Paper: arXiv 2411.13603

Abstract

Since its advent in 2009, Bitcoin (BTC) has garnered increasing attention from both academia and industry. However, due to the massive transaction volume, no systematic study has quantitatively measured the asset decentralization degree specifically from a network perspective. In this paper, by conducting a thorough analysis of the BTC transaction network, we first address the significant gap in the availability of full-history BTC graph and network property dataset, which spans over 15 years from the genesis block (1st March, 2009) to the 845651-th block (29, May 2024). We then present the first systematic investigation to profile BTC’s asset decentralization and design several decentralization degrees for quantification. Through extensive experiments, we emphasize the significant role of network properties and our network-based decentralization degree in enhancing Bitcoin analysis. Our findings demonstrate the importance of our comprehensive dataset and analysis in advancing research on Bitcoin’s transaction dynamics and decentralization, providing valuable insights into the network’s structure and its implications.

Complexity vs Empirical Score

  • Math Complexity: 6.5/10
  • Empirical Rigor: 8.5/10
  • Quadrant: Street Traders — practical and empirical, lighter on theory

Why this score: The paper centers on a massive, real-world 15-year dataset and practical graph analysis techniques like community detection and centrality metrics, indicating high empirical rigor. The math is moderate, involving network science and statistical definitions of centrality, but lacks heavy theoretical derivations or complex modeling.

Research Flowchart

  flowchart TD
  Start["Research Goal: Quantify BTC Asset Decentralization<br/>via Network Properties"] --> Input["Data Input:<br/>Full-history BTC Transaction Network<br/>(15 Years, 2009-2024)"]
  Input --> Process["Methodology:<br/>1. Graph Construction & Analysis<br/>2. Define Network-based Decentralization Metrics"]
  Process --> Compute["Computational Analysis:<br/>Structural Property Extraction<br/>Quantification of Decentralization Degrees"]
  Compute --> Outcomes["Key Findings:<br/>- Created first systematic full-history dataset<br/>- Network metrics reveal structural shifts<br/>- New decentralization degrees provide robust quantification"]
  Outcomes --> Impact["Outcome:<br/>Foundation for advanced Bitcoin research<br/>and dynamic asset profiling"]

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0 of 48 cited works are in the corpus; resolved via arXiv source bundles, Semantic Scholar and OpenAlex. Corpus-wide: 2518 linked papers.