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West Africa Trade Hub  /  News  /  Dune Analytics Crypto: What It Is And How It Works
 / Mar 13, 2026 at 18:27

Dune Analytics Crypto: What It Is And How It Works

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West Africa Trade Hub

Dune Analytics Crypto: What It Is And How It Works

Dune Analytics crypto converts tangled on-chain activity into clear, usable insights. This overview defines the platform and walks through its core mechanics and features.

Dune Analytics helps make blockchain data easier to access, interpret, and act on through queries and shareable dashboards.

What Is Dune Analytics?

Dune Analytics is a blockchain data platform built for crypto researchers, analysts, and investors. It lets users query, extract, and visualize information across multiple public networks.

Dune supports multiple networks across Ethereum Virtual Machine-compatible and non-Ethereum Virtual Machine ecosystems.

BlockchainType (Ethereum Virtual Machine/Non-Ethereum Virtual Machine)Notes
EthereumEthereum Virtual MachineMainnet
BitcoinNon-Ethereum Virtual MachineUtxo-based chain
Bnb ChainEthereum Virtual MachineSmart contract network
ArbitrumEthereum Virtual MachineLayer 2 network
SolanaNon-Ethereum Virtual MachineHigh-throughput chain
Gnosis ChainEthereum Virtual MachineSmart contract network
PolygonEthereum Virtual MachineSmart contract network
AvalancheEthereum Virtual MachineSmart contract network
FantomEthereum Virtual MachineSmart contract network
GoerliEthereum Virtual MachineTest network
OptimismEthereum Virtual MachineLayer 2 network

Designed for Web3, Dune is open and community-driven.

  • Public dashboards: viewable by anyone.
  • Public queries: viewable by anyone.
  • Private dashboards (with paid plan): restricted to invited viewers.
  • Private queries (with paid plan): restricted to invited viewers.
Dune turns raw on-chain specifics—such as gas costs, sender and recipient addresses, and block dimensions—into readable, shareable insights. You’ll find metrics spanning decentralized exchange activity, DeFi protocols, and NFT collections across the platform.

Team Behind the Project

The company was founded in 2018 by Fredrik Haga and Mats Olsen in Oslo. After raising $69.42 million in a Series B round, the brand simplified its name by dropping “Analytics” and operating as Dune.

Coatue led the Series B with participation from Dragonfly Capital, Multicoin Capital, and others, pushing valuation to $1 billion and granting the startup unicorn status.

How the Platform Works

Dune ingests on-chain data through node providers, capturing unedited blockchain records from its supported networks. It also incorporates select third-party sources to enrich datasets with relevant off-chain context.

Users can create custom tables within the Dune database. Available tables cover erc-20 token prices, community-generated datasets, and data drawn from Ethereum Virtual Machine chains, NFT trades, decentralized exchange executions, and research groups such as Flashbots.

For Ethereum Virtual Machine-compatible networks, data is provided in two modes:

  • Raw data: low-level, unprocessed records (such as logs and traces) that offer maximum detail but can be harder to work with.
  • Decoded data: parsed, human-readable contract interactions that make analysis faster; the platform has already parsed over 280,000 smart contracts.

Ethereum Virtual Machine compatibility means a smart contract or decentralized application launched on Ethereum can also run on any Ethereum Virtual Machine chain. Ethereum Virtual Machine networks include Ethereum Mainnet, Polygon, Bnb Chain, Arbitrum, Avalanche, Optimism, Goerli, Fantom, and Gnosis.

Queries retrieve tables to surface needed blockchain data. Writing a query is akin to composing code that talks to a database. Working with low-level tables is more demanding than using parsed records.

Effective querying typically requires familiarity with PostgreSQL, though Dune V2 transitioned to DatabricksSQL. Both involve technical sql skills.

Organizations without in-house expertise may hire a specialist to run queries. Once results are pulled via sql, users can build visualizations and publish them to dashboards. If a needed contract isn’t yet parsed, users can submit a parsing request.

Free access generally covers core exploration and basic creation, but free users may run into usage limits or queued execution during busy periods. Advanced capabilities are available through paid plans, and trial-style access or promotional upgrades may appear periodically depending on the account and billing options shown at checkout.

PlanMonthly PriceKey Features
Dune Plus$399Expanded limits and faster execution for individual power users
Dune Premium$999Team-oriented features and higher capacity for collaborative workflows

How to Use the Platform

Visit to start exploring. If you get stuck, Dune’s built-in docs and tutorials cover datasets, query writing, and dashboard building.

Browse dashboards to see live stats, inspect community queries, view participating teams, and meet Dune “wizards”—blockchain data pros who craft sql queries and compelling visualizations. You can explore most of this without creating an account.

To build your own queries, register for a free account. Sign-up is straightforward.

After logging in, select “New Query,” choose a blockchain, find a dataset, and run your sql to fetch the needed results.

If you’re not comfortable with sql, you can request help from a wizard or learn through Dune’s tutorials.

A simple way to get started is to explore a dashboard, fork an existing query, run it with your own parameters, turn the output into a visualization, and then publish it to a dashboard you can revisit later.

Dune supports forking, so you can open an existing community query, click “Fork,” and adapt it to your needs.

Run the modified query, visualize outcomes, and publish them to your dashboard. Your creations appear under “My Creations.”

Use descriptive labels so readers can quickly grasp your metrics—for example, “Number of Uniswap Traders in 2026.”

You can favorite other creators’ dashboards and queries, and share dashboards externally with the share button.

The interface is intuitive: discover trending or new dashboards, or search by topic. For instance, type “NFT” to surface NFT-related dashboards spanning Ethereum, Polygon, and Solana.

For collaboration, create a team with its own profile. Team assets are displayed separately from your personal work, and roles can include:

  • Admin.
  • Editor.
  • Viewer.

Upgrading to Dune Pro enables csv exports and priority execution to bypass the query queue.

FAQs

Who Uses Dune Analytics?

Dune is commonly used by crypto researchers, on-chain analysts, investors, and developers who want to analyze activity directly from blockchain data.

You’ll also see it used by teams in areas like DeFi, NFTs, and blockchain infrastructure, as well as by institutions that want repeatable, dashboard-driven monitoring for protocols and markets.

What Can You Use Dune Analytics for in Crypto?

Common use cases include analyzing DeFi usage (liquidity, fees, user growth), tracking NFT activity (mints, marketplaces, holders), and monitoring protocols over time (adoption, integrations, token movements).

It can also support trading analytics (flows, whales, volume proxies) and tracking decentralized autonomous organization governance activity, such as voting participation and treasury-related on-chain movements.

What Are the Key Features of Dune Analytics?

Core features include writing sql queries on curated datasets, turning results into charts, and publishing dashboards that can be shared or embedded into ongoing research workflows.

The platform also supports community-driven templates like forking queries, working in teams with role-based access, and querying contract interactions through parsed datasets that reduce the need to interpret raw logs manually.

What Are Some Alternatives to Dune Analytics?

Depending on what you’re trying to do, common alternatives include Nansen (wallet labeling and entity-style tracking), Glassnode (market and network metrics with a focus on Bitcoin and major assets), and Token Terminal (fundamental-style dashboards for protocols).

Other options include Flipside (community analytics and bounties), The Graph (application-focused indexing and subgraphs for developers), and DeFiLlama (broad protocol and ecosystem tracking).

What Is the Best Crypto to Invest in Right Now?

Dune does not provide investment advice or asset recommendations.

Instead, it’s best used as a research tool: you can validate narratives with on-chain data, compare protocols, and monitor risks and adoption trends before making your own decisions.

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