$CATSKY / Cardano Guides / Cardano tools directory
Cardano guides · updated September 4, 2026
Cardano tools every token holder needs
A token holder needs four kinds of tool: an explorer to check facts on-chain (Cardanoscan), an exchange to swap (Minswap, or DexHunter to route across several), a portfolio view (pool.pm), and a place to claim drops and vote (DripDropz, GovTool). Everything below is free to use for those jobs unless the table says otherwise, and every address was checked on September 4, 2026 (Cardanoscan answers automated requests with a bot challenge, so it was confirmed by the links already in use across this site). Explorers and data tools are read-only: you never connect a wallet to them.
Explorers
Which Cardano explorer should I use?
Public views of the chain. Read-only: paste an address, transaction or policy ID; never connect a wallet.
| Tool | What it does | Cost | Use it when… |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cardanoscan | Block explorer with token pages: holders, mint date, every transaction under a policy ID | Free to browse | Checking a policy ID or a buyback transaction |
| Cexplorer | Explorer with strong stake-pool and ADA-statistics pages | Free | Comparing stake pools; a second opinion on any Cardanoscan figure |
| AdaStat | Explorer covering blocks, transactions, pools, tokens and accounts | Free | A third reading when two explorers disagree |
| Cardano Explorers | Landing page at the cardano.org domain that points to the community explorers | Free | Finding an explorer you can trust the address of |
Trading
Where do I swap Cardano tokens?
Where swaps happen. These are the only tools on this page you connect a wallet to.
| Tool | What it does | Cost | Use it when… |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minswap | Cardano DEX with pools for most native tokens; batcher fees removed in May 2025 | Trading fee ~0.3% + network fee | Any swap of ADA for a native token |
| DexHunter | Aggregator that routes and splits an order across 15+ Cardano DEXs | DEX fee + its own service fee | Large orders or thinly traded tokens |
| SundaeSwap | One of the original Cardano DEXs, from Sundae Labs | Trading fee + network fee | A pool DexHunter routes you to; rarely opened directly |
Portfolio & data
How do I see what a wallet holds?
What you hold and what it is doing.
| Tool | What it does | Cost | Use it when… |
|---|---|---|---|
| pool.pm | Visual view of any wallet: tokens, NFTs and live transactions | Free | Showing someone a wallet without a login |
| CardanoCube | Directory of projects building on Cardano, by category | Free to browse | Finding whether a token has a real project behind it |
| Adastack | Curated ecosystem directory: DApps, wallets, DeFi, dev tools | Free to browse | Discovering tools this page does not list |
Airdrops, rewards & governance
Where do I claim airdrops and vote?
Claiming what a project or the protocol offers you.
| Tool | What it does | Cost | Use it when… |
|---|---|---|---|
| DripDropz | Token-distribution platform: paste a stake address to see and claim project drops | Free to claim, network fee only | Checking whether a project you hold has a drop waiting |
| GovTool | Register as a DRep, delegate voting power, vote on governance actions | Free, network fee only | Putting your ADA's voting power to use |
Builders' APIs
What are Blockfrost and Koios?
The plumbing under the tools above. Listed so you know what a project means when it says it uses them.
| Tool | What it does | Cost | Use it when… |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blockfrost | Hosted Cardano API; most explorers and DApps read the chain through something like it | Free tier, paid plans | Building anything that reads the chain |
| Koios | Community-run, open (MIT) query layer for Cardano data | Free | An open alternative to a hosted API |
| Cardano token registry | The Cardano Foundation's CIP-26 registry of token names, tickers, logos and decimals | Free | Registering your own token's metadata; checking a token's entry |
Putting it together
How do these tools fit together?
A typical first month with a Cardano token looks like this. You set up a wallet (the wallet guide compares three), then swap ADA for the token on Minswap or through DexHunter (the swap guide walks through it). Before and after the swap you paste the policy ID into Cardanoscan to confirm the mint date and holder count match the project's claims. Later you paste your own stake address into DripDropz to see whether any project you hold has a drop waiting, and into pool.pm to show a friend the wallet without handing over a login. If you delegate your ADA's voting power, GovTool is where that happens. Blockfrost and Koios you will probably never open, but when a project says its tracker "reads the chain through Koios", now you know what that means.
Two tools were left off on purpose. TapTools, a widely used portfolio and charting site, was serving a placeholder page at its main address when we checked, so we will list it when the app is back at a stable URL. And we link the SundaeSwap app rather than the Sundae Labs company site, because the company page is not where you trade.
One warning that applies to every row: check the address bar. Phishing sites copy a real tool's name and pages on a different domain ending; DripDropz, for example, lives only at dripdropz.io. The addresses on this page are the real ones as of the date at the top; if a site you land on asks for a recovery phrase, it is never the real one. For a worked example of using an explorer to audit a token's claims, the Cardano meme coins page shows three tokens' policy IDs next to their Cardanoscan pages.
Straight answers
Frequently asked
Is Blockfrost free?
It has a free tier for developers, with paid plans above it. A token holder rarely needs it directly: explorers such as Cardanoscan and Cexplorer, and portfolio views such as pool.pm, are built on top of infrastructure like Blockfrost or Koios and are free to browse.
Which explorer shows who holds a token?
Cardanoscan lists holders on its token page, along with the mint date and every transaction in that policy. Cexplorer and AdaStat show the same on-chain data with different layouts. Because all three read the same chain, disagreement between them is a sign to look closer, not to pick a favourite.
Is it safe to connect my wallet to TapTools or an explorer?
You should not need to. Explorers and most data tools are read-only: you paste an address or policy ID and they show public chain data, so there is nothing to connect. Only connect a wallet to a site you intend to transact on, such as a DEX, and only after checking the address bar against the URL on this page.
What is the Cardano token registry?
A public GitHub repository run by the Cardano Foundation where a token's project can register its name, ticker, logo and decimals (the CIP-26 standard). Wallets and explorers read it to label tokens. Being in the registry means someone submitted metadata; it is not an endorsement, and a token missing from it can still be real.
Related: all guides · swap on Minswap and DexHunter · best wallets for meme coins · buy $CATSKY
Not financial advice. $CATSKY is a meme token; cryptocurrency carries significant risk and you can lose everything. Buybacks are discretionary — not guaranteed, and may change or stop at any time. Do your own research; verify everything on-chain.
THIS SITE NEVER ASKS FOR YOUR WALLET · NO CONNECTIONS · NO SIGNATURES · NO FORMS