Dune Analytics: What is it and How Does it Work?

Analytics helps traders make data-driven, informed decisions by providing insights into market trends. As such, traders who use analytics have a competitive edge and can quickly capitalize on opportunities. Dune analytics is a powerful tool that can help traders analyze data from blockchain and leverage opportunities.

What is Dune Analytics?

Dune Analytics is a data platform that traders can use to get unparalleled insights into on-chain data and insightful analytics for free. It is a tool for analyzing on-chain data from various blockchain networks, providing users with insights into blockchain transactions, smart-contract interactions, and more. Dune Analytics was designed explicitly for blockchain and cryptocurrency enthusiasts to research.

Dune offers users real-time and historical data on projects such as NFTs and DeFi platforms. This data can be analyzed and visualized through customizable dashboards and queries. Thus, users can note patterns, trends, and anomalies within blockchain data.

Dune is available and accessible to everyone. Anyone can query, create, access, publish data, and create visualizations. You may not need to create an account to access blockchain data. But you must create an account to create dashboards and queries, share with others, and even post on your website.

How Does Dune Analytics Work?

If you know how to write SQL queries, you can be a ‘wizard’- a term used to refer to community contributors who regularly share visualizations and dashboards. Others can also request paid services from the wizards to create dashboards and queries for them.

Navigating complex datasets and creating custom analyses is easy because users can analyze data using simple SQL queries to extract information or explore pre-built dashboards created by the community.

Here is an overview of Dune analytics:

Data Sources and Integration

Dune gathers information directly from blockchain networks, primarily Ethereum, through public nodes and APIs. This feature ensures that the data available to users are up-to-date and accurate.

Querying and Visualization

Users can write SQL queries to retrieve specific data sets from the blockchain. These queries can analyze data from blockchain activity, such as transactions and smart contracts. Users’ Common queries could be on topics like DeFi protocols, token transfers, and liquidity pools.

For example, a user might write a query to analyze the total value locked (TVL) in a specific DeFi protocol over time or track a particular token’s transaction volume. The queried data results are presented in tables separated into columns, making it easy to understand.

Customization and Visualization

Dune offers customization options for visualizing queried data. Users can create dashboards, charts, and graphs to understand better and interpret the data. These visualizations can be shared with others in the community.

In essence, Dune uses SQL commands to gather publicly available data from the blockchain. These data can be converted into charts and graphs, which platform users can share.

Getting Started with Dune Analytics

Creating an Account

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To sign up on Dune, create an account by picking a username, email address, and password. A confirmation code will be sent to your email to verify your email address.

Navigating the Platform

Dashboards

After creating an account, you can use any of the popular dashboards available on the ‘Discover’ tab, as shown below:

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If you want to streamline your search by pulling specific data, you can use the search bar. For example, you can type in Solana in the search bar, and the platform will pull up dashboards with data on Solana, as shown below;

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To view information on any of the dashboards, click on the dashboard. You can view graphs and charts that visualize the data on the selected dashboard, as shown below;

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For example, the graph and chart above reveal the unique account addresses for standard DeFi protocols and programs on Solana within the last 30 days. It illustrates the number of daily active users and shows the intensity of days when the users are most active. These charts can help crypto traders and investors determine how to leverage financial opportunities.

Queries

You can also search for queries from the top menu bar. If you find a query you want to use, you can select, edit, and fork it. Click ‘Queries’ to view popular queries created by others.

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If you do not find a query that interests you, you can create a new query. Select ‘create’ and choose ‘new query.’

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You can create a new query from options such as the most popular datasets already available, raw blockchain data, and data supplied by the community. You will need at least basic SQL and blockchain knowledge to create a query successfully.

For example, If you want to create a query from ‘raw blockchain data’ on Solana, click ‘raw blockchain data’ and select ‘Solana’ from the options in the drop-down menu below.

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Suppose you want to view the account activity on Solana. In this case, click ‘account activity’ (1), and it will show the columns available in the table. Click on the double arrow to select (2), and click run (3) as shown below.

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After it has pulled up results, click ‘Save’ and give the queried results a name.

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To view your saved query, go to the ‘library’ from the menu tab. There, you will find all the queries and dashboards you have created.

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Though anyone can create new queries and dashboards on Dune, you may find it easier to use dashboards created by others if you find it challenging to create one yourself. However, if you wish to learn how to create advanced queries, you can learn from Dune’s YouTube platform here.

Dune’s Pricing Plans

Dune offers pro accounts to users who need advanced queries without limitations. For example, dashboards and queries created by users with a free account are accessible to everyone in the community. However, users with pro accounts can make their dashboards private, remove watermarks from graphs and charts, and export the data into CSV.

The free account has a lot of benefits, but the pro accounts (Dune Plus and Dune Premium) have fewer restrictions and are recommended for teams. The image below shows the pricing plans and what Dune offers for each plan.

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Benefits of Using Dune Analytics

Accessibility and Openness

Dune is accessible to anyone with an internet connection. It is easy to analyze basic blockchain data without technical knowledge. Additionally, the platform is open-source. Users can contribute and customize it to suit their needs.

Real-Time Data Updates

Dune provides real-time updates on blockchain data, ensuring users can access the current information. Thus, users can analyze market trends, protocol activity, and other real-time data metrics.

Wider Data Coverage

There are many crypto and blockchain data platforms. However, since the data that could be extracted from Dune analytics is customizable, this makes Dune unique. Hence, the possibilities are almost limitless.

Relevant Dune Analytics Dashboards

Dune dashboards are tools for visualizing and analyzing on-chain data from various blockchain networks. These dashboards can provide insights, are customizable, and easily integrate into trading strategies.

The dashboards are ranked into ‘favorites,’ ‘trending,’ and ‘new.’ If you want to view dashboards that most users interact with, you may choose ‘trending.’ You can also use ‘popular dashboard tags’ to refine your search.

If none of these search entries meet your needs, you can refine your search further. For example, if you want to research the top 20 NFT collections, you can find dashboards that are relevant to your search by using the search bar as shown below;

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Some relevant dashboards from this entry are Whale Watcher, Smart Money, and OpenSea Top Traders. For example, the Whale Watcher dashboard contains reports on finding NFT collections commonly bought by most traders on OpenSea. You can also find helpful links in the dashboard that provide additional details.

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Some dashboards also provide graphical visualizations. For example, if you want to find information about Bitcoin metrics, you can use the search bar to search for Bitcoin.

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The dashboard contains a graphical representation of information on Bitcoin. For example, the image below illustrates the block analysis containing miners’ rewards (chart 1) from December 2008 to January 2024. The second chart in the image shows mint rewards from December 2008 to January 2024.

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The dashboard also contains query results of the top 1000 addresses and the total value of Bitcoins. You can also click the query result to fork, share, or run the query.

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Tips for Effective Use

Here are some tips for using Dune Analytics effectively:

1. Start with simple queries: If you are new to Dune Analytics or SQL queries, start with simple queries to get familiar with the platform. Begin by querying basic metrics or exploring pre-built dashboards to get a feel for how the data is structured and presented.
2. Use documentation and tutorials: Dune provides documents and tutorials to help you learn more about the platform’s features, queries, and more.
3. Collaborate and seek feedback: Do not hesitate to collaborate with other users to seek feedback on queries and analysis. Dune’s discord platform may be a way to collaborate with the community quickly. Engaging with the community can help you refine your SQL querying skills.

Conclusion

With Dune’s user-friendly interface and features, users can analyze on-chain data and create custom dashboards, helping them to make informed decisions. These features make Dune a powerful tool for anyone interested in blockchain and cryptocurrency research.

Using customizable graphs and charts, Dune offers accessibility, real-time updates, and a supportive community to help users get acquainted with the platform and blockchain analysis.