2021/02/23 by Dániel Kondor, Kondor, Dániel, Nikola Bulatović +7 · 1 citation
Computer Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Blockchain Technology Applications and Security #Complex Network Analysis Techniques #Peer-to-Peer Network Technologies
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2102.12064
Bitcoin and Ethereum transactions present one of the largest real-world\ncomplex networks that are publicly available for study, including a detailed\npicture of their time evolution. As such, they have received a considerable\namount of attention from the network science community, beside analysis from an\neconomic or cryptography perspective. Among these studies, in an analysis on\nthe early instance of the Bitcoin network, we have shown the clear presence of\nthe preferential attachment, or "rich-get-richer" phenomenon. Now, we revisit\nthis question, using a recent version of the Bitcoin network that has grown\nalmost 100-fold since our original analysis. Furthermore, we additionally carry\nout a comparison with Ethereum, the second most important cryptocurrency. Our\nresults show that preferential attachment continues to be a key factor in the\nevolution of both the Bitcoin and Ethereum transactoin networks. To facilitate\nfurther analysis, we publish a recent version of both transaction networks, and\nan efficient software implementation that is able to evaluate linking\nstatistics necessary for learn about preferential attachment on networks with\nseveral hundred million edges.\n