On the Ethereum Blockchain Structure: a Complex Networks Theory Perspective

TL;DR

This paper models the Ethereum blockchain as a complex network to analyze account interactions and identify significant evolutionary changes, providing new insights into blockchain dynamics.

Contribution

It introduces a complex networks framework for Ethereum, enabling detailed analysis of account interactions and blockchain evolution.

Findings

Network characteristics reveal interaction patterns.

Identification of major evolutionary shifts.

Enhanced understanding of blockchain dynamics.

Abstract

In this paper, we analyze the Ethereum blockchain using the complex networks modeling framework. Accounts acting on the blockchain are represented as nodes, while the interactions among these accounts, recorded on the blockchain, are treated as links in the network. Using this representation, it is possible to derive interesting mathematical characteristics that improve the understanding of the actual interactions happening in the blockchain. Not only, by looking at the history of the blockchain, it is possible to verify if radical changes in the blockchain evolution happened.