose one of the already labeled successful wallets) and see what it’s buying and selling.
Step 4: Set up alerts. Instead of staring at the screen all day, you can set up a notification that alerts you when a particular important wallet makes a large transaction. That way you’re informed in real time without having to check constantly yourself.
If this seems like too much at first glance and you don’t know where to start with cryptocurrencies, I recommend that you first check out my free webinar on earning with cryptocurrencies, where I go through absolutely all the basics before you even get to more advanced tools like Nansen.
A Practical Example: How to Use Nansen
Let’s say I notice that several labeled successful wallets have started buying a certain token over the past few days, one that almost nobody had mentioned before. For me, that’s the first signal – something is going on, and it’s worth taking a closer look.
Next, check where this money is coming from – whether these are funds that were just withdrawn from a major exchange (which is often a sign that people intend to hold them for a longer time), or whether it’s money circulating within a single small circle of wallets (which can be a warning of price manipulation).
Only then, once you have the bigger picture – who is buying, how much, where the money is coming from, and what the overall trend is – do you decide whether the token is interesting enough for further research. It’s important to understand: this is never a guarantee of profit. It’s an additional piece of the puzzle that helps you make more informed decisions instead of blindly guessing.
This is why I always stress that anyone entering the world of cryptocurrencies must first understand the basics – what risk is, how to diversify investments, and how to keep a cool head when prices jump or drop. I explain all of this in detail in my free webinar.
Benefits of Using Nansen
Let’s look at why it’s worth getting to know this tool, even if you’re only at the start of your cryptocurrency journey.
Time savings. Instead of manually digging through thousands of blockchain transactions yourself (which is practically impossible for a beginner), Nansen prepares everything in an understandable way.
Access to data most people can’t see. Most beginners only follow a cryptocurrency’s price on a chart. Nansen shows you what’s happening “beneath the surface” – who is buying, who is selling, and why the price may be moving the way it is.
Everything in one place. Instead of using one app to track your portfolio, another for analytics, and a third for trading, Nansen brings all of these functions together on a single platform.
Real-time alerts. You won’t miss important market moves, because the system alerts you on its own when something happens.
What to watch out for – the reality you need to understand
As with any tool in the crypto world, I have to be completely honest with you here. Nansen is not a shortcut to making money, and I don’t present it as one.
Wallet labeling is not 100% accurate. The system uses behavioral patterns to figure out who is behind a particular wallet, which means mistakes can sometimes happen. That’s why it’s always smart to treat data from Nansen as additional information, not as absolute truth.
Tracking successful wallets doesn’t mean automatic success. Even the best investors sometimes make the wrong call. On top of that, by the time you see that a particular wallet has bought something, they may already be ahead of you, because they bought earlier and at a lower price.
The crypto market is unpredictable. No tool in the world, no matter how advanced, can guarantee you a profit. There is always risk, so only invest as much as you’re prepared to lose, and never borrow money to buy crypto.
This is exactly why I always stress the importance of education before you even start actively investing or trading. That’s why I put together a free webinar where I walk through all the basics of understanding risk and strategy – sign up here.
How Nansen compares to other similar tools
There are several similar platforms on the market for analyzing onchain data, so it makes sense to understand where Nansen stands out.
Nansen’s main advantage is the depth of its database of labeled wallets and its many years of historical data, which means more reliable “smart money” behavior patterns. The downside, which more experienced users also mention, is that Nansen is primarily a research tool – so it’s excellent for figuring out what’s going on, while the actual trade execution (that is, the speed of buying and selling) is faster with some more specialized tools.
For a complete beginner, this isn’t even that important, because at the start of your journey you won’t be hunting for the fastest micro-transactions anyway, but building a broader understanding of the market. And for that, Nansen is an exceptional tool.
Mistakes to avoid as a beginner
Before I wrap up, I have to mention a few of the most common mistakes I see among people who have only just started using tools like Nansen. These mistakes aren’t tied only to the platform itself, but to the whole approach to the crypto world, so take them seriously.
Mistake #1: Blindly copying every move of “smart money.” Just because a successful wallet buys a certain token doesn’t mean you have to do the same. That investor may have a completely different financial situation, a different time horizon, or access to information you don’t have. Nansen gives you a signal, but the decision must always be yours, backed by your own understanding.
Mistake #2: Investing money you can’t afford to lose. This is probably the most important rule in the entire crypto world. Prices can be extremely volatile – in a single day, the value of an investment can drop by ten or twenty percent. If you invest money you need for rent or bills, you’ll make bad decisions under pressure.
Mistake #3: Too much information at once. When a beginner opens Nansen for the first time, they can be overwhelmed by the amount of data, charts, and numbers. My advice: don’t try to understand everything at once. Focus on one feature first – for example, tracking a single wallet – and only once you’ve mastered that, add new features.
Mistake #4: Lack of basic knowledge. A tool like Nansen will be far less helpful if you don’t understand basic concepts such as market capitalization, liquidity, or diversification. That’s why I always recommend educating yourself first before moving on to more advanced tools. This is also why I put together a free webinar where I go through all these basics in an easy-to-understand way: sign up here.
Mistake #5: Impatience. Many people expect to become onchain analytics experts overnight. The reality is that understanding market patterns takes time and repeated practice. Be patient with yourself and allow yourself to learn gradually.
How to connect Nansen with your own long-term strategy
A tool has no value on its own if you don’t incorporate it into a broader strategy. Here’s how I think about it: onchain data from Nansen serves me as one of several sources of information, not as the sole basis for decision-making.
Besides following “smart money,” I always look at the broader market picture too – what the general investor sentiment is, what news is circulating, and what the long-term trend is for a particular sector within the crypto world (for example, decentralized finance, infrastructure projects, or artificial intelligence on the blockchain). Only when all of these data points – onchain signals, the broader market, and my own understanding of the project – line up with each other do I decide on next steps.
This approach requires discipline, but in the long run it leads to far more thoughtful decisions than blindly following a single signal or a tip on social media. If you want me to teach you how to build this kind of comprehensive approach from scratch, my free webinar is the right next step for you: 👉 sign up here.
Frequently Asked Questions About Nansen
Is Nansen suitable for complete beginners? Yes, the free plan lets you get familiar with the basic features without investing any money. However, I recommend that you first acquire some basic knowledge about cryptocurrencies, which you can do through my free webinar.
Do I have to pay to use Nansen? Not necessarily. Nansen offers a free plan with basic features. For more advanced features, such as unlimited alerts and deeper data insights, there is a paid plan.
Does Nansen guarantee me profits? No. Nansen is an analytics tool that helps you make more informed decisions. No platform, app, or tool can guarantee you profits – that depends on your knowledge, strategy, and risk management.
Which cryptocurrencies can I track with Nansen? Nansen supports tracking across several different blockchains, including Ethereum, Solana, and Base, which covers most of the most popular cryptocurrencies and tokens on the market.
Where can I learn the basics of earning with cryptocurrencies before I start using tools like this? I recommend starting with the basics. I’ve put all of that together in a free webinar designed specifically for beginners.
My Closing Advice
If there’s one thing I’ve learned in all my years of working with cryptocurrencies, it’s this: the difference between those who succeed in the long run and those who give up or lose money isn’t who has access to a “secret” tool. The difference is who is willing to educate themselves, understand risk, and make decisions based on information, not emotions.
Nansen is an excellent tool that can help you see the market from a different perspective – through the eyes of those who have been in it for a long time and are consistently successful. But a tool is only as good as the person using it. And that’s exactly why knowledge is always your greatest investment.
If you want to understand how I approach the world of cryptocurrencies – from the absolute basics to more advanced strategies – I invite you to join my free webinar. It’s a step-by-step explanation made for you, especially if you’re just getting to know this world.
👉 Sign up for the free webinar here
See you there!
